Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Retro Video of the Week: "Wind of Change" by The Scorpions

I recently started watching The Man in the High Castle a couple nights ago.  If you don't know, it's an Amazon original series based on the 1963 novel by Phillip Dick that presents an alternate history in which the Axis won World War II.  Set in 1962, what was the United States has been divided between the Nazis and Japan.  Everything east of the Rockies is part of the Reich, everything west of the Rockies is part of the Empire, and what's in between is kind of a lawless no-man's neutral zone.  I've only watched the first two episodes, but so far so good.

In real life, a mere three years later, The Scorpions, Germany's greatest rock band formed.  In January 1991, they released their best-selling single -- and  -- "Wind of Change."  Written about glastnost in the USSR, little more than a year after the Berlin Wall was torn down, "Wind of Change" became the unofficial anthem of the fall of communism in Europe.  It was a massive hit, becoming the best-selling German single of all-time, not to mention one of the best-selling singles worldwide ever (with over 14 million copies sold throughout the world).  It was a Top 10 hit in 14 countries, Top 5 in 12 of those, and #1 in 7 of those.  Here's to freedom.

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