Singin' in the Rain (song)

Gene Kelly performing the song in the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain.

"Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. However, it is unclear exactly when the song was written with some claiming that the song was written and performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as Number 3 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs.

Covers

"Singing in the Rain" was first performed by Doris Eaton Travis in the 1929 revue The Hollywood Music Box Revue. The song became a hit and was recorded by a number of artists, notably Cliff Edwards, who also performed the number with the Brox Sisters in the early MGM musical The Hollywood Revue of 1929. It was also performed by Annette Hanshaw in her album Volume 6. It was also performed on film by Jimmy Durante (in 1932's Speak Easily) and Judy Garland (in 1940's Little Nellie Kelly). An instrumental version was used as background music at the beginning of MGM's 1930 "The Divorcee" starring Norma Shearer.

• The song is probably best known today as the centerpiece of the musical film Singin' 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.
• The song was recorded in Buenos Aires for Odeon Records in 1930 under the title "Cantando Bajo La Lluvia," by Francisco Canaro's orchestra and with the Spanish lyrics sung by Charlo. 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.
• 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 different occasions, including releasing it on The Best of the Pasadena Roof Orchestra album in 1973.
• The song was subsequently featured in Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange, in which the protagonist sang it while raping a woman. The song is also played over the closing credits.
• The song is covered by Cary Grant's character, Roger Thornhill, in the shower, in Alfred Hitchcock's film North by Northwest.
• 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).
• Disco version of Singin' in the Rain in 1978 by the French pop singer Sheila B. Devotion (UK number 11).
• In the 1980s, Dutch pop singer Taco released a version of it, which reached number 46 in the Canadian Charts on August 27, 1983, although it failed to crack the US Top 100 or the UK Top 40.
• 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).
• British jazz/pop singer Jamie Cullum covered the song on his 2003 album Twentysomething.
• 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.
• A version performed by the UK comedy partnership Morecambe and Wise was ranked at the top of a 2007 poll of their Greatest Moments.
• A version was also performed by Jheena Lodwick in 2006, on her album titled Singing in the rain.
• In 2009 and 2010 the song was performed by South-Korean K-pop group Girls' Generation on their Into the New World tour
• In 2010, the song was sung on FOX series Glee in a mash-up with Rihanna's "Umbrella" featuring Gwyneth Paltrow.
• There's a jazz instrumental by Sonny Stitt on his 1958 album Sonny Stitt Plays Jimmy Giuffre Arrangements.
• A Mint Royale remix was popularized by its use in a Volkswagen ad.

Selected appearances in media

• The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)
• The Dogway Melody (1930)
• The Divorcee (1930)
• Speak Easily (1932)
• The Old Dark House (1932)
• Idiot's Delight (1939)
• Little Nellie Kelly (1940)
• The Big Noise (1944)
• Singin' in the Rain (1952)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• A Clockwork Orange (1971)
• Die Hard (1988)
• What About Bob? (1991)
• Jeeves and Wooster (1991)
• Léon (1994)
• Godzilla (1998)
• Shanghai Knights (2003)
• Robots (2005)
• Kara no Kyōkai (Murder Speculation Part 1, The Hollow Shrine) (2008)
• Glee's The Substitute (2010)

External links

• Singin' in the Rain at the Internet Movie Database