November Rain

"November Rain" is a song by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. Written by the band's lead vocalist Axl Rose, it was released as a single in 1992 from their third studio album, Use Your Illusion I (1991).

For the 2007 Indian film, see November Rain (2007 film). For the 2014 Nepali film, see November Rain (2014 film).

"November Rain"
Single by Guns N' Roses
from the album Use Your Illusion I
B-side"Sweet Child o' Mine" (LP version)
ReleasedFebruary 18, 1992
Recorded1990–1991 at A&M Studios, Record Plant Studios, Studio 56, Image Recording, Conway Studios, Northstar Recordings (Portland, OR) (violins), Metalworks Recording Studios, Skip Saylor Recording (album mixing)
GenreHard rock
Length8:57 (album version)
4:43 (radio edit)
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)Axl Rose
Producer(s)
Guns N' Roses singles chronology
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
(1992)		 "November Rain"
(1992)		 "Yesterdays"
(1992)
Audio sample
"November Rain"
  • file
  • help
Music video
"November Rain" on YouTube

"November Rain" peaked at number three on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it the longest song in history to enter the top ten of that chart. It is also the third longest song to enter the Hot 100 chart (second longest at the time of its release).[1] The song reached number one on the Polish LP3 Chart,[2] number four on the UK Singles Chart,[3] number five on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart[4] and the top 10 on several other music charts around the world.

Since its release, the song has sold over a million copies worldwide and has been described as "one of the ultimate hard-rock power ballads".[5]

History

Slash states in his autobiography that an 18-minute version of "November Rain" was recorded at a session with guitarist Manny Charlton (of rock band Nazareth) in 1986, before the recording sessions for Appetite for Destruction began.[6]:151

According to a story Axl Rose told an audience during the 2006 leg of the Chinese Democracy Tour, none of the other band members had wanted to partake in the production of this song (or the other notable ballad "Estranged"). Slash and McKagan were particularly opposed to the drift to symphonic ballads, and felt their choice of more direct rock songs were being overlooked by Rose. However, Rose talked them into it over discussions at Can-Am Studios (where some of the album was recorded and mixed). Claims of such harsh musical differences were specifically disputed by Slash in his autobiography.[6]:454

Slash has said that the solo he played in the album version of the song (it is unclear which) was the same solo he improvised upon hearing it for the first time.[6]:316[7]

Song information

At 8:57 minutes long, it is the second-longest song on the album, the longest being the 10:14 "Coma". It is the third-longest song by Guns N' Roses, behind the 9:24 "Estranged" from Use Your Illusion II. "We call it 'the Layla song'," joked Slash.[8]

Its distinct symphonic overtone owes to a sweeping string arrangement, orchestrated by Rose.[6]:318[9]

It is the longest song ever to reach the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.[10][11] The song's composition was influenced by Elton John's 1973 opus “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding”.[12]

Chart performance

Although "November Rain" peaked at number nine in Germany, it remained on the chart for 51 weeks.[13]

In Australia, "November Rain" reached number two on the 1992 end-of-year chart despite only reaching number five on the ARIA Singles Chart.[4] It was featured on ARIA's year-end charts in two consecutive years (1992 and 1993, when it appeared at 36).[14][15] A similar situation took place in New Zealand, where the song peaked at number seven but stayed in the top 20 for 24 non-consecutive weeks, ending 1992 as New Zealand's second best-selling single.[16][17]

Music video
Composite image of the wedding dress from the "November Rain" music video worn by Stephanie Seymour.

The music video, directed by Andy Morahan,[18] portrays Rose marrying his then-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour and later grieving at her funeral, intercut with a live performance in Los Angeles' Orpheum Theater.[19] It is one of the most expensive music videos ever.[20]

For the outside shots of Slash while he is playing the first solo, Rose had originally envisioned it taking place in a "cool field" of sorts. However, since the video was shot in winter, there were no good-looking fields around, and eventually the band decided to film in New Mexico, where they had a church transported specifically for the shoot.[19][21] The larger church, for the wedding scenes, is Los Angeles' St. Brendan Catholic Church.[19]

The music videos for "November Rain", "Don't Cry" and "Estranged" form an unofficial trilogy of sorts. While never specifically confirmed by the band, Rose and Del James (whose short story "Without You" served as inspiration for the video, for which he was credited at the end) have made statements supporting this idea.[22][23]

In July 2018, it became the first video made before YouTube's founding to surpass one billion views,[24] as well as the first music video from the 1990s to hit over a billion YouTube streams.[25]

Live performances
Axl Rose performing "November Rain" at Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, UK, in May 2012.

The band performed a nearly nine-minute live version of the song with British musician Elton John on piano at the end of the 1992 VMAs ceremony.[12]

Reception

"November Rain" was voted number one on the Rock 1000 2006, an annual countdown of the top 1,000 rock songs by New Zealand radio listeners. It was voted number two on the 2007 version, beaten by "Back in Black" by AC/DC.[26] The song topped the "album tracks" section of a 1993 readers' poll in GN'R fanzine Controversy, beating "Coma". The top ten was completed by "Estranged", "Civil War", "Paradise City", "Sweet Child o' Mine", "Don't Cry", "Welcome to the Jungle", "Patience" and "Mr. Brownstone".[27]

The song was placed at number 140 on Pitchfork's "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s".[28] In Chile, the song was placed at number 73 on Chilean radio Rock & Pop.[29] Kerrang! ranked the song the sixth best Guns N' Roses song.[30]

Track listings
CD maxi
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."November Rain"Axl Rose8:57
2."Sweet Child o' Mine"Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler5:55
3."Patience"Stradlin5:53
Cassingle
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."November Rain"Rose8:57
2."Sweet Child o' Mine"Rose, Stradlin, Slash, McKagan, Adler5:55
7" maxi
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."November Rain"Rose8:57
2."Sweet Child o' Mine"Rose, Stradlin, Slash, McKagan, Adler5:55
12" maxi
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."November Rain"Rose8:57
2."Sweet Child o' Mine"Rose, Stradlin, Slash, McKagan, Adler5:55
3."Patience"Stradlin5:53

Personnel

Guns N' Roses

Additional musicians

  • Stuart Bailey – backing vocals, choir
  • Shannon Hoon – backing vocals, choir
  • Johann Langlie – synthesizer programming
  • Reba Shaw – backing vocals, choir

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[55] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[56] Gold 45,000
Germany (BVMI)[57] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[58] Platinum 50,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[59] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[60] Platinum 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[61] Platinum 600,000
United States (RIAA)[62] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "The Longest & Shortest Hot 100 Hits: From Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce & David Bowie to Piko-Taro". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  2. "Notowanie nr542" (in Polish). LP3. July 10, 1992. Archived from the original on September 18, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2019. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  4. "Australian-charts.com – Guns N' Roses – November Rain". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  5. Thompson, Stephen (June 28, 2018). "Hear A Never-Before-Heard, Piano-Only Demo Of Guns N' Roses' 'November Rain'". NPR. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  6. Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. New York: Harper Entertainment.
  7. Select, November 1996
  8. Rowland, Mark (February 1991). "LA Law and Disorder". Select, reprinted from Musician. p. 46.
  9. Guns N' Roses – The Making of 'November Rain' (part 6) on YouTube
  10. 2000 Guinness World Records ISBN 0-553-58268-2
  11. Feature, Guitar World Staff 2009-01-29T16:56:08Z. "50 Greatest Guitar Solos". guitarworld. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  12. "Flashback: Guns N' Roses Play 'November Rain' With Elton John". Rolling Stone. April 2, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Guns N' Roses – November Rain". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  14. "1992 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  15. "1993 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  16. "Charts.nz – Guns N' Roses – November Rain". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  17. "End of Year Charts 1992". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  18. "mvdbase.com - Guns 'n' Roses - "November rain"". mvdbase.com.
  19. Rampton, Mike. "A PROBABLY FAR TOO FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF GUNS N' ROSES' NOVEMBER RAIN VIDEO". kerrang.com. Kerrang. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  20. "SoYouWanna.com - Learn What You Wanna Do". Soyouwanna.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2006.
  21. Guns N' Roses – The Making of 'November Rain' (part 3) on YouTube
  22. Guns N' Roses – The Making of 'November Rain' (part 4) on YouTube
  23. Guns N' Roses – The Making of 'November Rain' (part 6) contd on YouTube
  24. Thompson, Stephen (July 18, 2018). "'November Rain' Is The Oldest Song With A Billion YouTube Views – What's That Mean?". NPR.org. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  25. Milman, Lilly (July 16, 2018). "Guns N' Roses Break YouTube Record With 'November Rain' Video: Report". Billboard. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
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  27. Controversy #6, p8, 1993
  28. "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 150-101 - Page 2 - Pitchfork".
  29. "Guns N Roses - November Rain — Rock&Pop". December 24, 2012.
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  56. "Danish single certifications – Guns N' Roses – November Rain". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved March 28, 2019. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2019 to obtain certification.
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  58. "Italian single certifications – Guns N' Roses – November Rain" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 26, 2017. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "November Rain" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  59. "Dutch single certifications – Guns 'n' Roses – November Rain" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved February 22, 2019. Enter November Rain in the "Artiest of titel" box.
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