10 Great R&B ‘Rain’ Songs
While scrolling through social media, I came across a post from author and former Ole Miss journalism professor Joe Atkins. It was a YouTube link to Dee Clark’s 1961 hit “Raindrops.” A versatile soul singer with an expressive tenor, Clark had a string of top 40 hits in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. “Raindrops” was the biggest smash of them all, peaking at #2 on the pop charts and #3 on the R&B charts. Atkins, who wrote a biography on Harry Dean Stanton and chatted with 360°Sound about the actor’s musical legacy, wrote that “Raindrops” was perhaps his favorite song of all time.
Atkins’s post got me thinking that there are a bunch of classic R&B songs about rain – hits from the Ronettes, the Temptations, and the Dramatics immediately sprung to mind. I did some research, and the result is this list of 10 rain songs that span 55 years of R&B history. All that was required for inclusion was the R&B song have “rain” in both the title and lyrics. Consider this playlist for a rainy day, and please let me know if I left off one of your favorite soulful songs about precipitation.
The Ronettes – “Walking in the Rain”
Songwriters: Barry Mann, Phil Spector, and Cynthia Weil
Released: 1964
From the album Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes
The Temptations – “I Wish It Would Rain”
Songwriters: Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, and Rodger Penzabene
Released: 1967
From the album The Temptations Wish It Would Rain
The Dramatics – “In The Rain”
Songwriter: Tony Hester
Released: 1972
From the album Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get
Ann Peebles – “I Can’t Stand the Rain”
Songwriters: Ann Peebles, Don Bryant, and Bernard “Bernie” Miller
Released: 1973
From the album I Can’t Stand the Rain
Loose Ends – “You Can’t Stop The Rain”
Songwriters: Jane Eugene, Carl McIntosh, and Steve Nichol
Released: 1985
From the album So Where Are You?
Oran “Juice” Jones – “The Rain”
Songwriter: Vincent Bell
Released: 1986
From the album Juice
Soul For Real – “Candy Rain”
Songwriters: Jean-Claude Olivier, Samuel Barnes, Heavy D, and Terri Robinson
Released: 1994
From the album Candy Rain
SWV – “Rain”
Songwriters: Brian Alexander Morgan and Jaco Pastorius
Released: 1997
From the album Release Some Tension
Ashanti – “Rain On Me”
Songwriters: Ashanti Douglas, Irving Lorenzo, Andre Parker, Burt Bacharach, and Hal David
Released: 2003
From the album Chapter II
Solange – “Sound of Rain”
Songwriter: Solange Knowles
Released: 2019
From the album When I Get Home
BONUS TRACK! One more applicable R&B tune to accompany all the rain songs…
