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I Love a Rainy Night

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"I Love a Rainy Night"
Song
B-side"Short Road to Love"

"I Love a Rainy Night" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Eddie Rabbitt. It was released in November 1980 as the second single from his album Horizon. It reached number one on the Hot Country Singles,[1] Billboard Hot 100, and Adult Contemporary Singles [2] charts in 1981. The song succeeded Dolly Parton's song "9 to 5" at the number 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart - the last time, to date, that the pop chart featured back-to-back country singles in the number one position. It was written by Rabbitt, Even Stevens and David Malloy.

The song is featured on the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the K-Rose radio station, and on the TV show Family Guy in the episode "Padre de Familia" when Glenn Quagmire listens to music in his head. Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for both the original 1981 and 1993 releases of Urban Chipmunk. In the 1993 remake, Alvin sings this song for the rain to flood the house and wash away his homework.

Song history

According to music historian Fred Bronson, "I Love a Rainy Night" was 12 years in the making. Rabbitt had a collection of old tapes he kept in the basement of his home. While rummaging through the tapes one day in 1980, he heard a fragment of a song he had recorded one rainy night in the late 1960s.

"It brought back the memory of sitting in a small apartment, staring out the window at one o'clock in the morning, watching the rain come down," wrote Bronson in The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. "He sang into his tape recorder, 'I love a rainy night, I love a rainy night.'"

Upon rediscovery of the old lyrics, Rabbitt completed the song (with help from frequent songwriting partners Even Stevens and David Malloy) and recorded it.

The end result included vivid descriptions of a man's fondness for thunderstorms and the peace it brings him ("I love to hear the thunder/watch the lightnin' when it lights up the sky/you know it makes me feel good") and a renewed sense of hope the storms bring ("Showers wash all my cares away/I wake up to a sunny day").

The song's other mark of distinction is its rhythm pattern of alternating finger snaps and hand claps, which was included with the help of percussionist Farrell Morris, who — according to The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits — mixed two tracks of each to complete the record.

Chart success

"I Love a Rainy Night" came in the midst of Rabbitt's peak popularity as a crossover artist. The follow-up to "Drivin' My Life Away" (No. 1 country, No. 5 Hot 100), the song was Rabbitt's only Hot 100 No. 1. However, he would continue having crossover success with the follow-ups "Step by Step" and "You and I" (the latter a duet with Crystal Gayle).

On Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, it was his eighth out of 17 career chart toppers, spanning from 1976 through 1990.

"I Love a Rainy Night" was certified gold for sales of 1 million units by the Recording Industry Association of America.[3]

Chart performance

Chart (1980–81) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 4
Canadian RPM Top Singles 11
New Zealand Singles Chart 8
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[4] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[5] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[6] 1
U.K. Singles Chart 53

See also

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 279.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 199.
  3. ^ riaa.com
  4. ^ "Eddie Rabbitt Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  5. ^ "Eddie Rabbitt Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  6. ^ "Eddie Rabbitt Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  • Allmusic - I Love a Rainy Night by Eddie Rabbitt
  • Bronson, Fred, "The Billboard Book of Number One Hits" 5th ed. Billboard Publications, New York, 2003. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6.
  • Roland, Tom, "The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits," Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 (ISBN 0-8230-7553-2)
Preceded by Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single
January 17, 1981 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Billboard Hot Country Singles
number-one single
January 17, 1981 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
"9 to 5"
by Dolly Parton
 Billboard Hot 100
number-one single
February 28–March 7, 1981
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