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 Hi-NRG,[1][2] post-disco
Length 3:31 (7" single)
4:06 (album version)
5:24 (12" single)
Label Columbia
Writer(s)
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 featuring 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 featuring 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,[3][4] originally recorded by The Weather Girls in 1982. The song had been offered to Diana Ross, Donna Summer,[3] 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.[5]

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, gay, and female anthem.

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 on the UK Singles Chart and number two in Australia, as well as number one 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 (1982–2014) Peak
position
Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 43
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 46
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 13
Norway (VG-lista)[11] 8
UK (Official Charts Company)[12] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 46
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 34
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[13] 1
Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1 22
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 95
Chart (2014) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 31

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
Recorded 2001
Genre Dance-pop, post-disco
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 April 30, 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. 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.

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 did not 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 440,000 copies in Britain alone,[15] becoming the 13th best seller of 2001 and Halliwell's most successful single worldwide.[16]

The song was a big success in France, it sold over 812,000 copies,[17] it was certified "Diamond" by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP).[18] 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 games, DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution 7thMix and 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

Halliwell was inspired by the 1980 film Fame for the video. She said, "I was just watching Fame on video and I thought what a great excuse". During the video she also does ballet.[19]

Live performances

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.[20]

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

Charts

Chart (2001–02) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[21] 4
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[22] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[23] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[24] 2
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[25] 10
Denmark (Tracklisten)[26] 6
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 7
France (SNEP)[28] 1
Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 1
Italy (FIMI)[30] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[31] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[32] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[33] 15
Norway (VG-lista)[34] 13
Poland (Polish Singles Chart)[35] 1
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[36] 2
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[37] 5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 10
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[39] 4
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[40] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2001) Position
Australia (ARIA)[41] 34
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 13

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[42] Platinum 70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[43] 2× Platinum 100,000*
France (SNEP)[44] Diamond 812,000[17]
Germany (BVMI)[45] Gold 250,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[46] Gold 25,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] Gold 440,000[15]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

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

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

Uses in other media

In film

In sports

In television

In theater and onstage

In videogames

2014 Facebook campaign

A campaign in Facebook was launched on January 19, 2014 to get the song to UK number one 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 some press and The Weather Girls' version reached number 21 on the first day of the chart week.[58] The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2014 at number 31.[59]

See also

References

  1. Brewster, Bill; Broughton, Frank (1999). Last Night a Dj Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey. Headline Book Publishing. p. 200. ISBN 0-7472-6230-6.
  2. Sisario, Ben (28 September 2004). "Izora Armstead, a Singer in the Weather Girls Duo, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Wayne, George (November 2009). "Celebs, Jokes, and Rock 'n' Roll!". Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 20, 2013. Paul Shaffer: Paul Jabara called me up and said, “I’ve got a great song for Donna Summer. I want you to write the song with me. What do you think about ‘It’s Raining Men’?” We wrote it in one afternoon. Lyrically she hated it, because she had become a born-again Christian. She thought it was blasphemous. She called Paul and said, “I hate the song. Oh, we’ve lost you.” And then she sent him a Bible the next day.
  4. Edwards, David (August 27, 2012). "Fox News introduces Romney sons with gay anthem ‘It’s Raining Men’". The Raw Story. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  5. "The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  6. "Obituary: Gene Anthony Ray". The Telegraph. Nov 20, 2003.
  7. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men". GfK Entertainment.
  8. 1 2 "It's raining men by The Weather Girls and by Geri Halliwell in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved June 4, 2013. Only results when searching "It's raining"
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  10. "Charts.org.nz – The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men". Top 40 Singles.
  11. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men". VG-lista.
  12. "1984 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 31st March 1984". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  13. 1 2 "Success awards on Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  14. "Swisscharts.com – The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men". Swiss Singles Chart.
  15. 1 2 Justin Myers (May 16, 2014). "Official Charts Flashback 1999: Geri Halliwell – Look At Me". Official Charts. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  16. 1 2 "It's Raining Men". Foreverspice.com. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  17. 1 2 "InfoDisc : Les Certifications (Singles) du SNEP (Bilan par Artiste) – Search for "HaliwellG."". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
  18. "Certifications Singles Diamond - année 2002". Disque en France. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  19. http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Entertainment-Daily-Geri-Halliwell/32c5054a9fa3686b7dc63f84fb2ee943?query=CELEBRITY+NEWS&current=5&orderBy=Relevance&hits=20&referrer=search&search=%2Fsearch%3Fquery%3DCELEBRITY%2520NEWS%26startd%3D%26endd%3D%26orderBy%3DRelevance%26from%3D1%26allFilters%3DRobbie%2BWilliams%253APeople%252CGeneral%2BNews%253ASubject&allFilters=Robbie+Williams%3APeople%2CGeneral+News%3ASubject&productType=IncludedProducts&page=1&b=2ee943
  20. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/S/Spice_Girls/ConcertReviews/2008/02/27/4879305-sun.html
  21. "Australian-charts.com – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  22. "Austriancharts.at – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  23. "Ultratop.be – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  24. "Ultratop.be – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  25. "Geri Halliwell | Awards". AllMusic. August 6, 1972. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  26. "Danishcharts.com – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men". Tracklisten.
  27. "Geri Halliwell: It's Raining Men" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  28. "Lescharts.com – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men" (in French). Les classement single.
  29. "Offiziellecharts.de – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men". GfK Entertainment.
  30. "Italiancharts.com – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men". Top Digital Download.
  31. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Geri Halliwell search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  32. "Dutchcharts.nl – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  33. "Charts.org.nz – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men". Top 40 Singles.
  34. "Norwegiancharts.com – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men". VG-lista.
  35. "Nielsen Music Control". Archived from the original on 2008-05-08.
  36. Romanian Top 100 Singles Airplay Chart - Top of the Year 2001 at the Wayback Machine (archived December 9, 2002)
  37. "Spanishcharts.com – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men" Canciones Top 50.
  38. "Swedishcharts.com – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men". Singles Top 100.
  39. "Swisscharts.com – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men". Swiss Singles Chart.
  40. "Archive Chart: 2001-05-12/" UK Singles Chart.
  41. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2001". ARIA. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  42. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  43. "Ultratop 50 Albums Wallonie 2001". Ultratop. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  44. "French single certifications – Geri Halliwell" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  45. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Melanie C)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
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  47. "British single certifications – Geri Halliwell". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 28, 2011. Enter Geri Halliwell in the field Search. Select Artist in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  48. "II Simmons-It's Raining Men". Discogs.com.
  49. "When Karan Johar was sued". The Times of India. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  50. "After the Wedding (2006)". IMDb.com. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  51. "2F08 Fear of Flying". The Simpsons Archive. Retrieved February 25, 2008.
  52. "Martin Short Sings 'It's Raining Mitt' On 'Late Show With David Letterman'accessdate=July 29, 2014".
  53. Letterman, David (April 21, 2015). "Late Show with David Letterman: Season 22, Episode 130: Paul Rudd/Piedmont Bird Callers/Chaka Khan". CBS. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  54. Letterman, David (April 21, 2015). "Chaka Khan - Letterman - 2015.04.21 - "It's Raining Men"". YouTube. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  55. Fallon, Jimmy (September 13, 2013). "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon". NBC Studios. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  56. Fallon, Jimmy (September 14, 2013). "Charades with Scarlett Johansson and Drake (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon)". YouTube. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  57. "Spider-Man, Priscilla and More to Join Nominated Musicals in Performing at 2011 Tony Awards". Broadway.com. June 8, 2011.
  58. Morse, Felicity (January 21, 2014). "Facebook campaign launched to get 'It's Raining Men' to number 1 after Ukip councillor blames floods on gay marriage". The Independent. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  59. "NEWS: It's Raining Men Enters Into Official UK Single's Chart". Thegayuk.com. February 2, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.

External links

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