"Soon It's Gonna Rain" is a song from the musical comedy ''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

'', with lyrics written by Tom Jones, and music composed by

Harvey Schmidt Harvey Lester Schmidt (September 12, 1929 – February 28, 2018) was an American composer for musical theatre and illustrator. He was best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, ''The Fantasticks'', which ran off ...

Background

The song was first sung by

Rita Gardner Rita Gardner ( Schier; October 23, 1934 – September 24, 2022) was an American actress and singer. Career Gardner made her stage debut Off-Broadway in Jerry Herman's musical review ''Nightcap'' (1958) before her breakout turn as Luisa in the ...

and

Kenneth Nelson Kenneth Nelson (March 24, 1930 – October 7, 1993) was an American actor. Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Nelson appeared in several television series in the late 1940s, ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'' and ''The Aldrich Family'' am ...

in the original

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production of ''

''. Other performers from the long-running Off-Broadway production of the show to sing the song include

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

finalist

Anthony Fedorov Anatoliy Vladimirovich "Anthony" Fedorov (russian: link=no, Анатолий Владимирович Фёдоров; born May 4, 1985) is an American singer and actor who is former lead singer for the Chicago band 7th Heaven. He rose to fame as ...

and winner of the thirteenth season of

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

, Nick Spangler. In the

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...

broadcast on October 18, 1964, the song was performed by John Davidson and Susan Watson.

We Five We Five was a 1960s folk rock musical group based in San Francisco, California. Their best-known hit was their 1965 remake of Ian & Sylvia's " You Were on My Mind", which reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and ...

did a version of the song on their 1969 album, ''The Return of We Five.'' In the 1995 film version of ''

'', the song was performed by

Joey McIntyre Joseph Mulrey McIntyre (born December 31, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is best known as the youngest member of the pioneering boy band, New Kids on the Block. He has sold over one million records worldwide as a solo a ...

and

Jean Louisa Kelly Jean Louisa Kelly (born March 9, 1972) is an American actress and singer. After making her film debut as Tia Russell in '' Uncle Buck'' (1989) alongside John Candy, she appeared in a wide range of other films including '' The Fantasticks'' (1 ...

Other Recordings

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

recorded the song for her debut solo album ''

The Barbra Streisand Album ''The Barbra Streisand Album'' is the debut album by Barbra Streisand, released February 25, 1963, on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 2007 in mono and CS 8807 in stereo. It peaked at #8 on the Billboard pop albums chart, and has been certified a g ...

'' in 1963. *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

- included on his album '' The Many Moods of Tony'' (1964) *The Serendipity Singers. Included on their album “The Many Sides of the Serendipity Singers”. 1964 *

Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusicDearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City over ...

recorded the song for her 1967 album ''Soon It's Gonna Rain''. *

Julie London Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...

recorded the song for her 1968 album '' Easy Does It''. *For his album ''Kidults'' (2001),

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

and

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

made a recording of the song. *

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

also recorded the song; it appeared on the 2002 album ''Live and Rare''. *

The Singers Unlimited The Singers Unlimited was a four-part jazz vocal group formed by Gene Puerling in 1971. The group included Len Dresslar (better known as the Jolly Green Giant in General Mills commercials), Bonnie Herman, and Don Shelton. History Gene Puerlin ...

recorded the song in 1973 on the album ''Four of Us''.

References

{{Authority control Songs from musicals Barbra Streisand songs We Five songs Songs with music by Harvey Schmidt 1960 songs