In the Rain

"In the Rain" is a 1972 soul single, written by Tony Hester.[1] It was released in February 1972 by American the vocal group, The Dramatics, from their first album, Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get. The track is notable for its use of sounds of rain and thunder, first heard before the song's introduction, then throughout the instrumental and chorus sections.

"In the Rain"
Single by The Dramatics
from the album Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get
B-side	"(Gimme Some) Good Soul Music"
Released	February 1972
Genre	Soul
Length	5:08 3:15 (edit)
Label	Volt/Stax
Songwriter(s)	Tony Hester
Producer(s)	Don Davis
The Dramatics singles chronology
"Get Up and Get Down" (1971) "In the Rain" (1972) "Toast to the Fool" (1972)

Chart Performance

"In the Rain" reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart.[2] It sold over one million copies and is the group's biggest hit.[3] Billboard ranked it as the No. 53 song for 1972.[4]

Song background

The song's lyrics state that, because of a broken love relationship, the singer wants to go out and stand in the rain so that no one can see him cry.

"Once the rain starts falling on my face,

You won't see a single trace,

Of the tears I'm crying,

Because of you I'm crying.

Don't want you to see me cry.

Let me go, Let me go

Let me go!"

Chart positions

Chart (1972)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	5
U.S. Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles	1

Cover versions

• Keith Sweat covered the song on his 1987 album Make It Last Forever.
• The R&B group Xscape covered it in 1997, from the soundtrack, Love Jones starring Larenz Tate and Nia Long.
• The smooth jazz artist Boney James made a version featuring Dwele on the Shine album in 2006.

Sampling

The song has been sampled by hip-hop artists such as Ghostface Killah, Wu-Tang Clan, Jadakiss, Big L and Lil Wayne. In February 2019, WhoSampled listed 85 songs that have used this song as a sample.[5]

See also

• List of number-one R&B singles of 1972 (U.S.)

References

1. Murrells, Joseph (1978) The Book of Golden Discs. Barrie & Jenkins:p. 312. ISBN 0-214-20480-4
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 172.
3. Warner, Jay (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today. Hal Leonard. ISBN 0-634-09978-7 p. 486
4. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972
5. "Samples of In the Rain by The Dramatics on WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved 8 February 2019.

External links

• "In the Rain" at AllMusic
• "In the Rain" at Discogs (list of releases)
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics