Rain
Themed Songs
Etched in Memory
I have always been able to be empathetic to situations that I come across. This applies particularly to songs many of which have been etched in my memory. You will know what I mean when you feel things emotionally when you hear a song from the past which brings back an event or more.
It should now be the dry, hot season here but it has rained heavily in recent days. So a story to do with rain seems appropriate. Here are some songs which date back to when I became aware of pop songs in a personal manner.
Crying in
the Rain
The Everly Brothers
US Billboard Hot 100 No. 6; 1962
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6QrGxDzsFU
Don and Phil Everly were a acoustic guitar-playing sibling duo with a
string of hits in the late 50s ("Bye Bye Love"; "All I Have To
Do Is Dream"; "Devoted To You") and early 60s. Many of their
songs had a story, to wit the sad "Ebony
Eyes".
Ever lost something which
you wanted more than anything else at the time no matter how
silly it now sounds? Of course crying in response is something
which is frequently described in songs. Here are some lines from
"Crying in the Rain":
"Since we're not together,
I pray for stormy weather,
To hide these tears I hope you'll never see"
Another song which has
sentimental reference to tears. "Ue o Muite ArukÅ" (Sukiyaki)
was a No. 1 on the US Billboard in 1963. All the more remarkable
when you know that this was only 22 years after the Japanese
sneak-bombed Pearl Harbour. No other Asian song was
to take the US No. 1 spot again until 2020 (by BTS). In
Sukiyaki, the singer
says that he looks up when he walks so that his tears cannot be
seen. The singer was
Kyu Sakamoto. He died
tragically in August 1985 along with 519 others in one of the
world's largest air crashes when his
domestic flight in Japan flew
out of control into a mountainside. He must have known he was
going to die because the plane was out of control and flying
erratically for some 30 minutes before crashing. Imagine. Indeed,
farewell notes from some passengers were found at the crash
site.
The Everly Brothers had an imitable singing style but there was
another duo in the early 60s. This was the Blue Diamonds,
comprising two Dutch-Indonesian brothers. They had a hit
"Ramona" (US Billboard Hot 100 No. 72 in 1960) which had record
sales in the Netherlands and Germany. Listen to "Ramona"
and see if it's true that they were the Indonesian Everly
Brothers.
Rhythm of
the Rain
The Cascades
US Billboard Hot 100 No. 3; 1963
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0DbYAaZcwU
This bubbly tune belies its
story of regret ("Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain ...
telling me what I fool I've been .. the only girl I care about
has gone away" "... looking for a brand new start ...").
The song was recorded in 1962 and Glen Campbell (1936 - 2017)
(he of the twanging guitar sound; "Wichita
Lineman" [1968]; "Galveston"
[1969]) who was then a session
guitarist, took part in the recording.
The Cascades never
repeated the success of this their biggest hit.
Early Morning Rain
Peter, Paul and Mary
US Billboard Hot 100 No. 91; 1965
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OCnHNk2Hac
Written by Canadian songwriter/singer Gordon Lightfoot (1938 - 2023). Lightfoot is an example of songwriters who wrote for many artistes before they themselves became famed singers in their own right. Others in this vein include, Neil Diamond, Glen Campbell (see above) and Carole King. The latter wrote for many years before achieving personal success with her album Tapestry (1971) which topped the US album charts for 15 weeks and remained on them for 6 years. It was about her that Neil Sedaka wrote and sang the song "Oh! Carol" (1961) (which we used to sing as a mondegreen, "Oh Carol .... I'm a bloody fool). Carole was Neil's high school girlfriend.
"Early Morning Rain" has
been covered by many artistes including Lightfoot but the PP&M
version is my favourite. As sung, this rendition has voice parts
mezzo piano and fortissimo. "Big 707" refers to the jetliner of
the 60s, the four-engined
Boeing 707.
PP&M was one of the leading folk artistes of the early 60s
before the British pop invasion swept away all folk guitars and
banjos (Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; the
Kingston Trio; the
Brothers
Four). Indeed, the trio alluded to this change in
popular music in this
parody item in one of their
recorded concerts. Their song "Leaving
on a Jet Plane" (US Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 in 1969)
(written by
John Denver*)
is emblematic of many things including those who served in the
Vietnam War (they left on a jet plane for foreign land). But for
many especially children, PP&M is "Puff
the Magic Dragon", which was written by one of the
trio, Pete Yarrow (and lead sung by him). While the song would
appear to be an innocuous children's song, it is actually a
bittersweet tale of growing up - things change:
"A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys,
painted wings and giant's rings make way for other toys,
One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more,
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar".
*Denver and Sakamoto are but only two music artistes who
perished in plane crashes. There were more: Buddy Holly; Jim
Reeves; Ricky Nelson; Glenn Miller to name some.
Fire and Rain
James Taylor
US Billboard Hot 100 No. 3;
1970
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbD7lfrsY2s&pp=ygUNZmlyZSBhbmQgcmFpbg%3D%3D
Written from personal experience (depression and substance abuse) and said to be influenced by the suicide of a friend.
"... I've seen lonely days
that I thought would never end ..."
If you have been through depression you will empathize. Time
heals but that time can never be recovered.
Carole King played piano in the recording. King has apparently said that her hit "You've Got a Friend" (1971 from her album Tapestry) which was also recorded by Taylor, was a reply to the line "... I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend" in the song "Fire and Rain".
Raindrops Keep Falling On
My Head
B.J. Thomas
US Billboard Hot 100 No. 1; 1970
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VyA2f6hGW4
From the western movie "Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969) set in 1899. To me, before this and
movies like "Castle Keep" (1969), movie music was always
in keeping with the era in which the movie was set. Indeed, it
was used to set mood. Along came movies like these two which had
anachronistic music in the soundtrack (Michel
Legrand for "Castle Keep" -
does this sound like a World
War 2 movie theme to you?). It took some getting used
to. Even co-star Robert Redford wondered "... I was highly
critical: How did the song fit with the film?" (McEvoy, 2023).
But it now seems normal and yet another tool in movie making for
mood setting.
In the music clip linked above, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My
Head" plays as Butch (Paul Newman) takes Etta (Katherine Ross)
for a ride on a bicycle. It is an uplifting song ("... it won't
be long til happiness steps up to greet me").
The song was written by the late great
Burt Bacharach (1928 - 2023) and one of his
best lyricists, Hal David. However, it was the Director of the
movie,
George Roy Hill, who decided to
include the song against the doubts of some people including
cast members like Redford (he remarked that the scene had no
rain in it, which is true). It went on to win the Oscar for the
Best Original Song in 1970. "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"
was inducted into the National Academy of Recording Arts and
Sciences Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.
Rainy Days and Mondays
Carpenters
US Billboard Hot 100 No. 2; 1971
(Carole King's "It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move" from
the album Tapestry kept it from No. 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF1sefvrN40
To my mind, there has never been a female singing voice which comes anywhere near Karen Carpenter's (1950 - 1983). Together with brother Richard (who arranged the music in their recordings) on piano (she on drums), they formed "Carpenters" (no "the"). They made it big in the music scene with their 1970 hit "(They Long To Be) Close To You" which was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Close your eyes and listen to Karen's voice in "I Wont Last a Day Without You".
"Rainy Days and Mondays"
was written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. The latter also
penned Carpenters earlier hit "We've
Only Just Begun" and the 1979 Oscar-nominated Muppets
song, "The
Rainbow Connection" which is sung by Kermit the Frog
as the movie opens.
Jim Henson
(1936 - 1990), Kermit's creator (and of the Muppets of
Sesame Street) died very untimely and quite incongruously from
blood poisoning. I take it to heart not only being a
microbiologist but also because my oldest grandson also nearly
succumbed to this condition when he was an 18-month old
(requiring open heart surgery to fix).
"Rainy Days and Mondays" foreshadowed the dark days ahead (1980s) for Karen who suffered
from anorexia (and probably died from it in 1983 while on the way to recovery).
"What I've got they used to call the blues, Nothin' is really wrong, Feelin' like I don't belong, Walkin' around, Some kind of lonely clown, Rainy days and Mondays always get me down"
Rest well, Karen.
You are always close as long as we have your singing.
Kentucky
Rain
Elvis Presley
US Billboard Hot 100 No. 16; 1970
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwXu3EWPGdg
This was one of Elvis' hits while on his comeback trail.
"With the rain in my shoes,
Searching for you in the cold Kentucky rain,
In the cold Kentucky rain"
Picture yourself walking through the rain, feeling sorry for
yourself, looking for something lost ....
I have . . . in the cold Kuchingy rain.
Elvis also released his version of "Early
Morning Rain" in 1972.
Elvis' sad solitary demise came only 7 years after he released "Kentucky Rain".
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
Creedence Clearwater Revival
US Billboard Hot 100 No. 8, 1971
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGIdttxqT1A
Bell-bottomed trousers;
long hair; the beginning of seeing things as an adult.
1968 to 1972 saw many things
happen which made thinking teenagers wonder about the world they
were going to grow up into: The assassinations of RFK, MLK,
student protests in the US (culminating in the Kent State
shootings) and in Paris. Then there was the May 13th incident in
KL as well. But there was great human achievement to base
optimism on as well (the first moon landing in July 1969).
"HYESTR" was sung many a time in school as it is not a difficult song in tune
and vocal range, and I learnt to play it on rhythm guitar.
Not a particularly sad song despite it being about
precipitation. Now a melancholy tune reminding me of long gone
days, golden-hued in memory like an old movie.
This CCR song was written by band member John Fogerty. Through a
1968 contract, CCR handed over publishing rights of the their
song catalog to the company which they were signed to (Fantasy
Records). Thus, the band did not benefit much or at all from
royalties from CCR songs until Fogerty regained ownership of the
catalog in 2023. All's well, that ends well.
This song followed on another CCR rain hit song "Who'll Stop the Rain" (1970) (US Billboard No. 2). It must rain a lot where they come from (San Francisco, California).