"Raindrops" is a 1961 song by American R&B

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

Dee Clark Dee Clark (November 7, 1938 – December 7, 1990) was an American soul singer best known for a string of R&B and pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the song " Raindrops", which became a million-seller in the United States in 1 ...

, and was released in April of that same year.

Background

The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

is about a man who tries to convince himself that the tears he is crying since his lover's departure are raindrops since "a man ain't supposed to cry." Clark was reportedly inspired to write the song after a late night drive through a heavy rainstorm. Accordingly, the opening and closing of the song both feature heavy rain and thunder sound effects, with the closing augmented by Clark's powerful, swooping falsetto. Musicians on the record included Al Duncan on drums, Quinn Wilson on bass, Earl Skarritt on electric guitar and Phil Upchurch on acoustic guitar, plus a string section. The song was recorded in a three hour session at

Universal Recording Corporation Universal Recording Corporation was a recording studio in Chicago founded by Bill Putnam, Sr. for the purpose of investigating new recording techniques and the development of specialized recording equipment. Universal Recording was seminal ...

in Chicago, with Bruce Swedien as engineer.

Chart performance

The song peaked at #2 on the Hot 100, behind Quarter to Three by Gary U.S. Bonds. On other US charts, "Raindrops" peaked at #3 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the ninth most popular song of the year for 1961.

Cover Versions

*In 1966,

Jan & Dean Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...

covered the song on their album, ''Save For A Rainy Day''. *In 1974,

Narvel Felts Albert Narvel Felts (born November 11, 1938) is an American country music and rockabilly singer. Known for his soaring tenor and high falsetto, Felts enjoyed his greatest success during the 1970s, most famously 1975's "Reconsider Me". Career H ...

had a Top 40 country hit with his version. *Other artists to record the song included

Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include " Candida", " Knock Thre ...

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

References

External links

* 1961 singles Rhythm and blues songs Vee-Jay Records singles 1961 songs Songs about loneliness Songs written by Dee Clark Jan and Dean songs Narvel Felts songs {{1960s-single-stub