The recent rainfall has many of us smiling. At least it does me. A little water from the sky does wonders not only for our Iowa crops but for our yards, our plants, our wildlife and our attitudes. Some people say rain makes them sad. Not me. In fact, I happened to notice how many of my favorite songs are about rain. See if any of these ring a bell:
Of course, there is the classic, “Singin’ In The Rain” by Gene Kelly. The clip from the iconic movie is a cool video in a time before videos were cool. Check it out. You will smile, too.
The late 1980s brought us “Blame it on the Rain” by Milli Vanilli. OK, they didn’t actually sing the song, but the guys could dance — not like Gene Kelly, but they could dance. I have not admitted this publicly for a few decades, but I do have this CD… somewhere.
One of my favorite sing-along rain songs is “I Love A Rainy Night” by Eddie Rabbitt. I will forgive him for the misspelling of his last name, because “the windshield wipers slapping out a tempo” can make you forget about anything and start tapping your feet along with this snappy tune — with or without rain.
I remember being a child and hearing “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head” by B.J. Thomas on the AM radio in our kitchen. The song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and it was played by nearly every radio station on nearly every rainy day for a decade.
Those who know me well recognize that one of my favorite songs is “Purple Rain” — not the Prince version but rather the twangy 2016 tribute by Dwight Yoakam. It’s a bluegrass masterpiece. Check it out.
Creedence Clearwater Revival had several hit songs about rain including “Who’ll Stop the Rain” and “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” John Fogerty and the band couldn’t seem to make up their minds as to when to use a question mark or not in their song titles, but they did play incredible music. And with the word “water” in the band’s name, they had to write at least a few songs about rain.
OK, rain makes me happy, but a few songs about rain can be depressing. Even so, they are some of the best songs of any era. “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor defines that, which is clear in this 1970 live version.
In recent years, I have come to appreciate the music of Gordon Lightfoot and came across this wonderful song about “Rainy Day People.” It’s not “Sundown,” but it works.
In middle school, our chorus teacher, Mrs. Mawdsley, had us sing “Smoky Mountain Rain” by Ronnie Milsap. Even though I flunked chorus, I still like the song, including this live version with commentary from Milsap about working with Elvis Presley and playing piano in “Kentucky Rain,” which, maybe not ironically, was co-written by Eddie Rabbitt.
“You know it makes me feel good.”
What songs about rain did I miss? Shoot me a note and let me know.
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
