In the Rain
"In the Rain" is a 1972 soul single, written by Tony Hester and was released in February 1972.[1] and performed by American vocal group The Dramatics. Released from their debut album Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get the track is notable for its use of sounds of rain and thunder, first heard before the song's introduction, then throughout the instrumental and chorus sections.
| "In the Rain" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Dramatics | ||||
| from the album Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get | ||||
| B-side | "(Gimme Some) Good Soul Music" | |||
| Released | February 1972 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 5:08 3:15 (edit) | |||
| Label | Volt/Stax | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tony Hester | |||
| Producer(s) | Don Davis | |||
| The Dramatics singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Chart Performance
"In the Rain" reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.[2] It sold over one million copies, and is the group's biggest hit.[3] Billboard ranked it as the No. 53 song for 1972.[4]
Song Background
The song's lyrics state that, because of a broken love relationship, the singer wants to go out and stand in the rain, though it may sound crazy.
Chart positions
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles | 1 |
Cover Versions
- Keith Sweat covered the song on his 1987 album Make It Last Forever.
- R&B group Xscape also covered it in 1997, from the soundtrack, Love Jones starring Larenz Tate and Nia Long.
- Smooth Jazz artist Boney James did a version featuring Dwele on the Shine album in 2006.
Sampling
The song has been heavily sampled by hip-hop artists such as Ghostface Killah, Wu-Tang Clan, Jadakiss, Big L, Lil Wayne and more. As of February 2019, WhoSampled lists 85 songs that have used this song as a sample.[5]
See also
- List of number-one R&B singles of 1972 (U.S.)
References
- Murrells, Joseph (1978) The Book of Golden Discs. Barrie & Jenkins:p. 312. ISBN 0-214-20480-4
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 172.
- Warner, Jay (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today. Hal Leonard. ISBN 0-634-09978-7 p. 486
- Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972
- "Samples of In the Rain by The Dramatics on WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
External links
- "In the Rain" at AllMusic
- "In the Rain" at Discogs (list of releases)
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics