It's Raining Men

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

"It's Raining Men"
File:Weather Girls Raining Men.jpg
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
  • 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 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 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.

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

Preceded by 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 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

  • 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 Hindi movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), the song is featured when the character Pooja (played by Kareena Kapoor) is getting ready in the morning. A legal suit was filed against director Karan Johar for using the song without obtaining prior permission.[49]
  • 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). Titled Efter Brylluppet in Danish, it was directed by Susanne Bier.[50]
  • 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

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

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.

Use <references />, or <references group="..." />

External links

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. "Officialcharts.de – The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men". GfK Entertainment.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 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. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. "Swisscharts.com – The Weather Girls – It's Raining Men". Swiss Singles Chart.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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. "Officialcharts.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. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  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 60.
  39. "Swisscharts.com – Geri Halliwell – It's Raining Men". Swiss Singles Chart.
  40. "Archive Chart: 2001-05-12/" UK Singles Chart.
  41. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 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. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.