Rain Songs- part one

As the featured writer at www.musicstack.com, I thought that, with the spring rains that we are experiencing, it would be a great topic to look at some 'rain' songs. Here is the first installmnet (of four)

By Robert Benson

After a long, hard winter, we all look forward to the spring, the warmth of the sun and the longer days of April and May and then on to summertime. However, as they say- with spring a little rain must fall. In this four-part article series, let’s explore some popular ‘rain’ songs in musical history, you will probably be surprised how many of these songs from American music that you are familiar with.

B.J. Thomas scored number one hit in 1970 with the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song called “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.” The song was written for the soundtrack of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The cut was the second number one single for the Bacharach-David songwriting team and it won an Academy Award for Best Song, being only the second number one song of the rock era to do so.

Interestingly, the night before B.J. Thomas was to record the song, he was under doctor’s orders not to use his voice for two weeks (he was suffering from laryngitis). However, he pleaded with the doctor to treat his condition, explaining that he had to record a song for a new Paul Newman movie and the doctor gave him some medication to keep his throat lubricated so he could sing.

The next day, Thomas did five takes of the song before Bacharach was satisfied (and Thomas would later admit that if he had been asked to record one more take, he couldn’t have done it). After a few weeks his voice healed and he flew to New York to record the single version, this time his voice was crystal clear.

Some history books say that Bob Dylan was originally asked to record the song, but Bacharach disputes this, claiming that he had asked Ray Stevens to do it, but it wasn’t a career move that Stevens wanted to make. Ooops.

Iconic guitarist Eric Clapton released a cut called “Let It Rain” in 1972 (it peaked at #48 on the Billboard charts). Clapton wrote the song with the help of Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett while they were on tour together in 1969 (and while Clapton was still with the supergroup Blind Faith). The song is the last track on Clapton’s first solo album, which was coincidently produced by Delaney Bramlett. There is also a nineteen-minute version of the song on the Derek and the Dominos “Live at the Fillmore LP.

The song was not released as a single until 1972. Two years after the album came out. Jerry Allison and Sonny Curtis, both former members of Buddy Holly and the Crickets, along with Bonnie Bramlett and Rita Coolidge sang back up vocals.

Another fantastic rain song is the Creedence Clearwater Revival cut, “Have You Ever Seen The Rain,” which hit number eight on the Billboard charts in 1971 (from the LP Pendulum 1970).

There have been some who have speculated that the song’s lyrics were referring to the Vietnam War, with ‘rain’ being a metaphor for bombs falling for the sky. But John Fogerty, singer and songwriter for the band has stated that the song is about the rising tension and internal strife that CCR was experiencing at the time and about the imminent departure of his brother, Tom from the band (he ultimately left the band in early 1971 after the release of Pendulum).

Before there was the Partridge Family, another family band scored a huge hit with a ‘rain’ song. The Cowsills, a family pop group, hit number two on the Billboard charts in the fall of 1967 with the song called “The Rain, The Park and Other Things.” It is also known as the ‘flower girl song, in reference to the lyrics, “I love the flower girl.”

Some interesting tidbits about the cut are that it is one of only a few vocal works whose lyrics do not contain the song’s title. The song was co-written and produced by Artie Kornfeld, who later went on to fame as one of the concert promoters at the legendary concert at Woodstock. Additionally, the song was an international hit, reachi9ng number one in Canada in the week of November 13, 1967 and was also a hit in the UK.

“Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” is a song that was written by Fred Rose and was originally recorded in 1945 by Roy Acuff and later in 1951 by Hank Williams Sr. But it is best remembered as the breakthrough number one hit for country singer Willie Nelson (the song hit number one on the country singles chart and number twenty-one on the Billboard Top 100), who also earned a Grammy Award for Country Male Vocalist in 1975.

Prior to the massive success of the song, Nelson had enjoyed mainstream success primarily as a songwriter; the best known song he wrote was “Crazy,” performed by Patsy Cline. He chose to include “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” on his concept LP “Red Headed Stranger” and with his own unique style incorporated into the melody, the hit helped launch his career to country superstardom.

The cut has also been placed at number 302 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs. Interestingly, it is also the last known song that Elvis Presley performed before his untimely passing on August 16, 1977 (he had played the song at his Graceland home piano shortly before his demise).

Look for our next article coming soon, where we will explore more popular ‘rain’ songs in music history.