I Think It's Going to Rain Today

"I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (or "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today") is a song by Randy Newman. It appears on his 1968 debut album Randy Newman, in The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 1 (2003), and in Newman's official and bootleg live albums. It is one of his most covered songs.

Despite the many covers, it charted only twice, once in Canada in 1970 for Tom Northcott and in the UK in 1980 for UB40. The UB40 single was a double A-side with "My Way of Thinking", which was the first-named track and received most of the radio airplay. However, the German single (which appeared later) had "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" as the A-side.

A few lines from the song are heard in Childhood's End (2015). The cover from the 1969 album Nina Simone and Piano is the opening theme for the TV mini-series Broken (2017).

Newman said in 2017, that he signed away the publishing rights on his first album, doesn't see any money from people doing covers of those songs and advised people getting into the business to never sign away their publishing.^[1]

Covers (1966–75)

• Julius La Rosa, on a September 1966 single; reportedly the first released version of the song
• Judy Collins, on the November 1966 album In My Life
• Eric Burdon and The Animals, on the 1967 album Eric Is Here
• Bobby Darin, on the 1967 album Inside Out
• Chris Barber & His Band, on the 1968 album Battersea Rain Dance
• The Ian Campbell Folk Group, on the 1968 album The Circle Game
• Bud Dashiell, on the 1968 album I Think It's Going to Rain Today
• Claudine Longet, on the 1968 album Colours
• Ricky Nelson, on the 1968 album Perspective
• Dusty Springfield, on the 1968 album Dusty... Definitely
• Jack Jones, on the 1969 album L.A. Break Down
• Peggy Lee, on the 1969 album A Natural Woman
• Leonard Nimoy, on the 1969 album The Touch of Leonard Nimoy
• Nina Simone, on the 1969 album Nina Simone and Piano (and on various compilations such as The Very Best of Nina Simone (2006))
• Herman van Veen, on the 1969 album Morgen (as "Ik denk dat niemand mij morgen mist", Dutch translation by Herman van Veen)
• Tom Northcott, on the album Upside Downside. Released as a single in 1970, it hit #46 on the Canadian pop charts.
• Grady Tate, on the 1970 album After the Long Drive Home
• Helen Reddy, on the 1970 album Helen Reddy
• Neil Diamond, on the 1971 album Stones
• The Sandpipers, on the 1971 album A Gift of Song
• Dave Van Ronk, on the 1971 album Van Ronk
• Maxine Weldon, on the 1971 album Chilly Wind
• Kenny Burrell, on the 1972 album 'Round Midnight
• Cass Elliot, on the 1972 album Cass Elliot
• Françoise Hardy, on the 1972 album If You Listen
• Houston Person, on the 1972 album Broken Windows, Empty Hallways
• Melanie, on the 1974 album Madrugada
• Joe Cocker, on the 1975 album Jamaica Say You Will
• Cleo Laine, on the 1975 album Born on a Friday

Covers (1980–)

• UB40, on their 1980 album Signing Off. Also on a "double A-side" charting single (UK #6) released before the album.
• Tony Rice, on the 1983 album Cold on the Shoulder
• Barbara Dickson, on the 1987 album After Dark
• Bette Midler, on the 1988 Beaches soundtrack
• David Lasley, on the 1989 (Japan)/1990 album Soldiers on the Moon
• Carol Kidd, on the 1990 album The Night We Called It a Day
• Manfred Mann, on the 1997 album The Ascent of Mann (unreleased track recorded in the period 1966–8)
• Sidsel Endresen, on the 1999 album Nightsong
• Larry Goldings, on the 1999 album Moonbird
• Maggie Reilly, on the 2000 album Starcrossed
• Chris Farlowe, on the 2001 Glory Bound album; also on his 2006 Hungary for the Blues live album
• Jools Holland and David Gray, on the 2003 Jools Holland Jack O The Green: Small World Big Band Friends 3 album
• Katie Melua, on her 2003 debut album Call Off the Search
• Joel Grey, on the 2004 album The Magic of Joel Grey
• Blackmore's Night, on the 2005 album Castles and Dreams and on the 2013 album Dancer and the Moon
• Norah Jones, on the 2005 Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert live album
• Curtis Stigers, on the 2005 album I Think It's Going to Rain Today
• Lori Cullen, on the 2006 album Calling for Rain
• Audra McDonald, on the 2006 album Build a Bridge
• Roseanna Vitro, on the 2006 album Live At The Kennedy Center
• David Gray, on the 2007 album A Thousand Miles Behind
• Madeleine Peyroux, on the 2007 album Give Us Your Poor: 17 New Recordings To Help End Homelessness
• Julie Christensen, on the 2008 album Where the Fireworks Are
• Jack L, on the 2008 album Burn On
• Irma Thomas, on the 2008 album Simply Grand
• Mark Karan, on the 2009 album Walk Through the Fire (as "Think It's Gonna Rain")
• Val Kilmer, on the 2009 second edition of his Sessions with Mick album
• Rob Paparozzi, on the 2009 album Etruscan Soul
• Paul Carrack with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, on the 2010 album A Different Hat
• Frida Boccara, on the 2010 compilation album Les Grandes Années – 1972–1988
• Hanne Boel with Carsten Dahl, on her 2010 album I Think It's Going to Rain
• Peter Gabriel, on his 2010 album Scratch My Back
• Victoria Vox, as part of a project to play 52 covers in 2011, on CastTV
• Marit Larsen, during the 2012 memorial concert for the 2011 Norway attacks, live at Rådhusplassen in Oslo
• Barbra Streisand, on the 2012 album Release Me, recorded in 1970, accompanied by Randy Newman at the piano
• Laura Osnes, on her first solo album Dream A Little Dream: Live At The Café Carlyle, recorded during her June 2012 engagement at the Café Carlyle in New York City
• Tom Odell, on his 2013 album Long Way Down
• The Idea of North, on their 2013 album Smile
• Storm Large, on her 2014 album Le Bonheur
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., on their 2014 mixtape Produce Volume 1

1. ↑ http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-831-randy-newman