I Wish It Would Rain Totally Explained

Everything about I Wish It Would Rain totally explained

"I Wish It Would Rain", released December 21, 1967, is a 1968 hit single recorded by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label and produced by Norman Whitfield.

Overview

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." Accompaning Ruffin's mourning vocal are the vocals his bandmates Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams, the subdued instrumentation of The Funk Brothers studio band, and, courtesy of Whitfield, sound effects depicting the "sunshine and blue skies" 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. Motown staff writer Roger Penzabene provided the song's lyrics.
More so than a number of other Motown songs, there's 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.
Issued with the Melvin Franklin-led "I Truly, Truly Believe" as its b-side, "I Wish It Would Rain" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached the number-one position on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. The single was the focal point of the Temptations' 1968 album The Temptations Wish It Would Rain. "I Wish It Would Rain" has been covered by a number of artists, including Gladys Knight & the Pips, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and The Faces, whose 1973 cover was a hit in the United Kingdom. The song was the b-side to Marvin's number-one hit, "Let's Get It On".

Credits

Lead vocals by David Ruffin

Background vocals by Eddie Kendricks, Melvin Franklin, Paul Williams, and Otis Williams

Written by Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, and Roger Penzabene

Produced by Norman Whitfield

Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers.

Sample

Further Information

Get more info on 'I Wish It Would Rain'.

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