| "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" | |||||||||
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| Single by B. J. Thomas | |||||||||
| from the album Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head | |||||||||
| Released | October 1969[1] | ||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock | ||||||||
| Length | 2:57 | ||||||||
| Label | Scepter Records | ||||||||
| Writer(s) | Hal David and Burt Bacharach | ||||||||
| Producer | Hal David and Burt Bacharach | ||||||||
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"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is B. J. Thomas's #1 song, written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.[2] It won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.[2] David and Bacharach also won Best Original Score. It was recorded in seven takes, after Bacharach expressed dissatisfaction with the first six. In the film version of the song, B. J. Thomas had been recovering from laryngitis, which made his voice sound more hoarse than in the 7" release. The film version featured a separate instrumental break when Paul Newman undertook stunts on a bicycle. The song is parodied in the No. 1 animated series on YouTube, Dick Figures as "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Red", written and sung by the series' musician and Zack Keller (the co-writer of the series)'s brother, Nick Keller.
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Ray Stevens was first offered the opportunity to record it for the film, but turned it down. He chose instead to record the song "Sunday Morning Coming Down", written by Kris Kristofferson. Bob Dylan is supposed to have been approached for the song, but he too reportedly declined.[3]
The single by B. J. Thomas reached #1 on charts in the United States, Canada, and Norway. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in January 1970 and also spent seven weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart.[4] In 2008, Thomas's version was ranked as the 85th biggest song on Billboard's Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs.[5] His version reached #38 in the UK Singles Chart.[2]
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" was in the film Spy Hard, which parodied the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It is on the soundtracks to Forrest Gump and Spider-Man 2, in the latter accentuating Peter Parker's blissful mood after abandoning his Spider-Man identity and its responsibilities. It was used in the Kevin Smith film Clerks II. The first episode of Grey's Anatomy's second season is named after the song.
| Chart (1969/1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria Top 40 | 11 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 28 |
| French Singles Chart | 56 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 31 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 1 |
| South African Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart[2] | 38 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 9 |
| German Singles Chart | 40 |
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
The song has been covered numerous times. It was a 1970 #1 hit (seven weeks) in Australia for John Farnham.[6] In 1970, it was also covered by Engelbert Humperdinck on his album We Made It Happen, Johnny Mathis on his album Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head, Perry Como on his album It's Impossible, The Four Tops on their album Changing Times, and The Free Design on their album Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love.
It has been covered by French singer Sacha Distel, whose version was a #10 hit in the UK Singles Chart,[2] as well as France. Bobbie Gentry's version reached #40 in the UK chart.[2]
The Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers maintain "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" in their repertoire of live songs, playing it as part of an acoustic set during concerts. The band recorded a version of the song complete with trumpet solo by their drummer Sean Moore. It was the first piece of music the band recorded after the disappearance of guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards, and saw release on the 1995 charity album Help. That version also appears on their 2003 B-sides and rarities compilation album Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers). The Manics further reference the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with the B-side "Sepia".
Paul Mauriat recorded it with his Grand Orchestra it 1973. It was the only known cover in the USSR. Delroy Wilson recorded a reggae version of the song that does not appear on any of his official albums. Mute Beat recorded a reggae version for their 1989 album March.
Jacques Loussier recorded a cover on his 1987 album In Loussier's Mood. The Flaming Lips covered it on 1996's Brainville EP. Ben Folds Five also covered it for the 1998 Burt Bacharach tribute TV special and soundtrack One Amazing Night. In 1998, Shonen Knife covered it as part of Big Deal Recording Artists Perform The Songs Of Burt Bacharach. In 2005, Australian band Jebediah covered it for Triple J's Like a Version compilation. Dionne Warwick has collaborated with Kelis on a cover for her 2006 duets album, while Barry Manilow covered it on his 2006 album The Greatest Songs of the Sixties.
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