Talk:They Call the Wind Maria

Smothers Brothers

As noted in my edit summary, this material may have some relevance in The Smothers Brothers article, but here is does not add significantly to the understanding of the song, which has been performed thousands of times by scores of artists. In addition, this blow-by-blow recounting of a brief scene in a television show is excessive in its detail; only watching the scene itself can communicate its humor, which expires on the page in this pointless summary. This section is badly out of place in an encyclopedia article and should have been reverted much earlier. The relevant point about the Smothers Brothers - that they recorded the song - is already in the preceding paragraph; the simple fact that they performed a humorous version on their show could be added there. But this particular version has no significance that would merit inclusion in such detail. A note on Rufus Smith, who performed the song first, or Harve Presnell's widely praised rendition in the 1969 film, might be worthy of a sourced comment, but a comedy version - again, one of thousands of performances - no. Sensei48 (talk) 03:14, 10 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Further note - I reviewed the article history and noted that we have been down this path before, two years ago, in fact, in 8/11. So to simplify and clarify - two questions need to be answered. First, why does any one version of the song merit specific description over any and all others? Second, why is this material not in the Smothers article, to which it is directly related when it is but a tangent here? Sensei48 (talk) 03:19, 10 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Detail about the Smothers Brothers TV performance has been removed. I added it because I believed that this TV performance brought the song to a new audience, which bridged the folk revival audience and the wave of popularity related to the Hollywood film release. But if others object, I step aside. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 07:19, 6 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Robert Merrill: Please add Robert Merrill to the list of signers who have performed "They Call the Wind Maria". He sings it on the album, "A Reader's Digest Collector's Edition, Record 2, Side 2". RCA Custom record. JEL0725 JEL0725 (talk) 23:29, 29 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]