I Can't Stand the Rain (song)

"I Can't Stand the Rain" is a song originally recorded by Ann Peebles in 1973, and written by Peebles, Don Bryant, and Bernard "Bernie" Miller. Other hit versions were later recorded by Eruption and Tina Turner.

"I Can't Stand the Rain"
Single by Ann Peebles
from the album I Can't Stand the Rain
Released	1973
Recorded	1973
Genre	Soul, Memphis soul
Length	2:31
Label	Hi Records
Songwriter(s)	Ann Peebles, Don Bryant & Bernard "Bernie" Miller
Producer(s)	Willie Mitchell
Ann Peebles singles chronology
"I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" (1973) "I Can't Stand the Rain" (1973) "(You Keep Me) Hanging On" (1974)

"I Can't Stand the Rain"
Single by Eruption
from the album Eruption
B-side	"Be Yourself"
Released	January 23, 1978
Recorded	1977
Genre	Disco funk
Length	3:12
Label	Hansa Records
Songwriter(s)	Ann Peebles, Don Bryant & Bernard "Bernie" Miller
Producer(s)	Frank Farian, Rainer M. Ehrhardt
Eruption singles chronology
"I Can't Stand the Rain" (1978) "Leave a Light" (1978)

Ann Peebles version

The song was written by Peebles, her partner (and later husband) Don Bryant, and DJ Bernard "Bernie" Miller in 1973:

One evening in Memphis in 1973, soul singer Ann Peebles was meeting friends, including her partner, Hi Records staff writer Don Bryant, to go to a concert. Just as they were about to set off, the heavens opened and Peebles snapped: "I can't stand the rain." As a professional songwriter in constant need of new material, Bryant was used to plucking resonant phrases out of the air and he liked the idea of reacting against recent R&B hits that celebrated bad weather, such as the Dramatics' "In the Rain" and Love Unlimited's "Walkin' in the Rain with the One I Love". So he sat down at the piano and started riffing on the theme, weaving in ideas from Peebles and local DJ Bernie Miller. The song was finished that night and presented the next morning to Hi's studio maestro, Willie Mitchell, who used a brand new gadget, the electric timbale, to create the song's distinctive raindrop riff. It really was that easy. "We didn't go to the concert," Bryant remembers. "We forgot about the concert."[1]

Ann Peebles said: "At first, we had the timbales all the way through the song but as we played the tape, Willie Mitchell said 'what about if the timbales were in front before anything else comes in?'. So we did that and when we listened back I said 'I love it, let's do that'."[2]

Produced by Willie Mitchell, the song became Peebles' biggest hit when, in 1973, it reached #38 on the US Pop Chart and #6 on the R&B/Black Chart; it also reached #41 on the UK singles chart in April 1974. The organ is played by Charles Hodges.[3] It was one of John Lennon's favorite songs and in a Billboard magazine article he commented, "It's the best song ever." Ian Dury made this song one of his choices when he was the guest for BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in December 1996.[4]

Eruption version

In 1978, Eruption released a disco-oriented remake and became the group's biggest hit. It reached the top 10 in many European charts, hitting the number 1 in Belgium for 2 weeks in March 1978. It was also a number 1 hit in Australia and reached the top 10 in New Zealand and South Africa. In the U.S., it peaked at number six on the disco chart[5] and reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100).

Track listings

7" single

1. "I Can't Stand the Rain" – 3:12
2. "Be Yourself" – 3:43

12" single

1. "I Can't Stand the Rain" – 6:24

Charts

Chart (1978)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	18
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	30
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	6
Canadian Singles Chart	21
UK Singles Chart	5
Irish Singles Chart	6
German Singles Chart	7
Austrian Singles Chart	4
Swiss Singles Chart[6]	8
Dutch Top 40	4
Belgian Singles Chart[7]	1
French Singles Chart	5
Italian Singles Chart	3
Norwegian Singles Chart	2
Swedish Singles Chart	22
Finish Singles Chart	15
New Zealand Singles Chart	4
Australian Singles Chart	1
South African Singles Chart	5

Tina Turner version

"I Can't Stand the Rain"
Single by Tina Turner
from the album Private Dancer
B-side	"Let's Pretend We're Married" (live)
Released	March 1, 1985
Recorded	1984
Genre	Pop rock new wave
Length	3:41
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Ann Peebles, Don Bryant & Bernard "Bernie" Miller
Producer(s)	Terry Britten
Tina Turner singles chronology
"Private Dancer" (1985) "I Can't Stand the Rain" (1985) "Show Some Respect" (1985)

In 1984 Tina Turner recorded "I Can't Stand the Rain" for her fifth solo album, Private Dancer, and released it as a single in early 1985 in Europe. Turner's version would find minor success in the UK, but would be a success in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Track listings

7" single

1. "I Can't Stand the Rain" – 3:40
2. "Let's Pretend We're Married" (live version) – 4:22

12" single

1. "I Can't Stand the Rain" (extended version) – 5:43
2. "Let's Pretend We're Married" (live version) – 4:22
3. "Nutbush City Limits" (live version) – 2:56

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1985)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8]	6
Germany (Official German Charts)[9]	9
Ireland (IRMA)[10]	20
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11]	15
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12]	57

Year-end charts

Chart (1985)	Rank
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13]	30

Personnel

• Tina Turner – lead vocals
• Nick Glennie-Smith – keyboards, synthesizers
• Terry Britten – guitar
• Graham Broad – drums

Other versions

• In 1996, Australians Diesel and Chris Wilson covered the song as the lead single from their album Short Cool Ones.[14]
• Cassandra Wilson included the song in her 1993 album Blue Light 'til Dawn.[15]

References

1. Dorian Lynskey, "Ann Peebles: the girl with the big voice", The Guardian, 20 February 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014
2. Miss FunkyFlyy, "Ann Peebles". Retrieved 30 June 2014
3. "I Can't Stand the Rain by Ann Peebles". Rateyourmusic.com. 27 June 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
4. "BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Ian Dury". BBC. 15 December 1996. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 91.
6. Steffen Hung. "Eruption feat. Precious Wilson - I Can't Stand The Rain". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
7. "Eruption feat. Precious Wilson - I Can't Stand The Rain".
8. "Austriancharts.at – Tina Turner – I Can't Stand the Rain" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
9. "Tina Turner - Top Titel" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – I Cant Stand the Rain". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
11. "Swisscharts.com – Tina Turner – I Can't Stand the Rain". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
12. "Tina Turner: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
13. "Jahreshitparade Singles 1985" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
14. "Short Cool Ones". Spotify. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
15. Wynn, Ron. "Cassandra Wilson - Blue Light 'Til Dawn". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 January 2019.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics