Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head

"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach for the 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Further, David and Bacharach won Best Original Score. The version by B. J. Thomas was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States in January, 1970 for four weeks. It also spent seven weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart. [Whitburn, Joel (1996). "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits", 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)]

The song was recorded in seven takes, after Bacharach expressed dissatisfaction with the first six.

Ray Stevens had been first offered the opportunity to record the song for the motion picture, but turned it down. He chose instead to record "Sunday Morning Coming Down," which was written by Kris Kristofferson.

The song features in the Leslie Nielsen "Spy Hard", which parodies the scene in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" where the song plays. It also features on the soundtracks of the films "Forrest Gump" and the superhero film, "Spider-Man 2", in the latter accentuating Peter's blissful mood after abandoning his Spider-Man identity and its responsibilities. Most recently it was used in the Kevin Smith film "Clerks II". It was also sung in "The Simpsons" episode, "Duffless". Also, the first episode of the second season from "Grey's Anatomy" is named after the song.

B.J. Thomas's version was listed at #85 on "Billboard's Greatest Songs of all time." [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-90.shtml]

Covers

The song has been covered numerous times, most notably by the Rat Pack. The Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers usually play the song as part of an acoustic set during their concerts. They recorded a version of the song, complete with trumpet solo by their drummer Sean Moore, for the 1995 charity album "Help". Their version also appears on their 2003 B-sides and rarities compilation album "Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers)". The Manics further referenced the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" with a b-side song called "Sepia". It includes the lines: "And just like the moment in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid / I'm perpetually stuck in a sepia film / But bleeding inside I manage to keep it all in".

The former football player and actor David Ginola sang a rather memorable version of this on "Stars in Their Eyes". It has also been covered by French singer Sacha Distel (whose version was a hit in the United Kingdom as well as France), the Japanese band Shonen Knife, and was a hit in Australia by Australian singer John Farnham in 1969. [http://www.musicaustralia.org/apps/MA?function=showDetail&currentMapsRecord=ANL:MA~1133493023893&itemSeq=1&total=32&&returnFunction=viewTheme&&sessionId=] It is also mentioned in the Genesis song "In the Cage" on their 1974 album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway".

The Flaming Lips covered this song on their 1996 "Brainville EP". Ben Folds Five also covered the song for the 1998 Burt Bacharach tribute TV special and soundtrack "One Amazing Night". In 2005 Australian band Jebediah covered the song for Triple J's "Like a Version" compilation.

Dionne Warwick has collaborated with Kelis on a cover of this for her 2006 duets album.

Barry Manilow covered this song on his 2006 album "The Greatest Songs of the Sixties".

Johnny Mathis covered this song in 1970 on his LP "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head.

References