Wildfire (song)
Encyclopedia
"Wildfire" is the title of a song written by Michael Murphey
and Larry Cansler. It was originally recorded by American country artist Murphey (who had yet to add his middle name to his recorded work), and appears on his 1975
album Blue Sky - Night Thunder
.
It was released in February 1975 as the album's lead single
, "Wildfire" became Murphey's highest-charting pop hit in the United States
. The song spent two weeks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart in June 1975; in addition, it reached the top of the Billboard
adult contemporary chart
, where it remained for one week.
Boomer Castleman
. When Murphey re-recorded "Wildfire" for a new album in 1997, he was quoted by Billboard as saying that what many consider his signature song
"broke my career wide open and, on some level, still keeps it fresh. Because that song appeals to kids, and always has, it's kept my career fresh."
host David Letterman
developed a sudden fascination with "Wildfire," discussing the song and its lyrics - particularly the line about "leave sodbustin' behind" - with bandleader Paul Shaffer
over the course of several weeks. This ultimately led to Murphey being invited on the show to perform "Wildfire." Letterman described the song as "haunting and disturbingly mysterious, but always lovely," and surmised that the performance would leave the studio audience with "a palpable sense of ... mysticism, melancholy ... and uplifting well-being."
The song has occasionally appeared in "bad song" surveys, such as one by humor columnist Dave Barry
in the 1990s. He quoted one reader who, in reference to the song's tale of the loss of a woman and a pony in a "killing frost," pointed out that "'killing' in 'killing frost' refers to your flowers and your garden vegetables, and when one is forecast you should cover your tomatoes ... Nobody ever got lost in a killing frost who wouldn't get lost in July as well."
Michael Martin Murphey
Michael Martin Murphey is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, Country music, and Popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including Cowboy Songs, the first album of cowboy music to achieve gold status since Gunfighter...
and Larry Cansler. It was originally recorded by American country artist Murphey (who had yet to add his middle name to his recorded work), and appears on his 1975
1975 in music
-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....
album Blue Sky - Night Thunder
Blue Sky - Night Thunder
Blue Sky – Night Thunder is the title of Michael Martin Murphey's fourth studio album and is considered one of the seminal albums of his career...
.
It was released in February 1975 as the album's lead single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Wildfire" became Murphey's highest-charting pop hit in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The song spent two weeks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart in June 1975; in addition, it reached the top of the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
adult contemporary chart
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
, where it remained for one week.
Background and writing
Murphey and Cansler co-wrote "Wildfire" in 1968, shortly after Murphey emerged as a solo artist. Earlier in the decade he had been part of a duo known as the Lewis & Clark Expedition (which had appeared and performed in a 1968 episode of I Dream of Jeannie) with fellow singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Boomer Castleman
Boomer Castleman
Owen Castleman, better known by his stage name Boomer Castleman, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Farmers Branch, Texas. He was a one-hit wonder, hitting the US charts in 1975 with the single "Judy Mae", which peaked at #33....
. When Murphey re-recorded "Wildfire" for a new album in 1997, he was quoted by Billboard as saying that what many consider his signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
"broke my career wide open and, on some level, still keeps it fresh. Because that song appeals to kids, and always has, it's kept my career fresh."
Content
The lyrics are the ruminations of a homesteader who has become much disillusioned with farming and obsessed with the ghost of a young woman said to have died searching for her pony, Wildfire, during a blizzard. The homesteader hopes to catch up with the ghost mounted on her pony and with them to escape from farming, which he bitterly calls "sodbusting."Chart performance
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 12 |
In popular culture
In 2007, Late ShowLate Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
host David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
developed a sudden fascination with "Wildfire," discussing the song and its lyrics - particularly the line about "leave sodbustin' behind" - with bandleader Paul Shaffer
Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.-Early years:...
over the course of several weeks. This ultimately led to Murphey being invited on the show to perform "Wildfire." Letterman described the song as "haunting and disturbingly mysterious, but always lovely," and surmised that the performance would leave the studio audience with "a palpable sense of ... mysticism, melancholy ... and uplifting well-being."
The song has occasionally appeared in "bad song" surveys, such as one by humor columnist Dave Barry
Dave Barry
David "Dave" Barry is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for The Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comedic novels.-Biography:Barry was born in Armonk, New York,...
in the 1990s. He quoted one reader who, in reference to the song's tale of the loss of a woman and a pony in a "killing frost," pointed out that "'killing' in 'killing frost' refers to your flowers and your garden vegetables, and when one is forecast you should cover your tomatoes ... Nobody ever got lost in a killing frost who wouldn't get lost in July as well."