"Kentucky Rain" is a 1970 song written by

Eddie Rabbitt Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as " Kentucky Rai ...

and Dick Heard and recorded by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

. It was recorded at

American Sound Studio The American Sound Studio was a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee which operated from 1964 to 1972. Founded by Chips Moman, the studio at 827 Thomas Street came to be known as American North, and the studio at 2272 Deadrick Street c ...

and features then session pianist

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

. Other musicians on the record include Bobby Wood on piano,

Bobby Emmons Bobby Gene Emmons (February 19, 1943 – February 23, 2015) was an American keyboard player and songwriter. He was an active session musician in Memphis, Tennessee, and was the keyboardist of The Memphis Boys, playing keyboards on tracks by ...

on organ,

Reggie Young Reggie Grimes Young Jr. (December 12, 1936 – January 17, 2019) was an American musician who was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studio house band, The Memphis Boys, and was a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with ...

on guitar,

Tommy Cogbill Thomas Clark Cogbill (April 8, 1932 – December 7, 1982) was an American bassist, guitarist and record producer known for his work in R&B, soul and country music. Life and career Cogbill was born in Johnson Grove, Tennessee. He was a high ...

on bass and

Gene Chrisman The American Sound Studio was a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee which operated from 1964 to 1972. Founded by Chips Moman, the studio at 827 Thomas Street came to be known as American North, and the studio at 2272 Deadrick Street c ...

on drums. The song and session was produced by Felton Jarvis (RCA-Victor) and Chips Moman (American Sound Studio of Memphis). It was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile m ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

, signifying United States sales of more than a million copies.

Background

"Kentucky Rain" was first recorded by

. The single peaked at #16 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart. Released as a single on January 29, 1970, featuring "My Little Friend" as the B side, "Kentucky Rain" was one of the decade's first hits for Presley. Its first appearance on an album was in the August 1970 compilation package '' Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits Vol. 1'' (LPM-6401). While the track does appear on the 2000 rerelease of '' From Elvis in Memphis'', it was not included on the original 1969 album. During Presley's February 1970 engagement, he performed it some sixteen times, introducing it as a new song "out about a week." Live versions are available on the box sets '' Elvis Aaron Presley'' and '' Live in Las Vegas''. The song is included on the CD ''Elvis with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: The Wonder of You'' (2016). It was published by Elvis Presley Music, Inc. and S-P-R Music Corporation. The lyrics tell the story of an anxious lover as he walks and hitchhikes through the "cold Kentucky rain" in search of his missing love. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA in March, 1992.

Charts

The single peaked at #12 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100 and #16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached #6 in Canada, #21 in the UK, and #7 in Australia.

Chart performance

Cover versions

*Songwriter Eddie Rabbitt released his own version of the song in 1978 for his,

Variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individual ...

LP.

References

{{Authority control 1970s ballads Elvis Presley songs RCA Records singles 1970 singles Songs written by Eddie Rabbitt Song recordings produced by Chips Moman Songs about Kentucky Country ballads