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"Wind of Change" (Scorpions Song)
Released in 1990, “Winds of change”, a power ballad by german hard rock band the Scorpions, has garnered a great deal of attention from their music. The band originated from Hannover Germany, a city about 200 miles west of Berlin. The song lyrics, written by Klaus Menine and released on the band’s eleventh album Crazy World, are believed to have been influenced by a trip recently had by the band to the USSR and are linked to a CIA conspiracy theory. To date, “Winds of change” is considered to be the band's top selling billboard single, having topped the billboard charts in Germany, Europe, and the United States.

Background
The Scorpions are a West German hard rock band and are known as one of Germany's greatest musical exports. In the summer of 1989, The Scorpions played a two day rock festival in Moscow called the Moscow Music Peace Festival. Rock n’ Roll and any other western music was virtually banned in the Soviet Union, because the government saw it as threatening to the idea of Communism. But the Kremlin had begun to be more open to western acts playing behind the Iron Curtain. Joining The Scorpions at the festival were Ozzy Osborne, Skid Row, Bon Jovi, and Motley Crue. According to the lead singer of the band, Klaus Miene, after the concert at the festival and tour of the city, wrote the song “Wind of Change” having been inspired by the change that was sweeping the region at the time. Although, there are some skeptics who assert that The Scorpions were involved with the CIA in the process of writing this song. It was released in 1990, not long after the Berlin Wall had come down. The song peaked on the US charts in late 1991, right around the time that the Soviet Union collapsed. The official music video for the song provides images of the Berlin Wall and the events at Tiananmen Square as well as the band strolling through Red Square in Moscow.

Issue
The song “Wind of Change” tells the story of a system of government collapsing in on itself. The Scorpions, a West German Band, had a front row seat to the plight of their neighbors to the east. The constant theme of nature — signifying the human nature that would cause the end of communism — is recurring throughout the song. To begin, the title itself is an ode to this nature. The wind of change is an eventual conquest and victory of human nature, unstoppable by wall or iron curtain. Moreover, it is a natural occurrence, transpiring whether man desires it or not. “The future’s in the air” is another nature based lyric found in the song. This idea of freedom being the air is a testament to the potency of freedom — it's feeling so strong and admired that the former communist population breathes it in like it was oxygen. Klaus Miene also uses nature and the storm of freedom to portray a lasting legacy, one that has been building up for decades. “The wind of change blows straight, into the face of time. Like a storm wind that will ring.” This is an emphasis that the storm of freedom will ring around the world. However, this storm is not one that brings violence, rather, it is a storm that will wash away the pain and suffering that came under communism, and the wars that it was entangled in during its domination of Eastern Europe. The constant motif of nature throughout the song also embodies the idea of peace and harmony. Calling for Europe, and also the world, to regrow and revive itself in peace and harmony. Regarding that peace, Scorpions guitarist Rudolf Schenker noted that the song was a “soundtrack to the world’s most peaceful revolution on earth.”

Commercial Reception
“Wind of Change '' is the most commercially successful single produced by the Scorpions. Total sales estimates for the single in 2009 were at 14 million units. By 2020, the Scorpions’ lead vocalist, Klaus Meine, had estimated that the single had crossed 15 million units sold and had been number one on the weekly music charts in ten different countries. At 15 million sales, “Wind of Change” is one of the top selling singles globally and is the top selling single by a German artist. Sales of the single were assisted by two foreign language versions, with the Scorpions recording the single in both Russian and Spanish.

“Wind of Change” debuted in the United States on Adult Contemporary radio channels, before crossing into the Top 40 charts. The song peaked at number four in the United States, which was the Scorpions’ biggest hit in the U.S. At the end of 1991, “Wind of Change” was the number two song in Europe and the number one song in Germany.

Critical Reception
Since its initial release, “Wind of Change” has received positive critical feedback. Website Classic Rock Review called the song “an all-time rock classic” and “the group’s most genuine single.” Reviewer Adrien Begrand was critical of the album “Crazy World,” but he had a more positive review of "Wind of Change," saying that the song was the album’s “only saving grace.” The song was ranked as the 46th best rock song on the National Review’s Top 50 Conservative Rock Songs list.

“Wind of Change” was particularly popular in Russia. In 1991, the Scorpions were the first Western rock stars to meet with President Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev and his children were reportedly fans of the Scorpions and discussed music and politics with the band during their meeting.

Legacy
The Scorpions have called the song, “Wind of Change” a soundtrack to the cultural and political revolution that Europe and the world felt in the late 1980s and early 1990s. “Wind of Change” spoke to the new found hope of peace and unity for a post-Cold War era. The song helps cement the legacy of the Moscow Music Peace Festival of 1989, and signifies how the world was coming together and bringing peace and unity with the looming end of the East v. West narrative that had survived since the end of the Second World War. People all over the world were given the opportunity to see this event, with it being on my national broadcasts, including MTV, fostering a sense of togetherness between people who were expected to be enemies due to the political climate. People from all over, and all walks of life, including soldiers of the Red Army, all were coming together with a common goal, to spread music. The song would end up becoming a favorite not only in Germany but of world leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev, who has had it performed for his own event on multiple occasions, including birthday galas. This goes to show the impact that "Wind of Change" had on a global level. Not only was it a favorite in the west, but it had spoken to the leaders of the east as well. The song also was featured in the film The Interview when the main characters flee the country further connecting the song to massive changes in the world. The song has become a piece of history, signifying the shift from the Cold War to the 1990s hopefulness that was felt worldwide. It was able to not just capture the actual massive shift in the world, but the attitude of the people who were living through it as well.