In my post of June 21st, I listed country rain songs and posed the question at the end as to which genre, country or pop, does a better job on rain songs. Two of the songs I mentioned I questioned whether they should be considered pop or country, Anne Murray's "Wrong End of the Rainbow" and Elvis Presley's "Kentucky Rain". No comments so far. One problem I have with pop rain songs is that I haven't listened to much pop music on the radio or elsewhere in the last 30 years and in the country rain article I mentioned many songs from that time period. Hmm. What to do? Go with what I've got.
The artist listed is not necessarily the first to record the song. I just listed the artist whose cover I liked best or who is best known for that song or that I have their version on cd. To find out the original artist and other covers for many of these songs, you can check out www.secondhandsongs.com. The following list of pop rain songs and artists are followed by names of the writer(s) in parenthesis and the year it was originally recorded. Occasionally, I'll add a comment because the song title does not suggest any connection to rain or just cause I feel like it.
Pop Rain Songs:
Singing in the Rain - Gene Kelly (music -Nacio Herb Brown & lyrics - Arthur Freed) 1929. The 1952 movie with Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds made it famous.
Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time) - Ethel Waters (Harold Arlen & Theodore Kohler) 1933
Pennies From Heaven - The Skyliners (Arthur Johnson & Johnny Burke) originally recorded in 1936 by Bing Crosby, the first version I ever heard was by the Skyliners in 1960. For any young listeners, the song begins, "Every time it rains it rains, pennies from heaven".
Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland (music - Harold Arlen & Herbert Stothart and lyrics - E.Y. Harburg) 1938, Academy Award winning song from The Wizard of Oz.
Come Rain or Come Shine - Nancy Lamott (Johnny Mercer & Harold Arlen) 1946.
Just Walking in the Rain - Johnny Ray (Johnny Bragg & Robert Riley) 1956
Raining in My Heart - Buddy Holly (Felice & Boudleaux Bryant) 1959. The Bryants are best known for writing many hits for the Everly Brothers, but not the next song.
Crying in the Rain - Everly Brothers (Carole King & Howard Greenfield) 1961
Raindrops - Dee Clark (Johnny Otis & Dee Clark) 1961
Rhythm of the Rain - The Cascades (John Claude Gummoe) 1963
Walking in the Rain - Jay & the Americans (Phil Spector, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil) 1964
Early Morning Rain - Gordon Lightfoot (Gordon Lightfoot) 1965, originally recorded by Ian & Sylvia.
Bus Stop - The Hollies (Graham Gouldman) 1966. "Bus stop, wet day, she's there, I say, please share my umbrella, ... All that summer we enjoyed it, wind and rain and shine, that umbrella we employed it, by August she was mine".
Tell It to the Rain - The Four Seasons (Chubby Cifelli & Mike Petrillo) 1966
Summer Rain - Johnny Rivers (James Hendricks) 1967
I Wish It Would Rain - The Temptations (Roger Penzabene, Barrett Strong & Norman Whitfield) 1967
The Rain, the Park and Other Things - The Cowsills (Artie Kornfield & Steve Duboff) 1967
Stormy - Classics IV (Buddy Buie & James Cobb) 1968, lead singer Dennis Yost died in December of '08. "I stand alone in the rain, callin' your name, oh Stormy ..."
Rainy Night in Georgia - Brook Benton (Tony Joe White) 1969
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head - B.J. Thomas (Burt Bacharach & Hal David) 1969. A #1 song for BJ, it also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the movie, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid".
Fire and Rain - James Taylor (James Taylor) 1970
Have You Ever Seen the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival (John Fogerty) 1970
Who'll Stop the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival (John Fogerty) 1970
Rainy Days and Mondays - the Carpenters (Paul Williams & Roger Nichols) 1971
Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again - the Fortunes (Tony Macaulay, Roger Greenaway & Roger Cook) 1971
Taxi - Harry Chapin (Harry Chapin) 1972, This six minutes and 44 seconds song begins "It was raining hard in Frisco, I needed one more fare to make my night". Great story song.
It Never Rains in Southern California - Albert Hammond (Mike Hazlewood & Albert Hammond) 1972
Laughter in the Rain - Neil Sedaka (Phil Cody & Neil Sedaka) 1974
Rainy Day People - Gordon Lightfoot (Gordon Lightfoot) 1975
Come In From the Rain - Melissa Manchester (Carole Bayer Sager & Melissa Manchester) 1976. Inexplicably, this great song from my wife's favorite singer was never released as a single.
I Made It Through the Rain - Barry Manilow (music - Gerard Kenny, lyrics - Drey Shepperd, Bruce Sussman, Jack Feldman & Barry Manilow) 1980
What are the best pop rain songs from the 80's, 90's and oughties or any earlier songs I may have missed?
While there are some very good country rain songs, I think that this category is clearly better covered by pop songs. The first five songs, all written before 1950, are all classics. Others such as Rainy Night in Georgia, Rainy Days and Mondays, Fire and Rain are also in that category.
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