Hearing the haunting, whistled refrain instantly floods my mind with memories, highlighting the power of music and further cementing the iconic status of German rock band The Scorpions’ “Wind of Change.”
Scorpions lead singer Klaus Meine wrote the power ballad as the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began to show signs of thawing. The Berlin Wall came down on Nov. 9, 1989, and the threat of nuclear winter thanks to mutually assured destruction became less of a focus.
With this history unfolding as the Scorpions performed as part of the Moscow Music Peace Festival on Aug. 13, 1989, at Lenin Stadium, Meine wrote the song that became an anthem prompting the end of the Cold War.
According to Meine during an interview with Loudwire in 2022, “When I wrote that song, I was so very much inspired by what we saw back then in the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, the coming down of the Berlin Wall — it was a moment where all of us, and the whole world, we were looking into a peaceful future where it was about joining together instead of being separated by wars and those differences.”
“Wind of Change” was on the band’s 11th studio album titled “Crazy World,” which was released on Nov. 6, 1990. The album reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1991.
Then, on Aug. 31, 1991, “Wind of Change” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after being released as a single on Jan. 21, 1991.
A couple of months earlier on June 1, 1991, the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
Overall, it is estimated that the song has sold more than 14 million copies, marking it one of the top rock songs ever and a historic anthem of peace.
It also intersects with my life. It reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 about the same time I was starting Kindergarten, and then it reemerged during my senior year of high school.
See, the last weekend of September marked the 20-year class reunion of Canton-Galva High School’s Class of 2004. Being a member of that class, my friend Justin Bacon and I helped create the slideshow that played during our graduation ceremony. As images of each of my classmates as babies, toddlers and high school seniors flashed by, we used “Wind of Change” to underscore the gravity of the situation.
Though there was disagreement and debate about it during the reunion, with some arguing it was just a song we picked randomly for the slideshow, I know in my heart that it was our class song, which other classmates agreed with saying they remembered a class vote to pick it.
Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find proof. We found information about our class flower (white rose), our class colors (navy blue and silver), and even our class motto (Walter Bagehot: “The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do”). However, the program from our graduation, our senior display board, and our yearbook don’t mention a class song.
It doesn’t matter. It is and always will be “Wind of Change” to me.
Recently, I listened to a podcast hosted by New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe that focused on the song. Debuting in 2020, it was called “Wind of Change: Did the CIA write a power ballad that ended the Cold War?” Produced by Crooked Media, the eight-episode series investigated the rumor that the CIA was involved in the song and its success as a PSYOP to topple the Soviet Union.
Keefe spent at least 10 years on this project and even landed an interview with Meine. Still, there was no definitive answer to whether or not the CIA had anything to do with “Wind of Change,” but it was an entertaining series that sparked my imagination.
Such a rumor just existing makes the song that much more special — it had such a cultural impact that it has become part of the lore surrounding the Iron Curtain and international espionage.
I wonder how this song will continue resonating with society in the coming years. I think it will. After all, “The future’s in the air. I can feel it everywhere.”
Todd R. Vogts, Ph.D., is a native of Canton, a resident of McPherson County, and an assistant professor of media at Sterling College. He can be contacted with questions or comments via his website at www.toddvogts.com.
