Title song of the 1952 film and subsequent stage musical
This article is about the 1929 song used in several films including the 1952 film of the same name. For the Simple Plan song, see Singing in the Rain (Simple Plan song). For the Loona song, see JinSoul.
The song is famously associated with the history of cinema, as it reached popularity during the transition from silent films to "talkies". Years later, the lyricist of "Singin' in the Rain", Arthur Freed conceived the idea of the film based on the back catalogs of songs written during the era by himself and Nacio Herb Brown. This resulted in a musical film of the same name, Singin' in the Rain (1952), which serves a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s. The performance by Gene Kelly dancing through puddles in a rainstorm garnered the song the third spot on the American Film Institute ranking of 100 Years...100 Songs.
The song has an unusual form: the 32-bar chorus, rather than being preceded by a verse and containing an internal bridge as was becoming standard at the time, opens the song and then is followed by a 24-bar verse that has the feeling of a bridge before the chorus repeats.
Singer Nick Lucas recorded Singing in the Rain in 1929 (one week after recording what would become the biggest hit of his career, Tiptoe Through the Tulips).[6]
British duo Bob and Alf Pearson recorded the song in 1929 at their first session.
"Singin' in the Rain" was performed in the 1930 film short Dogville Melody, presumably by Zion Myers and Jules White.
Valaida Snow recorded it in 1935 accompanied by Billy Mason And His Orchestra - London, Apr 26, 1935 (Parlophone (E)F-165 (CE-6953-1))
The song is sung by Dean Martin in a November 1950 episode of the variety show The Colgate Comedy Hour. He performs it while being drenched in water by comedy partner and co-host Jerry Lewis.
The song is best known today as the centerpiece of the musical filmSingin' in the Rain (1952), in which Gene Kelly memorably danced to the song while splashing through puddles during a rainstorm. The song is also performed during the opening credits of the film, and briefly near the end of the film by Debbie Reynolds.
The song was recorded in Buenos Aires for Odeon Records twice under the title "Cantando Bajo La Lluvia," by Francisco Canaro's orchestra and with the Spanish lyrics sung by Charlo, on December 23, 1929 (Catalog Number 16243 B, matrix number 5137)[7] and again on March 24, 1930 (Catalog Number 4631 B/LDB 78 B, matrix number 5283).[8] It was also recorded under the same title in 1936 by the Orquesta Tipica Victor, the RCA Victor in-house orchestra in Buenos Aires.
The song was also recorded by John Serry Sr. and his sextet ensemble in 1954 for RCA Victor records under the musical direction of Ben Selvin on an LP vinyl disc(See RCA Thesaurus).[9][10]
In 1960, Adam Faith recorded his own version of this song on his debut album Adam.
Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney recorded the song in 1961[12] for use on their radio show and it was subsequently included in the CD Bing & Rosie – The Crosby-Clooney Radio Sessions (2010).[13] Crosby also included the song in a medley on his album On the Happy Side (1962).
In 1971, Scottish folk rock-singer John Martyn did an acoustic folk jazz-version on his album Bless the Weather, where he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and sang several overdubbed backing vocals.
The Pasadena Roof Orchestra has covered the song on many occasions, including releasing it on The Best of the Pasadena Roof Orchestra album in 1973.
Sammy Davis Jr. gave the song a final US chart ride with a version widely played on easy listening stations (number 16 easy listening, 1974).
Leif Garrett released a version of the song on his 1979 album, Same Goes for You.[14]
The song was covered by Polish musician Zbigniew Wodecki in 1979.
Glenn Butcher covered this song on the Australian video ABC for Kids Video Hits.
The song was incorporated by Michael Kamen into his score for the 1988 film Die Hard, where it is most closely associated with the character of Theo (Clarence Gilyard).
Brazilian musician Maurício Pereira wrote a Portuguese-language version of the song, "Cantando num Toró", present in his 1995 debut album Na Tradição.
The song was covered in 2004 by Carmen Bradford in her Jazz album "Home With You"
In the film called Robots, when Fender says goodbye to Loretta with a blowing kiss, he happily sings a parody called "Singing in the Oil" which is to the tune of this song and dances around until he gets caught by a Sweeper.
In 2022, the song is an important plot device in the film Babylon. It first appears in a scene set in 1928 featuring a performance being filmed to showcase MGM's "more stars than there are in heaven" sung by the studio's contract players, and it then appears more prominently at the end of the film in a scene set in 1952 in a Hollywood movie theater playing the Gene Kelly feature in Singin' in the Rain.
"Singin' in the Rain" was remixed in 2005 by Mint Royale. It was released as a single in August 2005 after being featured in an advert for the VW Golf GTI,[16] peaking at No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart.
Three years later in 2008, due to the exposure of the song via the performance of then-unknown dancer George Sampson on the reality TV series Britain's Got Talent, the track went to No. 1 on the iTunes Top 100 in the UK in 2008. It re-entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 28 on June 1, 2008, and climbed to No. 1 the next week, selling 45,987 copies, knocking Rihanna's "Take a Bow" down to the Number 2 spot.
In 1982, Dutch pop singer Taco released a version of it as his second single from After Eight, which peaked at No. 49 in Germany, No. 46 in Canada and No. 98 in the UK.[25][26][27]
1986 – In the film Legal Eagles, Robert Redford "sings in the rain" watching the movie on TV during a sleepless night.
1989 – In the Woody Allen film Crimes and Misdemeanors, Cliff (Allen) and Halley (Mia Farrow) watch Singin' in the Rain at Cliff's apartment. Cliff claims to watch the film "every few months to keep my spirits up".
1990 – The song is referenced in the Terry Pratchett novel Moving Pictures. As people are infected with the dangerous idea of the clicks (movies), Mr. Dibbler, purveyor of sausages-inna-bun, dances down a wet and rainy road and swings off light poles, much to the bemusement of the city Watch.
1995 – The song was featured on the TV series Friends in season 2, episode 4, "The One with Phoebe's Husband", when Ross dances down the street the morning after having sex with Julie.
2001 – The song is often sung by Vadivelu's character "Steve Waugh" in the film Manadhai Thirudivittai to irritate Vivek's character. This inspired numerous memes and parodies in other Kollywood films after its release. The actor re-enacted the song scene briefly in the 2017 film Mersal.
2005 – A parody of the number "Singin' in the Rain" was featured in the animated film Robots where Fender (Robin Williams) breaks out singing and dancing after dropping off a date. Instead of 'rain' he says 'oil' to fit the film's theme, and emulates Gene Kelly's iconic swinging on the lamppost.
2005 – The "Singin' in the Rain" sequence was featured in a Volkswagen Golf commercial, with Gene Kelly seen breakdancing in the street. Also featured was Mint Royale's version of the song accompanying the commercial.
2019 – The song is used as the framing device in the season 2 episode "A Happy Refrain" of Seth MacFarlane's TV series The Orville.
2022 – The song appears twice in the 2022 comedy-drama Babylon, first as a performance being filmed in 1928 to showcase MGM's "more stars than there are in heaven" sung by the studio's contract players, and most prominently at the end of the film in a scene set in 1952 in a Hollywood movie theater playing the Gene Kelly feature.
2023 – The song and the original movie clip appear as the central set piece of the third episode of the Spanish TV series La Mesías, also titled "Cantando bajo la lluvia" ("Singin' in the Rain"), in which a young Enric (Biel Rossell Pelfort) discovers the magic of cinema through it, after having been locked in a house for a decade.
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