"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" is an American jazz piece written and originally recorded by Vince Guaraldi, with lyrics later added by Carel Werber. It won a Grammy Award for Best Original Jazz Composition in 1963. It was included on the album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, released on April 18, 1962 by the Vince Guaraldi Trio on the Fantasy Records label.
It has been extensively covered. In 1965, the British easy listening group Sounds Orchestral rewrote the song away from the jazz influenced midsection and took it to number five in the UK, reached number ten on the US pop chart and number one for three weeks in May on the US Easy Listening chart.[1] In 1966 North Hollywood singer Shelby Flint had her second hit with the song. West Coast folk-rock bands We Five and The Sandpipers, and pop singer Johnny Rivers cut vocal versions and there were further instrumental ones from Earl Klugh, George Benson, David Benoit, Chet Atkins and Nelson Rangell[2] [3]. The tune was also featured on Guaraldi's own album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, one side of which featured his versions of music from the film of that name. In 1970, the rock group, James Gang, covered the song as part of a three-song medley ("The Bomber Medley") on their album James Gang Rides Again. In Australia, a vocal version by Mel Torme was a hit in 1963.
The song was heavily featured in the 1988 film The In Crowd. In 2007, the alternative-rock band They Might Be Giants spoofed the song's title by issuing "Cast Your Pod to the Wind," a bonus disc to their new album The Else. It consisted of songs which had only been heard until that point on their podcasts.