"Rhythm of the Rain" is a song performed by the Cascades, released in November 1962 in the US and on January 25, 1963 in the UK. It was written by Cascades band member John Claude Gummoe. On March 9, 1963, it rose to number 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and spent two weeks at number 1 on ''

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 ...

''s

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart. ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the number 4 song of 1963. In March 1963, the song was a top 5 hit 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and, in May that same year, was a number 1 single in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In Australia it rose to number 2. In Canada, the song was on the

CHUM Chart The CHUM Chart is a long-running Canadian hit parade countdown radio show, originally aired on Toronto radio station CHUM AM then later revived on its sister station CHUM-FM. It consisted of 50 top tunes from May 1957 to July 1968, but in Augus ...

for a total of 12 weeks and reached number 1 in February 1963. In 1999 BMI listed the song as the 9th most performed song on radio/TV in the 20th century.Top 100 Songs of the Century
Retrieved September 21, 2011 The Cascades' recording was used in the soundtrack of the 1979 film ''

Quadrophenia ''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the previous two being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While ...

'', and included in its

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

. The song arrangement features distinctive use of a

celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...

played by arranger, Perry Botkin Jr. Other musicians on the record include Wrecking Crew members

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

on drums,

Carol Kaye Carol Kaye (née Smith; born March 24, 1935) is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 65 years. Kaye began play ...

on bass, and

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

on guitar. The sound of rain and thunder are heard at the beginning and at the end of the song.

Theme

The lyrics are sung by a man whose lover has left him; the rain falling reminds him 'what a fool' he has been. He rhetorically asks the rain for answers, but ultimately he wishes it would 'go away' and let him cry alone.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sylvie Vartan version (in French)

The song was adapted into

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

(under the title "En écoutant la pluie", meaning "Listening to the Rain") by Richard Anthony. It was recorded by

Sylvie Vartan Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian on 15 August 1944) is a Bulgarians in France, Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. Her performances often featured ela ...

, who released it as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in April 1963 as the lead off of her second studio album, ''

Twiste et chante ''Twiste et Chante'' is the second studio album by French pop singer Sylvie Vartan. The music was conducted by Eddie Vartan for the Eddie Vartan et Son Orchestre. Track listing # " Twiste et chante" ("Twist and Shout") - (Phil Medley, Bert Russ ...

'', released that July. According to the charts published by the U.S. magazine ''

'' (in its "Hits of the World" section), the song "En écoutant la pluie" reached number one in France.

Track listings

7-inch single RCA Victor 45.277 (1963, France) : A. "En écoutant la pluie" (''Rhythm of the Rain'') : B. "Jamais" (''Late Date Baby'') 7-inch EP ''Sylvie à l'Olympia'' RCA 86.007 (1963, France) : A1. "En écoutant la pluie" : A2. "Jamais" : B1. "Avec moi" : B2. "Mon ami"

Charts

Other charting versions

*Dutch teen idol

Rob de Nijs Rob de Nijs (26 December 1942 – 16 March 2025) was a Dutch singer and actor. Life and career De Nijs, supported by The Lords, won a talent contest in 1962 and released the first single, " Ritme van de Regen" the same year, which is a great ...

covered the song in 1963 as "Ritme van de regen". Though originally a

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

, the song kick started his career and remains popular today. *

Gary Lewis & the Playboys Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a 1960s Pop music, pop and Rock music, rock group, fronted by musician Gary Lewis (musician), Gary Lewis, the son of comedian Jerry Lewis. They are best known for their 1965 Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 1 ...

released a version of the song in 1969 that reached No. 63 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and No. 37 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, their last charting single there. *Pat Roberts released a version of the song in 1972 that reached No. 34 on the Country chart. *

Jacky Ward Jacky Ward (born November 18, 1942, Groveton, Texas, United States) is an American country music artist. He is popularly known worldwide for his 1977 hit single " Fools Fall in Love". Between 1972 and 1982, he released four albums with Mercury ...

released a version of the song in 1978 that reached No. 11 on the Country chart. *

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

released a version of the song in 1984 that reached No. 37 on the

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stati ...

. *

Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist widely known for his 1970s and 1980s soft rock hits, including " Longer" (1979), " Same Old Lang Syne" (1981), and " ...

released a version of the song in 1990 that reached No. 3 on the

. *

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 millio ...

also recorded a version of the song for his 1990 album '' Between the Lines'', and released it as the fourth single on 20 August 1990. It reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart (returning him to the top 10 after his previous single "Another Night" only reached number 18), number six in Ireland, number 14 in the Flanders part of Belgium, number 25 in Finland, number 38 in Germany and number 44 in Australia. Reviewing the single, David Giles of ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' said that "

SAW A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

have managed to capture some of the original charm, without damaging onovan'schances of maintaining the flow of hits". Donovan re-recorded the song for his 2008 album '' Let It Be Me''.

References

External links

John Gummoe's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhythm Of The Rain 1962 songs 1962 singles 1963 singles 1972 singles 1978 singles 1984 singles 1990 singles The Cascades (band) songs Sylvie Vartan songs Gary Lewis & the Playboys songs Jacky Ward songs Neil Sedaka songs Dan Fogelberg songs Jason Donovan songs Jan and Dean songs Chris de Burgh songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Valiant Records singles RCA Victor singles Mercury Records singles MCA Records singles Columbia Records singles Torch songs Songs about weather