Singin' in the Rain (song)

"Singin' in the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. It is unclear exactly when the song was written; it has been claimed that the song was performed as early as 1927.

This article is about the song from the 1952 film of the same name. For the Simple Plan song, see Singing in the Rain (Simple Plan song). For the Loona song, see JinSoul.

"Singin' in the Rain"
Song
LanguageEnglish
Published1929 (1929)
Songwriter(s)Arthur Freed
Composer(s)Nacio Herb Brown

The song is a centerpiece of the musical film of the same name, Singin' in the Rain (1952), which was "suggested by" the song, according to the film's title credits.

The song is listed as No. 3 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Songs.

A trailer image of Gene Kelly performing the song in the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain

Song form

The song has an unusual form: the 32-bar chorus, rather than being preceded by a verse and containing an internal bridge as was becoming standard at the time, opens the song and then is followed by a 24-bar verse that has the feeling of a bridge before the chorus repeats.

Covers

"Singin' in the Rain" was first performed by Doris Eaton Travis in the 1929 revue The Hollywood Music Box Revue.[1] The song became a hit and was recorded by a number of artists, notably Cliff Edwards, who also performed the number with the Brox Sisters in the early MGM musical The Hollywood Revue of 1929. B.A. Rolfe and his Lucky Strike Orchestra recorded the song possibly as early as 1928 but perhaps 1929.[2] The song was recorded by Annette Hanshaw (reissued on the 1999 CD Annette Hanshaw, Volume 6, 1929). It is performed on film by a nightclub band as dance music and sung in a Chinese dialect in The Ship from Shanghai (1930), by Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily (1932), by Judy Garland in Little Nellie Kelly (1940), and as background music at the beginning of MGM's The Divorcee (1930) starring Norma Shearer.

  • Singer Nick Lucas recorded Singing in the Rain in 1929 (one week after recording what would become the biggest hit of his career, Tiptoe Through the Tulips).[3]
  • British duo Bob and Alf Pearson recorded the song in 1929 at their first session.
  • "Singin' in the Rain" was performed in the 1930 film short Dogville Melody, presumably by Zion Myers and Jules White.
  • The song is sung by Dean Martin in a November 1950 episode of the variety show The Colgate Comedy Hour. He performs it while being drenched in water by comedy partner and co-host Jerry Lewis.
  • The song is best known today as the centerpiece of the musical film Singin' in the Rain (1952), in which Gene Kelly memorably danced to the song while splashing through puddles during a rainstorm. The song is also performed during the opening credits of the film, and briefly near the end of the film by Debbie Reynolds.
  • The song was recorded in Buenos Aires for Odeon Records twice under the title "Cantando Bajo La Lluvia," by Francisco Canaro's orchestra and with the Spanish lyrics sung by Charlo, on December 23, 1929 (Catalog Number 16243 B, matrix number 5137)[4] and again on March 24, 1930 (Catalog Number 4631 B/LDB 78 B, matrix number 5283).[5] It was also recorded under the same title in 1936 by the Orquesta Tipica Victor, the RCA Victor in-house orchestra in Buenos Aires.
  • The song was also recorded by John Serry Sr. and his sextet ensemble in 1954 for RCA Victor records under the musical direction of Ben Selvin on an LP vinyl disc(See RCA Thesaurus).
  • In 1960, Adam Faith recorded his own version of this song on his début album Adam.
  • Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney recorded the song in 1961[6] for use on their radio show and it was subsequently included in the CD Bing & Rosie – The Crosby-Clooney Radio Sessions (2010).[7] Crosby also included the song in a medley on his album On the Happy Side (1962).
  • In 1971, Scottish folk rock-singer John Martyn did an acoustic folk jazz-version on his album Bless the Weather, where he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and sang several overdubbed backing vocals.
  • The Pasadena Roof Orchestra has covered the song on many occasions, including releasing it on The Best of the Pasadena Roof Orchestra album in 1973.
  • Sammy Davis Jr. gave the song a final US chart ride with a version widely played on easy listening stations (number 16 easy listening, 1974).
  • Leif Garrett released a version of the song on his 1979 album, Same Goes for You.[8]
  • The song was covered by polish musician Zbigniew Wodecki in 1979.
  • Glenn Butcher covered this song on the Australian video ABC for Kids Video Hits.
  • The song was incorporated by Michael Kamen into his score for the 1988 film Die Hard, where it is most closely associated with the character of Theo (Clarence Gilyard).
  • Brazilian musician Maurício Pereira wrote a Portuguese-language version of the song, "Cantando num Toró", present in his 1995 debut album Na Tradição.
  • British jazz/pop singer Jamie Cullum covered the song on his 2003 album Twentysomething.
  • The song was covered in 2004 by Carmen Bradford in her Jazz album "Home With You"
  • In the film called Robots, when Fender says goodbye to Loretta with a blowing kiss, he happily sings a parody called "Singing in the Oil" which is to the tune of this song and dances around until he gets caught by a Sweeper.
  • A version performed by the UK comedy partnership Morecambe and Wise was ranked at the top of a 2007 poll of their Greatest Moments.
  • A version was also performed by Jheena Lodwick in 2006, on her album titled "Singing in the rain".
  • In 2009 the song was performed by Seth MacFarlane at The Proms.[9]
  • An instrumental version of this song is played in Planet 51 where the space probe Rover dances happily Gene Kelly style when he sees raining rocks.
  • In 2009 and 2010 the song was performed by South Korean K-pop group Girls' Generation on their Into the New World Tour.
  • In 2010, the song was sung in the intermissions of concert tour of the Irish pop band Westlife.
  • In 2010, the song was sung on the FOX TV series Glee in a mash-up with Rihanna's "Umbrella" featuring Gwyneth Paltrow.
  • There is a jazz instrumental by Sonny Stitt on his 1958 album Sonny Stitt Plays Jimmy Giuffre Arrangements.
  • There is a jazz vocal rendition by Joe Williams on his 1984 album Then and Now.

Mint Royale version
"Singin' in the Rain"
Single by Mint Royale
from the album See You in the Morning and Pop Is...
ReleasedAugust 22, 2005 (UK)
Recorded2005
GenreElectronica, house
Length2:04 (short radio edit)
3:26 (Pop Is... album version)
2:47 (See You in the Morning album version)
LabelFaith & Hope, Direction Records
Songwriter(s)Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed
Producer(s)Mint Royale
Mint Royale singles chronology
"Wait for You"
(2005)		 "Singin' in the Rain"
(2005)		 "The Effect on Me"
(2005)

"Singin' in the Rain" was remixed in 2005 by Mint Royale. It was released as a single in August 2005 after being featured in an advert for the VW Golf GTI,[10] peaking at No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart.

Three years later in 2008, due to the exposure of the song via the performance of then-unknown dancer George Sampson on the reality TV series Britain's Got Talent, the track went to No. 1 on the iTunes Top 100 in the UK in 2008. It re-entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 28 on June 1, 2008 and climbed to No. 1 the next week, selling 45,987 copies, knocking Rihanna's "Take a Bow" down to the Number 2 spot.

Charts
Chart (2005)[11] Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 20
Chart (2008)[11] Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 1
Irish Singles Chart 3

Sheila B. Devotion version

A 1978 disco version of Singin' in the Rain by the French pop singer Sheila B. Devotion made No. 3 in the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles[12] and the Netherlands Top 100,[13] No. 4 on the Nationale Hitparade,[14] No. 11 on the German[15] and UK Singles Chart,[16] No. 2 on the Swedish Singles Chart,[17] No. 3 on the Italian Singles Chart[18] and No. 30 on the Hot Dance Club Songs.[19]

Taco version

In 1982, Dutch pop singer Taco released a version of it as his second single from After Eight, which peaked at No. 49 in Germany, No. 46 in Canada and No. 98 in the UK.[20][21][22]

Other appearances in film and on TV
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References
  1. Jones, Kenneth; Simonson, Robert (May 11, 2010). "Doris Eaton Travis, Among the Last of the Ziegfeld Girls, Dead at 106". Playbill. Playbill.com. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  2. Found on "Music of the Lost Generation 1910s to 1930s", CD compilation issued 2007
  3. http://www.nicklucas.com/discography8.html
  4. https://sites.google.com/site/franciscocanarodiscography/recordings-in-chronological-order/electric-recordings-I#N1876
  5. https://sites.google.com/site/franciscocanarodiscography/recordings-in-chronological-order/electric-recordings-I#N1904
  6. "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  7. "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  8. "Leif Garrett, Same Goes for You". Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  9. "Prom 22: A Celebration of Classic MGM Musicals, John Wilson Orchestra, Royal Albert Hall, London". The Independent.
  10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4312217.stm
  11. "Mint Royale discography". PolyHex.
  12. "Top 40-artiesten (A)". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012.
  13. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. "Top 40-artiesten". Top40.nl.
  14. Netherlands: Nationale Hitparade (currently Single top 100)
  15. Germany: Musikmarkt/Media Control Charts
  16. "Official Charts Company – Sheila And B Devotion".
  17. Sweden: Sverigetopplistan – Singles Top 60
  18. "Hit Parade Italia – Top Annuali Single: 1978".
  19. Richie Unterberger. "Sheila – Awards – AllMusic". AllMusic.
  20. "Charts.de: Taco (Singles)". charts.de. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  21. "RPM: 50 Singles (Volume 39, No. 1, September 03, 1983)". RPM. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  22. "OfficialCharts.com: Singing in the Rain". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  23. MacDougal, Stuart Y. (2003) Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange Cambridge University Press. p.98 ISBN 9780521574884
  24. Hess, Earl J.; Dabholkar, Pratibha A. (2009). Singin’ in the Rain: The Making of an American Masterpiece. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-7006-1656-5.
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