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, R&B, dance-pop
Length	3:31 (7" Single) 4:06 (Album Version); 5:24 (12" Single)
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Paul Jabara Paul Shaffer
The Weather Girls singles chronology
"Just Us" (1980) "It's Raining Men" (1982) "No One Can Love You More Than Me" (1985)
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
Writer(s)	Paul Jabara Paul Shaffer
Producer(s)	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,^[1][2] originally recorded by The Weather Girls in 1982. The song had been offered to Diana Ross, Donna Summer,^[1] 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.^{[citation needed]}

It was covered by Martha Wash (of The Weather Girls) as a duet with RuPaul in 1997, by 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 classic female anthem.

The song re-entered in to the UK Official Charts in 2014 at Number 31^[3] as part of an organised online campaign^[4] to demonstrate against anti-gay marriage comments made by UKIP councillor David Silvester who said in an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron

"'Since the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, the nation has been beset by serious storms and floods,” Silvester wrote in in The Henley Standard newspaper last month. “This is not new. This happened in the Old Testament – they were warned if they turned against God there would be pestilence, there would be war, there would be disasters." ^[5]

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.

The Weather Girls' music video was directed by Jim Canty and Jake-Sebastian Wynne, and featured Gene Anthony Ray.^[6]

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 (1982-1984)	Peak position
Germany (Media Control AG)[ 1]	43
Ireland (IRMA)[7]	5
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[ 1]	46
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[ 1]	13
Norway (VG-lista)[ 1]	8
UK (The Official Charts Company)[8]	2
US Billboard Hot 100[9]	46
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles	34
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[9]	1

Chart (1998)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1	22
Chart (2001)	Peak position
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[ 1]	95
Chart (2014)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	31

• 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	30 April 2001
Format	CD single cassette
Recorded	2001
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	4:18
Label	EMI
Writer(s)	Paul Jabara Paul Shaffer
Producer(s)	Stephen Lipson
Geri Halliwell singles chronology
"Bag It Up" (2000) "It's Raining Men" (2001) "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" (2001)
Music video "It's Raining Men" on YouTube

"It's Raining Men" was released on 30 April 2001 as the first single from Geri Halliwell's second solo album, Scream if You Wanna Go Faster. It was also featured on the soundtrack to the 2001 film Bridget Jones's Diary. The single became Halliwell's fourth consecutive number-one hit single in UK Singles Chart and it became her most successful solo single to date. To promote the single, Halliwell performed the song on Top of the Pops, Comet Awards 2001, Musica Sí, Big Brother Germany, Party in the Park, Live & Kicking, Loft Story, Pepsi Chart Russia, CD:UK and Tickled Pink. Halliwell also performed the song on The Return of the Spice Girls world tour as her solo number.

Music video

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.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

Halliwell's version received positive reviews by music critics, experienced international success and hit the top ten in over two dozen countries around the world, going to number one in several of them, although it didn't fare as well on the American charts. However, in the United Kingdom, "It's Raining Men" debuted at number-one on the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for two weeks. It became Halliwell's fourth consecutive number-one single in the UK, 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.^[10]

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. The song was a big success in France, it sold over 812,000 copies,^[11] it was certified "Diamond" by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP).^[12] 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.

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 30 April 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 30 April 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 30 April 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

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[ 1] 4 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[ 1] 5 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[ 1] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[ 1] 2 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[13] 10 Denmark (Tracklisten)[ 1] 6 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[ 1] 7 France (SNEP)[ 1] 1 Germany (Media Control AG)[ 1] 5 Ireland (IRMA)[7] 1 Italy (FIMI)[ 1] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[ 1] 4 Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[ 1] 4 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[ 1] 15 Norway (VG-lista)[ 1] 13 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[14] 2 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[ 1] 5 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[ 1] 10 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[ 1] 4 UK (Official Charts Company)[15] 1

Year-end chart Chart (2001) Position UK (Official Charts Company) 12

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 19, 2001	Succeeded by "Don't Stop Movin'" by S Club 7

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[16]	Platinum	70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[17]	2× Platinum	100,000*
France (SNEP)[18]	Diamond	812,000[11]
Germany (BVMI)[19]	Gold	250,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[20]	Gold	25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[21]	Gold	400,000^
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

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
11. "Saint Ken's Party Mix" - 9:03

Other versions

• 1995: I.I. Simmons released her version as a Eurodance single on the Cyberspace 2 label.^[22]
• 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

Uses in other media

In film

• The song is featured in the Rodney Dangerfield hit Easy Money (1983).
• The song is featured in Eraser (1996).
• It is a favorite song of Shawn Wayans' character Ray in Scary Movie (2000). He plays the song in Greg's car moments before the group hits the man they ultimately dump off a pier.
• In the Bollywood movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), the song was features when the character Pooja (played by Kareena Kapoor) was getting ready for her morning.
• In the Farrelly brothers' comedy film Stuck on You (2003), 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.
• It is featured in the Danish film After the Wedding (2006) (In Danish, Efter Brylluppet) directed by Susanne Bier.^[23]
• In the movie Vampires Suck (2010) the wolf pack dances to the song before dismembering a vampire.
• It is featured in the film, Magic Mike (2012), as the background music for the first stripping scene of the film.

In sports

• 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 as walk-up music during teammate Kelly Johnson's first two at-bats.^{[citation needed]}

In television

• Part of the song was performed on America's Got Talent by the group "The Glamazons" for their Top 48 act in 2011.
• In the 2001 episode 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.
• It is used as the theme song for the "Men on..." comedy sketches on the television show In Living Color.
• It was performed on the Late Show with David Letterman (Oct. 01, 2012) by Martha Wash, who popularized the song as a member of The Weather Girls, and coauthor Paul Shaffer, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the song.
• It was performed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt on his opening monologue of episode #726 of Saturday Night Live.
• In the animated series The Simpsons, "It's Raining Men" is Homer Simpson's favorite song.^[24] 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.
• On an episode of The Game, the Sabers team lip syncs and dances to the song, making fun of a fellow team member rumored to be gay.^{[citation needed]}
• In the British sitcom Miranda, its series 2 episode "The New Me" featured title character Miranda dancing to the Weather Girls' version of the song on the streets, later the song was heard in the episode's credits.

In theater and onstage

• The song is featured in the Broadway production of the stage musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert – the Musical, and was performed by the cast, together with Wash and Shaffer, at the 2011 Tony Award ceremony.^[25]

In videogames

• The song is listed on Just Dance 2 (2010).
• Sample of the song appears on Burnout Crash! (2011)

2014 Facebook campaign

A Facebook campaign was launched on 19 January 2014 to get the song to UK Number 1 in response to a UKIP councillor blaming recent UK floods and adverse weather on divine retribution for the British government's introduction of gay marriage. The campaign has been reported widely by press and The Weather Girls version reached number 21 on the first day of the chart week.^[26]

See also

• Golconda (painting)

References

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

v t e Geri Halliwell Discography Filmography Albums and singles Schizophonic "Look at Me" "Mi Chico Latino" "Lift Me Up" "Bag It Up" Scream If You Wanna Go Faster "It's Raining Men" "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" "Calling" Passion "Ride It" "Desire" Non-album songs "Half of Me" Bibliography If Only Just for the Record Ugenia Lavender Filmography Spice World Fat Slags: The Film Giving You Everything Crank 2: High Voltage Ant & Dec's Christmas Show Television Popstars: The Rivals All American Girl The X Factor Australia's Got Talent Related articles Spice Girls EMI Union Jack dress