The Wind in the Willows was an American psych folk band, best known for being the first band of Blondie co-founder, Debbie Harry. The group took its name from British writer Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, a classic of children's literature.
The band's only album, the self-titled The Wind in the Willows (1968, Capitol Records LP2956), grazed the Billboard Top 200 album chart at #195. The band broke up the following year, after failing to achieve commercial or critical success. Artie Kornfeld, the album's producer, went on to be the music producer of the Woodstock festival in August 1969. Debbie Harry went on to join The Stillettoes in 1973 and other bands until subsequently achieving success fronting the new wave band Blondie, which she co-founded in 1974 with guitarist Chris Stein.
Wind in the Willows recorded a second album in 1969, which remains unreleased. The tapes are with band member Paul Klein’s second wife Alice Anne. According to Cathay Che's biography of Harry, the tracks have never surfaced, but Harry was said to have contributed more vocals than on the first album, as well as writing lyrics for a song titled "Buried Treasure". Another song originally slated for the second album, "A Quite Respectable Older Lady", was released by its writer, band member Wayne Kirby, in 2022.
Links to Peel[]
Peel played their track, 'Moments Spent' on his radio programmes in late 1968, but never played any further songs. He later played some of Debbie Harry's material in the 70's on his shows, especially her band, Blondie.
Shows Played[]
- 06 October 1968: Moment's Spent (7" promo) Capitol
- 08 December 1968: Moments Spent (album - The Wind In The Willows) Capitol