“Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain”

It’s January in Columbus and as I write this it is been gray or rainy for what seems like the 20th consecutive day. ( I think I saw the sun this morning but I’m not sure as I may have forgotten what it looks like.) So to avoid having to blog about the new post-Trumpian world of “alternate facts”; “3-5 Million illegal votes” etc. etc., I thought it appropriate to blog about my favorite rain or stormy weather songs. To qualify for my list, the song must mention rain or stormy weather in the title. Also, I chose only one song per artist. So here is my list of my 30 favorites of the 1960s and 1970s in chronological order by first chart date. See if you remember any/all of these:

1. “Raindrops” – Dee Clark May 1961 – “It must be raindrops, so many raindrops, it feels like raindrops falling from my eyes”
2. “Cryin in the Rain” – Everly Brothers Jan. 1962 – “I’ll do my cryin in the rain”.
3. “Rhythm of the Rain”–Cascades Jan. 1963 –“Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain, pitter, patter…Rain please tell me now does that seem fair, for her to steal my heart away when she don’t care”
4. “Don’t let the Rain Come Down” – Serendipity Singers Feb. 1964 –“My roof’s got a hole in it and I might drown”
5. “ Walking in the Rain” – Ronettes – Oct. 1964 “And I’ll be certain he’s my guy, by the things he likes to do… like walking in the rain”
6. “Baby the Rain Must Fall” – Glen Yarborough Mar. 1965 “Wherever my heart must lead me, baby I must go”
7. “Lightin’ Strikes” – Lou Christie – Dec. 1965 – “When I see lips beggin to be kissed, I can’t stop…Lightning striking again”. Lou couldn’t get enough of rain songs, as his follow up hit in the spring of 1966 was “Rhapsody in the Rain”.
8. “Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35” – Bob Dylan – Apr. 1966 “Everybody must get stoned” – A “rainy’ song with neither a mention of “rain”, or any part of it’s title in the lyrics.
9. “ Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall” – Simon and Garfunkel – May 1966 “So I continue to pretend, my life will never end, and flowers never bend with the rainfall”.
10. “Rain” The Beatles – June 1966 “Rain, I don’t mind. Shine. The weather’s fine.”
11. “Rain on the Roof”- Lovin Spoonful – Oct. 1966 “Me and you and rain on the roof, caught up in a summer shower, maybe it will last for hours, waiting out the sun”
12. “Tell it to the Rain” – Four Seasons – Dec. 1966 – “Tell it to the rain, and the stars that shine above, that it is me you’re thinking of, and I’m your love.”
13. “Don’t Let the Rain Come Down on Me” – The Critters – July 1967 –“Don’t let it wash away my memories”
14. “Summer Rain” – Johnny Rivers – Nov. 1967 – “Summer rain taps on my window…” 
15. “ The Rain, the Park, and the Other Things” – The Cowsills – Dec. 1967 – “I saw her sitting in the rain. Raindrops falling on her…Flowers in her hair, flowers everywhere, I love the flower girl.”
16. “ I Wish it Would Rain” – Temptations – Jan. 1968 – “Sunshine, blue skies please go away…I know to you it might sound strange, but I wish it would rain”.
17. “Stormy” – Classics IV – Oct. 1968 – “ All of a sudden that old rain’s falling down, and my world is cloudy and gray. You’ve gone away. Oh stormy, bring back that sunny day.”
18. “Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head” B.J. Thomas – Nov. 1969 “But there is one thing I know, the blues they send to meet me, won’t defeat me.” I’ll admit I tired of this song, because of its excessive airplay. But any song featured in the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” has to be on the list!
19. “Who’ll Stop the Rain”- Creedence Clearwater Revival- Jan. 1970 “And I wonder, still I wonder, who’ll stop the rain”. CCR also had another rain song, which was nearly as good. “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”
20. “ Rainy Night in Georgia”- Brook Benton – Jan. 1970 “Heavy rain falling, seems I hear your voice calling ‘it’ s alright’ “
21. “ Kentucky Rain” – Elvis Presley – Feb. 1970 – “So I’m walking in the rain, on this lonely Kentucky back road…Kentucky rain keeps pouring down.”  
22. “Fire and Rain” – James Taylor – Sep. 1970 “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain. I’ve seen sunny days I thought would never end…but I always thought I would see you one more time again”
23. “Rainy Days and Mondays” – The Carpenters – May 1971 “Hanging around, nothing to do but frown, rainy days and Mondays always get me down”
24. “Here Comes that Rainy Day Feeling Again” – The Fortunes May 1971 “ And soon my tears will be falling like rain”
25. “Riders on the Storm” – The Doors – July 1971 – “Riders on the storm…into this world were thrown like a dog without a bone, an actor out alone…. There’s a killer on the road, his brain is squirming like a toad…if you give this man a ride, sweet memory will die….” Ironically, this song first hit the top 100 on July 3, 1971 the day Jim Morrison died. It was also the Doors last successful single.
26. “ In the Rain” – The Dramatics – Feb. 1972 – “I’m gonna go outside… in the rain. It may sound crazy.”
27. “ Let it Rain” – Eric Clapton – Sep. 1972 – “Let it rain, let your love rain down on me”
28. “It Never Rains in Southern California” – Albert Hammond – Oct. 1972 “It never rains in California, but girl don’t they warn you, it pours, man it pours”
29. “Love Reign O’er Me” – The Who – Dec. 1973 – “Only love can make it rain, like a sweat of lovebirds laying in the fields. Love rain on me.” – While this song doesn’t have rain or storms in the title, I made exception because the title is used interchangeably as “love rain over me” in the song. And like several others on the list the song begins with a rainstorm.
30. “Fool in the Rain” – Led Zeppelin Dec. 1979 “And the storm that I thought would blow over, clouds the light of the love that I found, found” Led Zeppelin also recorded “The Rain Song”.

Honorable Mention: “It’s Raining Again” – Supertramp

*****************

So what are your favorites/ what have I missed?