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"Who'll Stop the Rain" is a song written by
John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...
and originally recorded by
Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...
for their 1970 album ''
Cosmo's Factory ''Cosmo's Factory'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records in July 1970. Six of the album's eleven tracks were released as singles in 1970, and all of them charted in the top 5 o ...
''. Backed with "
Travelin' Band "Travelin' Band" is a song written by John Fogerty and originally recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was included on their 1970 album ''Cosmo's Factory''. Backed with "Who'll Stop the Rain", it was one of three double sided singles f ...
", it was one of three double-sided singles from that album to reach the top five on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart and the first of two to reach the No. 2 spot on the American charts, alongside " Lookin' Out My Back Door"/" Long As I Can See the Light". In 2004, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' ranked it No. 188 on its "
500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...
" list.


History

Lyrically, "Who'll Stop the Rain" breaks into three verses, with a historical, recent past, and present tense approach. All three verses allude to a sense of unending malaise, pondered by "good men through the ages", " Five Year Plans and
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
s/wrapped in golden chains", and the Woodstock generation. Musically, in contrast to the 1950s-Rock-inspired "Travelin' Band", "Who'll Stop the Rain" has more of an acoustic, folk-rock feel to it. Like many folk-rock songs, it starts off with a ringing acoustic guitar riff, though the backing throughout has more of a
roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...
sound than that heard on more standard folk-rock recordings. Interpreting the song in its time period (1970), and the resigned but somewhat angry feeling of the song, many see "Who'll Stop the Rain" as a thinly veiled protest against the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, with the final verse lyrics and its references to music, large crowds, rain, and crowds trying to keep warm being about the band's experience at the
Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
in August 1969. For his part, when asked by ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' about the meaning of the song's lyrics, John Fogerty was quoted as saying, In 2007 during a concert in Shelburne, Vermont, he said the following about the song: ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Bryan Wawzenek rated the lyrics of "Who'll Stop the Rain" as Fogerty's 3rd greatest, saying "It appears that he feels the efforts to solve widespread maladies are futile, whether it’s the intelligentsia, politicians or the Woodstock generation who are doing the fixing. It’s Fogerty’s most cleverly written allegory."


Other versions

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
occasionally performs the song. The song was a concert staple during his 1980-81 River Tour, as well as on the summer 2003 leg of the Rising Tour. Springsteen and the
E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...
opened with "Who'll Stop the Rain" whenever it was raining. When Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
in 1993, Springsteen performed the song with John Fogerty. The song has also been covered by
Rudy Rotta Rudy Rotta (Villadossola, 14 October 1950 – Verona, 3 July 2017) was a Swiss-Italian blues guitarist and vocalist. Biography Rodolfo "Rudy" Rotta was born in Villadossola, Italy, in 1950, and grew up in Lucerne, Switzerland where his family e ...
,
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
,
Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...
,
Courtney Jaye Courtney Jaye (born February 15, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter. Biography Courtney Jaye Goldberg was born on February 15, 1978, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and moved to Alpharetta, Georgia, when she was a freshman in high school. I ...
,
The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...
, and
Vince Neil Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961), best known by the stage name Vince Neil, is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and occasional rhythm guitarist of heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 forma ...
and was included on John Fogerty's 1998 live CD/DVD ''
Premonition A premonition is a feeling that some event will happen, typically a forewarning of something unwelcome. Premonition(s) or The Premonition may also refer to: Film and television * "Premonition" (''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''), an episode of ' ...
''. The
Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...
have also covered the song as a B-side to their single "
Local Boy in the Photograph "Local Boy in the Photograph" is the first single by rock band Stereophonics. The song is taken from their debut album, ''Word Gets Around'' and was released on 17 March 1997. The song reached number 51 in the UK Singles Chart. On 9 February 19 ...
".
Microdisney Microdisney were an Irish rock band formed in Cork in 1980. They were founded and led by songwriters Cathal Coughlan (keyboards, vocals) and Sean O'Hagan (guitar). Originally typeset as Micro Disney, the band had become Microdisney by the tim ...
performed the song live, frequently in 1984 and on at least one occasion in 1985. Their version of the song was rearranged in their style, at a faster tempo with additional instrumental parts. Usually the song had guitarist
Sean O'Hagan Sean O'Hagan (born 1959) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and arranger who leads the avant-pop band the High Llamas, which he founded in 1992. He is also known for being one half of the songwriting duo (with Cathal Coughlan) in Microdisney and f ...
performing vocals on it, but regular singer Cathal Coughlan sang on the 1985 version. Engelbert Humperdinck included "Who'll Stop the Rain" on his 2009 album ''A Taste of Country''. On Fogerty's 2013 album '' Wrote a Song for Everyone'', he re-recorded the song as a duet with
Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...
.
Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
recorded the song for the 2013 ''The Melting Pot'' album in the " Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences" compilation.
Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album '' Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerab ...
released a version of the song as a single in 2014, after his character, Lyle Chumley, sang a fragment of the song in the "
Force Majeure In contract law, (from Law French: 'overwhelming force', ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such ...
" episode of '' Under the Dome''. Bill Haley and the Comets recorded a version of this song on their album "Rock Around the Country". It was also recorded by Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks in 1986. In '86 they would have been called The Band but they paired up with Hawkins again for one album.


Use in media


Film

In 1978, the song was used in the film ''
Who'll Stop the Rain ''Who'll Stop the Rain'' is a 1978 American crime film directed by Karel Reisz and starring Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld, Michael Moriarty, and Anthony Zerbe. It was released by United Artists and produced by Herb Jaffe and Gabriel Katzka with She ...
''. The movie starred
Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...
as a Vietnam veteran. It was originally going to be called ''Dog Soldiers'' after the source novel, but when the producers got the rights to use the song, they changed the title to it. The song also appeared in the 1989 film ''
Powwow Highway ''Powwow Highway'' is a 1989 comedy-drama film from George Harrison’s Handmade Films Company, directed by Jonathan Wacks. Based on the novel ''Powwow Highway'' by David Seals, it features A Martinez, Gary Farmer, Joanelle Romero and Amanda Wy ...
''. Both the original song and a softer, slower cover version sung by
Courtney Jaye Courtney Jaye (born February 15, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter. Biography Courtney Jaye Goldberg was born on February 15, 1978, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and moved to Alpharetta, Georgia, when she was a freshman in high school. I ...
are included in the soundtrack of ''
December Boys ''December Boys'' is a 2007 Australian drama film directed by Rod Hardy and written by Marc Rosenberg and adapted from the 1963 novel of the same name by Michael Noonan. It was released on 14 September 2007 in the United Kingdom and the United ...
''. A clip of the song appears in the film '' The War''. The song was also included in the movie ''Philadelphia''. In 1990 it was also used in a third-season episode of ''Tour Of Duty'', a TV action-drama series that followed the fortunes of a U.S. Army platoon during the Vietnam War. The song features in
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his ...
's novel "Hear the Wind Sing" which was later made into a film.


Commercials

Creedence Clearwater Revival songs appeared in many films and commercials, in part because John Fogerty signed away legal control of his old recordings to Creedence's record label, Fantasy Records. Fogerty objected to what he regarded as a misuse of his music in an
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
interview:
Folks will remember ''
Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and ...
'' and that was a great movie, but they don't remember all the really poor movies that Fantasy Records stuck Creedence music into: car commercials, tire commercials. I'm remembering a paint thinner ad at one point (actually, it was Thompson's Water Seal), the song "Who'll Stop the Rain". Oh, boy. That's clever, isn't it?


Charts and certification


Weekly charts


Certifications and sales


References


External links

*
Lyrics of "Who'll Stop the Rain"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Who'll Stop The Rain (Song) 1970 singles American folk rock songs Creedence Clearwater Revival songs Fantasy Records singles Garth Brooks songs Song recordings produced by John Fogerty Songs about depression Songs about weather Songs written by John Fogerty