Mandolin Rain
| "Mandolin Rain" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Bruce Hornsby and the Range | ||||
| from the album The Way It Is | ||||
| B-side | "The Red Plains" | |||
| Released | January 1987 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Length |
5:19 (Album version) 3:50 (Single version) | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer(s) |
Bruce Hornsby John Hornsby | |||
| Producer(s) |
Bruce Hornsby Elliot Scheiner | |||
| Bruce Hornsby and the Range singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Mandolin Rain" is the third track from The Way It Is, the debut album for Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The song, released in late 1986, was a #4 hit single for the band in March 1987, following on the success of their previous single, the #1 hit and title track of their debut album, "The Way It Is". It also reached #1 on the adult contemporary chart for three weeks,[1] and #2 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for two weeks, also in early 1987. The song even reached the Top 40 on the Country chart, hitting number 38.
The song was co-written by Bruce Hornsby and his brother John and featured Range member David Mansfield on the title instrument. It appears to be partly inspired by the song "You Don't Miss Your Water" by William Bell due to it employing the same hook (heard at the beginning of both songs), and by a remarkably similar swing feel (albeit with different chords).
In popular culture
The song was used in the 2009 movie World's Greatest Dad, with Robin Williams. Hornsby made a cameo appearance in the film and played an alternate acoustic version of the song, which had been previously arranged but never released until the film's soundtrack.
Charts
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 14 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Singles | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Singles | 49 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles[2] | 38 |
| UK Singles Chart | 70 |
Sources
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 118.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
| Preceded by "You Got It All" by The Jets |
Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single March 21, 1987 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship |