Our final classic rain-themed song of the day this week is one of my personal favorites, “Baby the Rain Must Fall” by Glenn Yarbrough. Released in January of 1965, this track went to #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
“Baby the Rain Must Fall” was written by legendary composer Elmer Bernstein (with lyricist Ernie Sheldon) for the 1965 movie of the same name, which starred Steve McQueen as a somewhat irresponsible musician trying to make a life with the wife and young daughter he’d abandoned years before. You can tell it’s Bernstein; the majestic melody and chords are very reminiscent of his theme to The Magnificent Seven.
The track is heard in the movie as “sung” by Mr. McQueen on stage; he’s actually lip synching (badly) to studio singer Billy Strange performing a much different arrangement of the tune. (Interestingly, the band onstage during that scene includes Glen Campbell on guitar and Hal Blaine on drums!) You can hear a snippet of it in the film’s trailer, embedded below.
Surprisingly, the song “Baby the Rain Must Fall” was not played under the film’s opening credits; instead, they used an instrumental theme by Mr. Bernstein that shared the same title. Mr. Yarbrough’s version, while not included in the movie itself, was released as a single concurrent with the film.
Born in 1930, Glenn Yarbrough started singing folk songs in his early twenties and, in 1959, formed the Limeliters with fellow folkies Alex Hassilev and Lou Gottlieb. The Limeliters were extremely popular during that era’s folk revival; they had ten hit albums and sold millions of records. They were known for rousing songs like “There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonight,” “A Dollar Down,” and “Lonesome Traveler.”
Glenn Yarbrough left the group in 1963 and struck out as a solo artist. “Baby the Rain Must Fall” was his biggest hit but he had a long and distinguished career as a mellow folksinger. I have a half-dozen or so of his albums and I enjoy them immensely. His smooth, warm voice made any song sound just a little bit better.
Sadly, Glenn Yarbrough passed away on August 11, 2016, aged 86. As the lyrics go:
Baby, the rain must fall
Baby, the wind must blow
Wherever my heart leads me
Baby, I must go
Baby, I must go
