"Rhythm of the Rain" is a song performed by The Cascades, released in November 1962. It was written by Cascades band member John Claude Gummoe. On March 9, 1963, it rose to number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and spent two weeks at number 1 on ''

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 ...

''s

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart. ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the number 4 song of 1963. In March 1963, the song was a top 5 hit in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and, in May that same year, was a number 1 single in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In Australia it rose to number 2. In Canada, the song was on the

CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart was a ranking of top 30 (and, until August 1968, the top 50) songs on Toronto, Ontario radio station CHUM AM, from 1957 to 1986, and was the longest-running Top 40 chart in the world produced by an individual radio station. On Janua ...

for a total of 12 weeks and reached number 1 in March 1963. In 1999 BMI listed the song as the 9th most performed song on radio/TV in the 20th century.Top 100 Songs of the Century
Retrieved September 21, 2011 The Cascades' recording was used in the soundtrack of the 1979 film ''

Quadrophenia ''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the two previous being the "mini-opera" song " A Quick One, While ...

'', and included in its

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

. The song arrangement features distinctive use of a

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

played by arranger,

Perry Botkin Jr. Perry Botkin Jr. (April 16, 1933 – January 18, 2021) was an American composer, producer, arranger, and musician. The tune "Nadia's Theme", composed by Botkin and Barry De Vorzon, peaked at No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1976 and became ...

The sound of rain and thunder are heard at the beginning and at the end of the song.

Theme

The lyrics are sung by a man whose lover has left him; the rain falling reminds him 'what a fool' he has been. He rhetorically asks the rain for answers, but ultimately he wishes it would 'go away' and let him cry alone.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sylvie Vartan version (in French)

The song was adapted into

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

(under the title "En écoutant la pluie", meaning "Listening to the Rain") by Richard Anthony. It was recorded by

Sylvie Vartan Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian; hy, Սիլվի Ժորժ Վարդանյան. on 15 August 1944) is an Armenian-Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. ...

, who released it as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1963. According to the charts published by the U.S. magazine ''

'' (in its "Hits of the World" section), the song "En écoutant la pluie" reached number one in France.

Track listings

7-inch single RCA Victor 45.277 (1963, France) : A. "En écoutant la pluie" (''Rhythm of the Rain'') : B. "Jamais" (''Late Date Baby'') 7-inch EP ''Sylvie à l'Olympia'' RCA 86.007 (1963, France) : A1. "En écoutant la pluie" : A2. "Jamais" : B1. "Avec moi" : B2. "Mon ami"

Charts

Other charting versions

*Dutch teen idol

Rob de Nijs Rob de Nijs (born 26 December 1942) is a Dutch singer and actor, active since the 1960s. Biography 1962–1968 De Nijs, backed by The Lords, won a talent-contest in 1962 and released his first single in 1962, " Ritme van de Regen". In 1965 D ...

covered the song in 1963 as "Ritme van de regen". Though originally a

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, the song kick started his career and remains popular today. *Brazilian singer Demétrius (1942-2019) released a version of the song in Portuguese in 1964 as "O Ritmo Da Chuva". * Gary Lewis & the Playboys released a version of the song in 1969 that reached No. 63 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. *Pat Roberts released a version of the song in 1972 that reached No. 34 on the

Country chart Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

. *

Jacky Ward Jacky Ward (born November 18, 1942, Groveton, Texas, United States) is an American country music artist. He is popularly known worldwide for his 1977 hit single " Fools Fall in Love". Between 1972 and 1982, he released four albums with Mercury ...

released a version of the song in 1978 that reached No. 11 on the

. *

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

released a version of the song in 1984 that reached No. 37 on the

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

. *

Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his 1970s and 1980s songs, including "Longer" (1979), "Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and " ...

released a version of the song in 1990 that reached No. 3 on the

. *

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 mi ...

also recorded a version of the song for his 1990 album '' Between the Lines'', and released it as the fourth single on 20 August 1990. It reached number nine on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, number six in Ireland, number 14 in the Flanders part of Belgium, number 25 in Finland, number 38 in Germany and number 44 in Australia. Reviewing the single, David Giles of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' said that "

SAW A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

have managed to capture some of the original charm, without damaging onovan'schances of maintaining the flow of hits". Donovan re-recorded the song for his 2008 album '' Let It Be Me''.

References

External links

John Gummoe's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhythm Of The Rain 1962 songs 1962 singles 1963 singles 1972 singles 1978 singles 1984 singles 1990 singles The Cascades (band) songs Sylvie Vartan songs Gary Lewis & the Playboys songs Jacky Ward songs Neil Sedaka songs Dan Fogelberg songs Jason Donovan songs Jan and Dean songs Chris de Burgh songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Valiant Records singles RCA Victor singles Mercury Records singles MCA Records singles Columbia Records singles Torch songs Songs about weather