"Crying in the Rain" is a song composed by Carole King with lyrics by Howard Greenfield, originally recorded by American duo the Everly Brothers. Their version was released as a single on 22nd December 1961, peaking at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1962.[1]
The song was the only collaboration between Greenfield and King, both of whom worked for music publisher Aldon Music at the time. On a whim, two Aldon songwriting partnerships decided to switch partners for a day; King's regular lyricist and then-husband Gerry Goffin partnered with Greenfield's frequent collaborator Jack Keller, leaving King and Greenfield to pair up. Despite the success of "Crying in the Rain", King and Greenfield never worked together again.[2]
In 1981, "Crying in the Rain" was covered by American country artist Tammy Wynette Wynette's version was produced by Chips Moman at the Moman Recording Studio in Las Vegas, alongside other tracks that would appear on the album You Brought Me Back.[9]
Released as a single in July 1981, the song reached number 18 on the BillboardHot Country Singles chart that year, becoming Wynette's third top 20 country hit of the decade.[10] "Crying in the Rain" also peaked at number 11 on the Canadian RPM country chart.[11]
Norwegian band A-ha released a cover version of the song as the first single from their fourth studio album, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, in 1990. Following its success, A-ha became closer to the Everly Brothers, who had originally recorded the song. The band members were presented a set of guitars by the Everly Brothers that A-ha continues to use.[14]
Commercial performance
"Crying in the Rain" was A-ha's last single to reach the top 40 on a Billboard chart in the United States to date, peaking at number 26 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart during the week ending April 6, 1991.[15] It was more popular in other countries, topping the charts in the band's native Norway,[16] and peaking at number 13 in the UK Singles Chart.[17] It was the 32nd most successful song of the year 2010 in Romanian Top 100, although it peaked outside the Top 20.[18]
Music video
The video was directed by Steve Barron. The theme of the video is a robbery gone wrong. It is actually the second version of this video. The first version did not feature any of the scenes of Morten Harket singing alone. The video was filmed entirely with a specific technique of mobile cameras, and it was filmed in Big Timber, Montana. Academy Award-nominated actor John Hawkes had a small role as a robber in the music video.[19]
"Crying in the Rain" has been covered by many other artists.
In 1963, Los Hermanos Carrion recorded a Spanish version titled Entre la lluvia y mi llorar.
In 1969, The Sweet Inspirations recorded a rendition which reached number 38 on the US R&B chart. It was their second Everly Brothers cover hit, having charted two years earlier with "Let It Be Me."
In 1972, Penny DeHaven in duet with Del Reeves released a Country version on a single only (number 54 on the Billboard country chart).[35]Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds released a version of the song on their 1980 EP, Nick Lowe & Dave Edmunds Sing The Everly Brothers.[36][better source needed]
Carole King recorded her own version on her 1983 album Speeding Time. It was also released as a single.
In 1994, Art Garfunkel had a Canadian Pop and AC hit with the song.
