Singin' in the Rain (song)

Gene Kelly performing the song in the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain.

"Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929.

The song "Singin' In the Rain" is a centerpiece of the musical film of the same name, Singin' in the Rain (1952). It is unclear exactly when the song was written; it has been claimed that the song was performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as No. 3 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.

Song form

The song has an unusual form: the 32-bar chorus, rather than being preceded by a verse and containing an internal bridge as was becoming standard at the time, opens the song and then is followed by a 24-bar verse that has the feeling of a bridge before the chorus repeats.

Covers

"Singin' in the Rain" was first performed by Doris Eaton Travis in the 1929 revue The Hollywood Music Box Revue.^[1] The song became a hit and was recorded by a number of artists, notably Cliff Edwards, who also performed the number with the Brox Sisters in the early MGM musical The Hollywood Revue of 1929. B.A. Rolfe and his Lucky Strike Orchestra recorded the song possibly as early as 1928 but perhaps 1929.^[2] The song was performed by Annette Hanshaw in her album Volume 6, on film by Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily (1932), by Judy Garland in Little Nellie Kelly (1940), and as background music at the beginning of MGM's The Divorcee (1930) starring Norma Shearer.

• The song is known today as the centerpiece of the musical film Singin' in the Rain (1952), in which Gene Kelly memorably danced to the song while splashing through puddles during a rainstorm. The song is also performed during the opening credits of the film.
• The song was recorded in Buenos Aires for Odeon Records in 1930 under the title "Cantando Bajo La Lluvia," by Francisco Canaro's orchestra and with the Spanish lyrics sung by Charlo. It was also recorded under the same title in 1936 by the Orquesta Tipica Victor, the RCA Victor in-house orchestra in Buenos Aires.
• The song was also recorded by John Serry, Sr. and his sextet ensemble in 1954 for RCA Victor records under the musical direction of Ben Selvin on an LP vinyl disc.
• In 1960, Adam Faith recorded his own version of this song on his début album Adam.
• In 1971, Scottish folk rock-singer John Martyn did an acoustic folk jazz-version on his album Bless the Weather, where he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and sang several overdubbed backing vocals.
• The Pasadena Roof Orchestra has covered the song on many different occasions, including releasing it on The Best of the Pasadena Roof Orchestra album in 1973.
• The song was subsequently ad-libbed by Malcolm McDowell in Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange, in which his character sang it while raping a woman. The Gene Kelly version of the song is also played over the closing credits. Kubrick bought the rights to this song immediately after filming this scene.
• The song is covered by Cary Grant's character, Roger Thornhill, whistling in the shower, in Alfred Hitchcock's film North by Northwest.
• Sammy Davis, Jr. gave the song a final US chart ride with a version widely played on easy listening stations (number 16 easy listening, 1974).
• Glenn Butcher covered this song on the Australian video ABC for Kids Video Hits.
• The song was incorporated by Michael Kamen into his score for the 1988 film Die Hard, where it is most closely associated with the character of Theo (Clarence Gilyard).
• British jazz/pop singer Jamie Cullum covered the song on his 2003 album Twentysomething.
• The song was covered in 2004 by Carmen Bradford in her Jazz album "Home With You"
• In the film called Robots, when Fender says goodbye to Loretta with a blowing kiss, he happily sings a parody called "Singing In The Oil" which is to the tune of this song and dances around until he gets caught by a Sweeper.
• A version performed by the UK comedy partnership Morecambe and Wise was ranked at the top of a 2007 poll of their Greatest Moments.
• A version was also performed by Jheena Lodwick in 2006, on her album titled "Singing in the rain".
• In 2009 the song was performed by Seth MacFarlane at The Proms.^[3]
• An instrumental version of this song is played in Planet 51 where the space probe Rover dances happily Gene Kelly style when he sees raining rocks.
• In 2009 and 2010 the song was performed by South-Korean K-pop group Girls' Generation on their Into the New World tour
• In 2010, the song was sung on FOX series Glee in a mash-up with Rihanna's "Umbrella" featuring Gwyneth Paltrow.
• There is a jazz instrumental by Sonny Stitt on his 1958 album Sonny Stitt Plays Jimmy Giuffre Arrangements.
• There is a jazz vocal rendition by Joe Williams on his 1984 album Then and Now.

Mint Royale version

"Singin' in the Rain"
Single by Mint Royale
from the album See You in the Morning and Pop Is...
Released	August 22, 2005 (UK)
Format	CD single, 12" vinyl, digital download
Recorded	2005
Genre	Electronica, house
Length	2:04 (short radio edit) 3:26 (Pop Is... album version) 2:47 (See You in the Morning album version)
Label	Faith & Hope, Direction Records
Writer(s)	Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed
Producer(s)	Mint Royale
Mint Royale singles chronology
"Wait for You" (2005) "Singin' in the Rain" (2005/2008) "The Effect on Me" (2005)

"Singin' in the Rain" was remixed in 2005 by Mint Royale. It was released as a single in August 2005 after being featured in an advert for the Volkswagen Golf,^[4] peaking at No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart.

Three years later in 2008, due to the exposure of the song via the performance of then-unknown dancer George Sampson on the reality TV series Britain's Got Talent, the track went to No. 1 on the iTunes Top 100 in the UK in 2008. It re-entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 28 on 1 June 2008 and climbed to No. 1 the next week, selling 45,987 copies, knocking Rihanna's "Take a Bow" down to the Number 2 spot.

Sheila B. Devotion version

A 1978 disco version of Singin' in the Rain by the French pop singer Sheila B. Devotion made No. 3 in the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles^[5] and the Netherlands Top 100,^[6] No. 4 on the Nationale Hitparade,^[7] No. 11 on the German^[8] and UK Singles Chart,^[9] No. 2 on the Swedish Singles Chart,^[10] No. 3 on the Italian Singles Chart^[11] and No. 30 on the Hot Dance Club Songs.^[12]

Taco version

In 2010, Dutch pop singer Taco released a version of it as his second single from After Eight, which peaked at No. 49 in Germany, No. 46 in Canada and No. 98 in the UK.^[13][14][15]

Selected appearances in media

Charts

References

• The Ship From Shanghai. TCM. 2 Jan. 2014. Television.