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I Wish It Would Rain

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Not to be confused with I Wish It Would Rain Down.
"I Wish It Would Rain"
Single by The Temptations
from the album The Temptations Wish It Would Rain
B-side"I Truly, Truly Believe"
ReleasedDecember 21, 1967
RecordedHitsville USA (Studio A); April 22 and August 31, 1967
GenreSoul
Length2:49
LabelGordy
G 7068
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Norman Whitfield
The Temptations singles chronology
"(Loneliness Made Me Realize) It's You That I Need"
(1967) 		"I Wish It Would Rain"
(1967) 		"I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)"
(1968)

"I Wish It Would Rain" is a 1967 song recorded by the Temptations for the Motown label (under the "Gordy" imprint) and produced by Norman Whitfield.

Overview

Background

The song is one of the most melancholy in the Temptations repertoire, with lead singer David Ruffin delivering, in a pained voice, the story of a heartbroken man who wants to hide his sorrow. His woman has just left him, and he wishes that it would start raining, to hide the tears falling down his face because "a man ain't supposed to cry". Accompanying Ruffin's mourning vocal are the vocals of his bandmates (Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams) alongside the subdued instrumentation of The Funk Brothers studio band, and, courtesy of Whitfield, sound effects depicting the "sunshine and blue skies", with the sound of chirping seagulls, and the sound of thunder and rain described in the song. Producer Norman Whitfield devised much of the musical structure of the song, with former Motown artist Barrett Strong composing the song's signature piano intro on a piano with only ten working keys.[1] Motown staff writer Rodger Penzabene provided the song's lyrics.

More so than a number of other Motown songs, there is real sentiment and pain behind the song's words. Lyricist Penzabene had just found out his wife was cheating on him with another man. Unable to deal with the pain and unable to stop loving his wife, Penzabene expressed his pain in the lyrics of this song and its follow-up on the Temptations' release schedule, "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)". The distraught Penzabene committed suicide on New Year's Eve 1967, a week after the single's release.

Release

Issued with the Melvin Franklin-led "I Truly, Truly Believe" as its B-side, "I Wish It Would Rain" peaked for three weeks in February and March 1968 at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart and at the number-one position on the Billboard R&B singles chart.[2][3][4] The single was the focal point of the Temptations' 1968 album The Temptations Wish It Would Rain.

Billboard described the single as an "easy beat blues rocker" that "will soar to the top in short order."[5] Cash Box said that "touches of Bacarachian style add a refreshingly new dimension to the terrific sound of the Temptations" and that "hard percussion and coasting strings give a solidity and gentleness to the soul vocal."[6]

Personnel

Cover versions

"I Wish It Would Rain" has been covered by a number of artists, including:

Notes

  1. ^ Bowman, Rob (2006). Liner Notes for Get Ready: Definitive Performances. Reelin' in the Years Productions/Universal Music.
  2. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 80 (7). Nielsen Company: 56. 1968. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 80 (8). Nielsen Company: 58. 1968. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 80 (9). Nielsen Company: 54. 1968. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. January 6, 1968. p. 52. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  6. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. January 6, 1968. p. 20. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 330.
  8. ^ "Jon Stevens Band". Saxton. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
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