"I Think It's Going to Rain Today" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Randy Newman | ||||
from the album Randy Newman | ||||
A-side | "The Beehive State" | |||
Released | 1968 | |||
Length | 2:55 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Songwriter(s) | Randy Newman | |||
Producer(s) | Lenny Waronker Van Dyke Parks | |||
Randy Newman singles chronology | ||||
|
"I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (or "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today") is a song by American singer-songwriter Randy Newman. It appears on Julius La Rosa's 1966 album You're Gonna Hear from Me, Eric Burdon's 1967 album Eric Is Here , on Newman's 1968 debut album Randy Newman , in The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 (2003), and in Newman's official and bootleg live albums. It is one of his most covered songs. Also covered by Jazz/ Adult Contemporary singer Curtis Stigers in 2005 on his album "I Think It's Going to Rain Today". Stigers has covered other Newman songs in his career and credits him respectfully as an influence to his own song writing.
Newman told Rolling Stone that he wrote the song around 1963 or 1964. He went on to say that the "music is emotional – even beautiful – and the lyrics are not." Newman also said that the song bothered him due to the darkness and that the song felt "sophomoric" and "too maudlin". [1]
Newman stated in 2017 that he had signed away the publishing rights on his first album and as a result, does not see any money from people doing covers of those songs. [2]
"I Think It's Going to Rain Today" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Tom Northcott | ||||
from the album Upside Downside | ||||
B-side | "It's True" | |||
Released | 1971 | |||
Length | 2:37 | |||
Label | UNI | |||
Songwriter(s) | Randy Newman | |||
Producer(s) | Barry DeVorzon Tom Northcott | |||
Tom Northcott singles chronology | ||||
|
The song was covered by Canadian folk-rock artist Tom Northcott in 1970. It was released in 1971 as the second single from his debut album, Upside Downside. The song reached number 46 in Canada and number 17 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.
Chart (1971) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) | 17 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) | 46 |
"I Think It's Going to Rain Today" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by UB40 | ||||
from the album Signing Off | ||||
A-side | "My Way of Thinking" | |||
Released | 6 June 1980 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:41 | |||
Label | Graduate | |||
Songwriter(s) | Randy Newman | |||
Producer(s) | Bob Lamb UB40 | |||
UB40 singles chronology | ||||
|
The song was covered by British reggae band UB40 in 1980. It was released in June 1980 as the second and final single from their debut album, Signing Off . The song reached number 6 in the UK. [4] The UB40 single was a double A-side with "My Way of Thinking", which was the first-named track and received most of the radio airplay. However, the German single (which appeared later) had "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" as the A-side. [5] The group covered the song for bandmembers Robin and Ali Campbell's father, folksinger Ian Campbell, who was a fan of Newman and who had recorded his own version of the song in the 1960s. [6]
Chart (1980–81) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [7] | 90 |
Ireland (IRMA) [8] | 12 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [9] | 6 |
UK Singles (OCC) [10] | 6 |
The song was covered numerous times by a variety of artists, especially during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Bette Midler included the song in her film Beaches (1988) and it appears in the soundtrack recording. A portion of Claudine Longet's version of the song is played in the Episode 22, Season Five of the Gilmore Girls , "A House is Not a Home." The song is also featured in the TV series Designated Survivor in the episode, "Two Ships". [13] Nina Simone's version of the song's first verse was the opening theme for the BBC One series Broken . Simone's version also appears in the "Spies Like Us" episode from season two and “The Decision” from season six of the TV series Scandal. [14] A short excerpt of the song is played in the final episode of the Childhood's End miniseries. The song is also played in the movie "Mr. Monk's Last Case: The Monk Movie" released in 2023 sung by Randy Newman.
Randall Stuart Newman is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer and conductor known for his non-rhotic Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs, and various film scores. His hits as a recording artist include "Short People" (1977), "I Love L.A." (1983), and "You've Got a Friend in Me" (1995) with Lyle Lovett, while other artists have enjoyed success with cover versions of his "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (1966), "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (1968) and "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (1972).
UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album four times, and in 1984 were nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group. UB40 have sold more than 70 million records worldwide. The ethnic make-up of the band's original line-up was diverse, with musicians of English, Welsh, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish, and Yemeni parentage.
Signing Off is the debut album by British reggae band UB40, released in the UK on 29 August 1980 by Dudley-based independent label Graduate Records. It was an immediate success in their home country, reaching number 2 on the UK albums chart, and made UB40 one of the many popular reggae bands in Britain, several years before the band found international fame. The politically-concerned lyrics struck a chord in a country with widespread public divisions over high unemployment, the policies of the recently elected Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher, and the rise of the National Front party, while the record's dub-influenced rhythms reflected the late 1970s influence in British pop music of West Indian music introduced by immigrants from the Caribbean after the Second World War, particularly reggae and ska – this was typified by the 2 Tone movement, at that point at the height of its success and led by fellow West Midlands act The Specials, with whom UB40 drew comparisons due to their multiracial band line-up and socialist views.
"Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song recorded by American singer and actor Elvis Presley for his fourth soundtrack album, Blue Hawaii (1961). It was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on "Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. The song was initially written from the perspective of a woman as "Can't Help Falling in Love with Him", which explains the first and third line ending on "in" and "sin" rather than words rhyming with "you".
"Gimme Little Sign" is a 1967 soul song, originally performed by Brenton Wood and written by Wood, Joe Hooven and Jerry Winn. The charted versions were Wood's, Peter Andre's, the Sattalites', and Danielle Brisebois's.
"I Got You Babe" is a song performed by American pop and entertainment duo Sonny & Cher and written by Sonny Bono. It was the first single taken from their debut studio album, Look at Us (1965). In August 1965, the single spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States where it sold more than one million copies and was certified Gold. It also reached number one in the United Kingdom and Canada.
"Make Your Own Kind of Music" is a song by American singer Mama Cass Elliot released in September 1969 by Dunhill Records. The song was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, while production was helmed by Steve Barri. In the United States, "Make Your Own Kind of Music" was a Top 40 hit, in which it peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"The 'In' Crowd" is a 1964 song written by Billy Page and arranged by his brother Gene and originally performed by Dobie Gray on his album Dobie Gray Sings for "In" Crowders That Go "Go-Go". It appeared on an episode of Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember, featuring in the last week of November 1964, the month Gray's rendition was released.
"Feeling Good" is a song written by English composers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. It was first performed on stage in 1964 by Cy Grant on the UK tour.
"Dedicated To The One I Love" is a song written by Lowman Pauling and Ralph Bass that was a hit for the "5" Royales, the Shirelles, the Mamas & the Papas and Bitty McLean. Pauling was the guitarist of the "5" Royales, the group that recorded the original version of the song, produced by Bass, in 1957. Their version was re-released in 1961 and charted at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Randy Newman Live is a live album by American singer Randy Newman. It is one of only two official live recordings he has released The album was recorded over three evenings between September 17 and 19, 1970 at the Bitter End, New York.
"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio.
"Many Rivers to Cross" is a song written and recorded in 1969 by Jimmy Cliff. It has since been recorded by many musicians, including Harry Nilsson, John Lennon, Joe Cocker, Percy Sledge, Little Milton, Desmond Dekker, UB40, Cher, The Brand New Heavies, Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Walker Brothers, Marcia Hines, Toni Childs, Oleta Adams, Linda Ronstadt, Annie Lennox, Bryan Adams, Chris Pierce, Arthur Lee, Ted Leo, Jimmy Barnes, Lenny Kravitz, and Chitral Somapala. It was also performed in the Caribbean by Alison Hinds of Barbados and Tessanne Chin of Jamaica, Cliff's native nation.
Cover Up is the fourteenth studio album by English reggae band UB40, released on 22 October 2001 through Virgin Records and DEP International. Recorded with co-producer Gerry Parchment at DEP International Studios in Birmingham, the album followed a musical break for the group. It exemplifies their distinct reggae/pop sound and uses programmed rhythms as the basis for songs; the incorporation of the latter caused friction within the band and singer Ali Campbell later criticised the production style.
Cass Elliot is the fourth studio album released by Cass Elliot and the first album recorded for RCA Records, being released in January 1972.
"Let Your Yeah Be Yeah" is a reggae song written by Jamaican singer Jimmy Cliff. It was first recorded by the vocal trio the Pioneers, whose version, co-produced by Cliff, reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart in 1971.
"New World Coming" is a pop song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil which became a hit for Cass Elliot in early 1970.
"One Way Ticket" is a 1967 song co-written by American composer Stephen J. Lawrence, which became Helen Reddy's first single. The lyrics were written by Bruce Hart. It was introduced by Gloria Loring on her 1968 MGM Records album, Today, produced by Bob Morgan. Loring's original rendition was not, however, released as a single.
"Food for Thought" is a song by British reggae band UB40, released as their debut single in February 1980 from their album Signing Off. Released as a double A-side with "King", it peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart.
"My Way of Thinking" is a song by British reggae band UB40, released as their second single in June 1980. It was released as a double A-side with a cover of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today", and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart.