"It Might as Well Rain Until September" is a 1962 song originally written for

Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-e ...

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

and

Gerry Goffin Gerald Goffin (February 11, 1939 – June 19, 2014) was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the List of Billboard number-one ...

. King recorded the demo version of the song and it became a hit for her. However, Vee's management baulked at releasing the song as a single, instead using it only as an album track. Bobby Vee recorded the song the same year for his 1963 Liberty album ''The Night Has a Thousand Eyes''.

Background

The song was written by

and

and intended for

, for whom they had already written the song "

Take Good Care of My Baby "Take Good Care of My Baby" is a song written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. The song was made famous by Bobby Vee, when it was released in 1961. Bobby Vee versions While searching for material for Bobby Vee to record, Vee's producer Snuff ...

", a number one hit in the United States in 1961, and which remains Vee's biggest hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. King recorded the demo version of the song and this version was released as a double A-side single with "Nobody's Perfect". Although she had recorded earlier for ABC-Paramount and Alpine Records, '.....September' was Carole King's first commercial success as a singer, having already had a number of hits as a songwriter. The recording was only ever intended as a demo, and as such there is no master tape, only an acetate. This is the reason why all digital releases of this recording are of inferior quality compared to other songs of this era.

Don Kirshner Donald Kirshner (April 17, 1934 – January 17, 2011) was an American music publisher, music consultant, rock music record producer, producer, talent manager, and songwriter. Dubbed "the Man with the Golden Ear" by Time (magazine), ''Time' ...

liked Carole King's version of "September" so much that, even after hearing Bobby Vee's version, he decided to release King's version as a single on the

Dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a Space (mathematics), mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any Point (geometry), point within it. Thus, a Line (geometry), lin ...

label. Carole King had two small children and did not have any interest in traveling the country to promote the record. Despite that, King was ultimately persuaded by Don Kirshner and Gerry Goffin to appear on

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

's ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

'', where she lip-synched to the record (as was almost always done on the show) and, unlike many other performers who were given good ratings, was given a terrible rating of a 42 out of 100 by the ''Bandstand'' kids. King was devastated by the very poor score, but the song still became popular. It later appeared on the album ''More American Graffiti''. It is also included on Carole King's 2005 live album '' The Living Room Tour'', on which it is performed as part of a medley with other songs she wrote with Gerry Goffin.

Song information

"It Might as Well Rain Until September" is a mid-tempo pop song in a similar style as many songs written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin at this time. Through the lyrics, the singer tells a former lover that the world does not appear beautiful to him or her no matter the circumstances as he/she cannot be with him/her. The song appeared on the soundtrack of

Michael Apted Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...

's '' Stardust''. It also appears in the low-budget Australian film ''

One Night Stand A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...

'' where it is sung by the two female leading characters in the final scene, as nuclear war envelops the world and many people of Sydney shelter in an underground station.

Charts

The single was released in 1962 and made it to number 22 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart in September of that year, appearing on the Hot 100 chart dated October 6, 1962 (chart dates are approximately one-and-a-half weeks ahead of their actual release dates). The recording was considerably more popular in the United Kingdom, peaking at number three in October 1962, the highest position of any Carole King recording in the British charts.

Other versions

, for whom the song was originally written, recorded the song for his 1963 album '' The Night Has a Thousand Eyes''. The song was later included on the compilation albums ''The Essential Bobby Vee'', ''Legendary Master Series: Bobby Vee'' and ''Best of''. *British singer Helen Shapiro covered the song for her 1964 album ''Helen Hits Out''. It later appeared on the compilation albums ''The Ultimate Helen Shapiro'' and ''The Very Best of Helen Shapiro''. *The song was covered by the 1960s studio project Marquis of Kensington and released as their third and final single. * Australian soft rock group,

Dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

, issued their version in 1973. *Canadian pop duo Gary and Dave had it as a hit in Canada in 1974. *Boy band

Child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

covered the song as a B-side for their 1978 single "

It's Only Make Believe "It's Only Make Believe" is a song written by drummer Jack Nance and Mississippi-born singer Conway Twitty, while both were touring across Ontario, Canada in 1958. The song was recorded on May 7 for MGM Records; produced by Jim Vienneau, it fe ...

". *

Susan Cowsill Susan Claire Cowsill (born May 20, 1959; Canton, Ohio) is a musician, vocalist and songwriter. The Cowsills Cowsill began her musical career with the Cowsills in 1967; she is the youngest member of the Cowsills and the only daughter of parent ...

recorded a version of this song, released as a single in 1976. *Swedish language versions, "Jag önskar att det alltid vore sommar" ("I wish it was always summer") with lyrics by Bengt Palmers and

Eleanor Bodel Eleanor Bodel (real name Bodil Ellinor Olsson) ( in Nacka, Sweden) is a Swedish pop singer who began performing in public in 1968 with the orchestra of Bruno Glenmark and from 1969 as a solo artist. Of her hits, ''Sunday Will Never Be the Same'' ...

, were recorded and released by

(1969),

Flamingokvintetten Flamingokvintetten is a Swedish dansband formed in Partille Partille () is a former urban area in the county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2 ...

(1982), Lisbet Jagedal & Pools orkester (1991),

Lotta Engbergs orkester Anna Charlotte "Lotta" Engberg (born Pedersen; 5 March 1963) is a Swedish singer. She represented Sweden in Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with " Boogaloo" after winning Melodifestivalen 1987. She also tried many times in Melodifestivalen in 19 ...

(1997), and Drifters (2008).

References

External links

Lyrics on caroleking.comSong information
{{authority control Carole King songs Songs with lyrics by Gerry Goffin Songs written by Carole King Bobby Vee songs 1962 singles Helen Shapiro songs Flamingokvintetten songs Drifters (Swedish band) songs 1962 songs Dimension Records singles