Singin' in the Rain

"Singin' in the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown. Doris Eaton Travis introduced the song on Broadway in The Hollywood Music Box Revue in 1929. It was then widely popularized by Cliff Edwards and the Brox Sisters in The Hollywood Revue of 1929. Many contemporary artists have since recorded the song. The musical film of the same name, Singin' in the Rain (1952), was "suggested by" the song. The performance by Gene Kelly dancing through puddles in a rainstorm garnered the song the third spot on the American Film Institute ranking of 100 Years...100 Songs. Song form The song has an unusual form: the 32-bar chorus, rather than being preceded by a verse and containing an internal bridge as was becoming standard at the time, opens the song and then is followed by a 24-bar verse that has the feeling of a bridge before the chorus repeats. Covers B.A. Rolfe and his Lucky Strike Orchestra recorded the song possibly as early as 1928 but perhaps 1929. The song was recorded by Annette Hanshaw (reissued on the 1999 CD Annette Hanshaw, Volume 6, 1929). It is performed on film by a nightclub band as dance music and sung in a Chinese dialect in The Ship from Shanghai (1930), by Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily (1932), by Judy Garland in Little Nellie Kelly (1940), and as background music at the beginning of MGM's The Divorcee (1930) starring Norma Shearer. Singer Nick Lucas recorded Singing in the Rain in 1929 (one week after recording what would become the biggest hit of his career, Tiptoe Through the Tulips). British duo Bob and Alf Pearson recorded the song in 1929 at their first session. "Singin' in the Rain" was performed in the 1930 film short Dogville Melody, presumably by Zion Myers and Jules White. Valaida Snow recorded it in 1935 accompanied by Billy Mason And His Orchestra - London, Apr 26, 1935 (Parlophone (E)F-165 (CE-6953-1)) The song is sung by Dean Martin in a November 1950 episode of the variety show The Colgate Comedy Hour. He performs it while being drenched in water by comedy partner and co-host Jerry Lewis. The song is best known today as the centerpiece of the musical film Singin' in the Rain (1952), in which Gene Kelly memorably danced to the song while splashing through puddles during a rainstorm.