"The Day the Rains Came" or "Am Tag als der Regen kam" or "La pioggia cadrà" is an adaptation of the French song "Le jour où la pluie viendra". The latter is a
popular song released in 1957, composed and written by
Gilbert Bécaud
Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are " Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release ...
and
Pierre Delanoë
Pierre Delanoë (16 December 1918 – 27 December 2006), born Pierre Charles Marcel Napoléon Leroyer in Paris, France, was a French lyricist who wrote thousands of songs for dozens of singers, including Dalida, Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Pe ...
.
Bécaud's version reached #3 in
Wallonia
Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—al ...
, in a tandem ranking, and #20 in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
.
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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, an English version by
Jane Morgan went to number one in 1958. That version also reached #4 in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
and #7 in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
In US,
Raymond Lefèvre was first to release the song but only as instrumental under the English name. Lefèvre, Morgan and Dalida were tandemly ranked #14 (
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 advertis ...
) and #17 (
Cash Box), while Lefèvre's and Morgan's versions were marked as bestsellers on both charts (Dalida never recorded the song in English, only her French language original was released in US under the English name). "The day the rains came" also reached #2 on Billboard's
sheet music
Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, A ...
chart.
Many covers exist. In French by
Les Compagnons de la chanson,
Guylaine Guy, Nicole Félix,
Jane Morgan, Aïda Aznavour,
Claude Luter
Claude Luter (23 July 1923 – 6 October 2006) was a jazz clarinetist who doubled on soprano saxophone.
Luter was born and died in Paris. He began on trumpet, but switched to clarinet. He might be best known for being an accompanist to Sidne ...
,
Jean Bertola, Philippe Andrey etc. In Italian, as "La pioggia cadrà" with lirycs by
Mario Panzeri, by
Betty Curtis
Roberta Corti, better known by her stage name Betty Curtis (21 March 1936 – 15 June 2006), was an Italian singer active from 1957 to 2004.
Curtis grew up in the Zone 8 of Milan's borough Cagnola. She started singing in night clubs at an early ...
,
Anita Traversi
Anita Traversi (25 July 1937 – 25 September 1991) was a Swiss singer, best known for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1960 and 1964.
Early career
Born in Giubiasco, Traversi was encouraged by her father, a musician, and ...
,
Nilla Pizzi
Nilla Pizzi, stage name of Adionilla Pizzi (; 16 April 1919 – 12 March 2011), was an Italian singer and actress.
Born in Sant'Agata Bolognese, she was particularly famous in Italy during the 1950s and 1960s. She won the first edition of the ...
, , Dalida etc.
Dalida's version
Dalida's version was also an international success. She recorded it for the first time in 1957 and was among the first places in the rankings in France where the song was released on the A side of a 45 rpm maxi with "
Gondolier
The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull, ...
".
Also the song was a #1 hit in Germany and a major success of her career with more than 1,000,000 units sold worldwide.
On July 15, 1959, the German music magazine
Musikmarkt was published with Dalida on the cover. The magazine judged Dalida's hit as "a won battle for the cultivated, sophisticated hit".
[Uwe Lechner, ''Der Musikmarkt, 30 Jahre Singlehitparade'', 1989, S. 4.]
Dalida
Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...
was credited in 1984 as ''créatrice de la chanson'' − expression used in France for the original performer.
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day the Rains Came (song), The
1957 songs
1957 singles
1958 singles
1959 singles
French songs
German songs
Dalida songs
Gilbert Bécaud songs
Songs with music by Gilbert Bécaud
Songs written by Pierre Delanoë
Songs with lyrics by Ernst Bader
Jane Morgan songs
Songs written by Carl Sigman
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
London Records singles