It's Raining Men

"It's Raining Men"
Single by The Weather Girls
from the album Success
B-side	"It's Raining Men" (long version)
Released	September 10, 1982
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	1982
Genre	Disco
Length	3:31 (7" Single) 4:06 (Album Version); 5:24 (12" Single)
Label	Columbia
Audio sample file info · help

"It's Raining Men"
Single by Martha Wash feat. RuPaul
from the album The Collection and RuPaul's Go-Go Box Classics
B-side	"It's Raining Men... The Sequel" (Radio Mix)
Released	November 10, 1998
Format	CD
Recorded	1997
Genre	Eurodance
Length	3:45
Label	Rhino Records
Producer	Gary Haase
Martha Wash feat. RuPaul singles chronology
"Come" (1998) "It's Raining Men" (1998) "Listen to the People" (2000)

"It's Raining Men" is a song written by Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer in 1979 originally for Dave Balfour's album Stars (it was eventually discarded), and originally recorded by The Weather Girls in 1982. The song had been offered to Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Cher, and Barbra Streisand before being accepted by Martha Wash and Izora Armstead of The Weather Girls, with their version becoming an international hit, selling over 6 million copies worldwide.

It was covered by Martha Wash (of The Weather Girls) as a duet with RuPaul in 1997, Geri Halliwell in 2001 and by Young Divas in 2006. The song is hailed as a camp classic and more recently as a dance anthem, gay anthem, and as a classic female anthem.

Contents 1 Original and RuPaul versions 2 Geri Halliwell version 2.1 Chart performance 2.2 Music video 2.3 Charts 2.4 Formats and track listings 2.5 Official remixes 3 Other versions 4 Cases of unlicensed use 5 Uses in other media 6 References

Original and RuPaul versions

The Weather Girls' version went number one on the US Disco Chart, debuting in October 1982. It made number 34 on the US R&B chart and number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released from their album Success. This version also made it to number two in the UK Singles Chart, #2 in Australia, and #1 on the Euro Hot 100.

RuPaul and Martha Wash duetted on "It's Raining Men... The Sequel", which was included on the 1998 Rhino Records compilation CD RuPaul's Go-Go Box Classics.

Chart (1982)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100	46
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	34
US Hot Dance Club Play	1
UK Singles Chart	2
Chart (1998)	Peak position
US Hot Dance Club Play 1	22

• ¹ "It's Raining Men... The Sequel" by Martha Wash featuring RuPaul

Geri Halliwell version

"It's Raining Men"
Single by Geri Halliwell
from the album Scream If You Wanna Go Faster
B-side	"Brave New World" "I Was Made That Way"
Released	April 30, 2001
Format	CD Single, Cassette
Recorded	2001
Genre	Dance-pop, Nu-Disco
Length	4:18
Label	EMI
Geri Halliwell singles chronology
"Bag It Up" (2000) "It's Raining Men" (2001) "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" (2001) Alternative cover

"It's Raining Men" was the first single of Geri Halliwell's second solo album and was also on the soundtrack to the film Bridget Jones's Diary. It was released in April, 2001.

Chart performance

It debuted at number-one in UK Singles Chart and stayed there for two weeks. It became Geri's fourth consecutive number-one single in United Kingdom, selling 155,000 units in its first week and 80,000 in its second week. Overall the single went on to sell 423,418 copies in Britain alone, becoming the 12th best seller of 2001 and Geri Halliwell's most successful single worldwide.^[1]

The song had been added to the album at the last minute; another song, "Feels Like Sex", had already been slated as the lead single. So far, of all the solo single releases of the Spice Girls members, this is still the most successful and best-selling. With this song, Geri Halliwell won the International Song of the Year award at the 2002 NRJ Music Awards in France. A remix of the song, The Almighty Mix from the Toshiba-EMI series "Dance Mania", volume 20 was also featured in the 2002 Japanese video game, DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution 7th MIX and the 2002 Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME. This version of the song was used as the theme song in the advertisements for New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition 2003. In July 2006 the song entered at seventy-nine on the Mexican Digital Sales Chart, spending two weeks inside the Top 100.

Music video

The music video was directed by Jim Canty and Jake-Sebastian Wynne. The opening of the video for Geri Halliwell's version of the song is inspired by the audition scene in the 1983 film Flashdance. The remainder is inspired by the 1980 film Fame.

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position[2]
Argentine Single Chart	1
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	1
Brazil Hot 100	1
French Singles Chart	1
Hungarian Singles Chart	1
Irish IRMA Singles Chart	1
Italian Singles Chart	1
Malaysia Singles Chart	1
Russian Singles Chart	1
Spanish PROMUSICAE	5
UK Singles Chart	1
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	2
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallony)	2
Dutch Singles Chart	3
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	4
Colombia Top 100	4
Swiss Singles Chart	4
Austrian Singles Chart	5
German Singles Chart	5
Greek Singles Chart	5
Danish Singles Chart	2
Finnish Singles Chart	7
Canadian Singles Chart	8
Swedish Singles Chart	10
Norwegian Singles Chart	4
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	7
Year-End Charts (2001)[3]
UK Top 100 Singles of the Year	12

Uk Sales: 423,418 (Gold)

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "It's Raining Men" by Geri Halliwell.

UK & Europe CD1/International CD Maxi
(Released April 30, 2001)

1. "It's Raining Men" - 4:18
2. "I Was Made That Way" - 4:45
3. "Brave New World" - 4:10
4. "It's Raining Men" Enhanced Video

UK & Europe CD2/Australian CD Maxi
(Released April 30, 2001)

1. "It's Raining Men" - 4:18
2. "It's Raining Men" [Bold And Beautiful Glamour Mix Edit] - 4:46
3. "It's Raining Men" [Almighty Mix Edit] - 3:46
4. "It's Raining Men" [D-Bop Tall And Blonde Mix Edit] - 6:55

European 2-Track CD Single
(Released April 30, 2001)

1. "It's Raining Men" - 4:18
2. "Brave New World" - 4:10

Italian 12" Single
(Released July 18, 2001)

Side A

1. "It's Raining Men" - 4:18
2. "It's Raining Men" [Bold And Beautiful Glamour Mix Edit] - 4:46

Side B

1. "It's Raining Men" [Almighty Mix Edit] - 3:46
2. "It's Raining Men" [D-Bop Tall And Blonde Mix Edit] - 6:55

Official remixes

1. Radio Edit - 3:50
2. Album Version - 4:18
3. Bold And Beautiful Glamour Mix (Radio Edit) - 4:46
4. Bold And Beautiful Glamour Mix (Extended) - 7:06
5. Almighty Mix (Radio Edit) - 3:46
6. Almighty Mix (Extended) - 8:15
7. D-Bop Tall And Blonde Mix (Short Edit) - 6:55
8. D-Bop Tall And Blonde Mix (Long Version) - 8:09
9. Dax Thunderstorm Mix - 7:28
10. It's Raining G's (N.W.A) - 4:13

Other versions

• 1995: II Simmons released her version as a eurodance sinlge.
• 2005: Carol Jiani released her version as a single.
• 2006: Young Divas included the track on their debut album Young Divas.
• 2009: The Nolans included this track on their album I'm in the Mood Again

Cases of unlicensed use

In 2001 a Bollywood movie, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham used the song without acknowledgment or permission. The producers were taken to court and were ordered to pay compensation.^[4]

In 2008, fans of Israeli football club Maccabi Haifa F.C. used an adapted version of the song as the unofficial club anthem. Rather than 'It's Raining Men', it was changed to 'Israeli Men'. The song proved very popular; however, it was later banned for being too provocative.

Uses in other media

• It is featured in the 2006 Danish film “After the Wedding” (Efter Brylluppet) directed by Susanne Bier.^[5]
• It is used as the theme song for the "Men on..." comedy sketches on the television show In Living Color.
• In the animated series The Simpsons "It's Raining Men" is Homer Simpson's favorite song.^[6] In the episode "Fear of Flying" Moe pulls the record out of the jukebox and tosses it onto the street when he banishes Homer from his bar. The record is seen striking, and then being picked up by, a happy Waylon Smithers, a reference to his closeted homosexuality.
• It is a favorite song of Shawn Wayans's character Ray in Scary Movie. He plays the song in Greg's car moments before the group hits the man they ultimately dump off a pier.
• In the 2003 Farrelly brothers comedy film Stuck on You, Walt hits the jukebox when he walks in and sees his brother, but gets embarrassed and hits it again when "It's Raining Men" is the song that starts playing.
• In the 2001 episodes of Friends "The One with Chandler's Dad," part of the song is sung by Kathleen Turner (who plays Chandler's drag queen father) at a club in Las Vegas.
• In the 2010 movie Vampires Suck the wolf pack dances to the song before dismembering a vampire.
• During an MLB baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres on August 31, 2010, Diamondbacks first baseman Adam LaRoche had the PA system at Chase Field play the song during teammate Kelly Johnson's first two at-bats as his walk-up music.
• Featured in the Broadway production of the stage musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert – the Musical, and performed by the cast, together with Wash and Shaffer, at the 2011 Tony Award ceremony^[7]
• Song is listed on Just Dance 2
• Part of the song was performed on America's Got Talent by the group Those Funny Little People for their Top 48 act in 2011.

Preceded by "The Look of Love" by ABC	Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (The Weather Girls version) December 25, 1982 - January 1, 1983	Succeeded by "Lies" / "Beach Culture" by Thompson Twins
Preceded by "Don't Stop Movin'" by S Club 7	UK number one single (Geri Halliwell version) May 6, 2001 - May 20, 2001	Succeeded by "Don't Stop Movin'" by S Club 7

References