"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written byBurt Bacharach andHal David for the 1969 filmButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.[5][6] The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me."[7][8]
The single byB. J. Thomas reached No. 1 on charts in the United States, Canada and Norway, and reached No. 38 on theUK Singles Chart.[6] It topped theBillboard Hot 100 for four weeks in January 1970 and was also the first American No. 1 hit of the 1970s. The song also spent seven weeks atop theBillboardAdult Contemporary chart.[9]Billboard ranked it asthe No. 4 song of 1970. According toBillboard magazine, it had sold over 2 million copies by March 14, 1970, with eight-track and cassette versions also climbing the charts.[10] It won anOscar forBest Original Song.[6] Bacharach also wonBest Original Score.
Bacharach and David composed the song forButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. DirectorGeorge Roy Hill wanted something for a particular scene involving a romantic bike ride.[2]Ray Stevens was first offered the opportunity to record it for the film, but turned it down.Bob Dylan is supposed to have been approached for the song, but he reportedly declined too.[11]Carol Kaye played electric bass on the song.[12]
B. J. Thomas accepted the offer to record the song, and he recorded the version heard in the film in seven takes, after Bacharach expressed dissatisfaction with the first six. Thomas had been recovering from laryngitis, which made his voice sound huskier. The film version featured a separate vaudeville-styleinstrumental break in double time whilePaul Newman performed bicycle stunts.[13] Two weeks later Thomas re-recorded the song atA & R Studio in New York City for its single release.[2]
Some felt the song was the wrong tone for a western film likeButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but Hill insisted on its inclusion.[5]Robert Redford, one of the stars of the film, was among those who disapproved of using the song, though he later acknowledged he was wrong:[5]
When the film was released, I was highly critical: How did the song fit with the film? There was no rain. At the time, it seemed like a dumb idea. How wrong I was, as it turned out to be a giant hit.[5]
Gold record presented to backup singerLinda November for her work on "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"
In 2004, it finished at number 23 onAFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In 2008, the single was ranked 85th onBillboard's Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs[14] and placed 95th in the 55th Anniversary edition of the All-Time Hot 100 list in 2013.[15]Billboard Magazine also ranked the song 15th on its Top 50 Movie Songs of All Time list in 2014.[16]
The song, initially when it came out, I believe it was October of 69, the movie didn't come out until December, it did get some bad reviews. It was a very unique and different sounding song, Bacharach and David never had any qualms about trying to do anything different, or push the envelope so to speak. So nowadays, it sounds pretty tame, but back then, radio resisted it to some degree. But, when the movie came out it hit hugely and sold about 200,000 to 300,000 records a day [and continued selling] for about three years.
The song is used in the background of a montage inSpider-Man 2, where Peter Parker decides to opt out of being a superhero after he loses his powers.[44]
The song was used in the outro sequence ofThe Simpsons in episode 16 of season 4, "Duffless", as a reference toButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).[44][45]
The song is used extensively throughoutHideo Kojima's 2025 video gameDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach, both as non-diegetic background music in scenes and being sung by characters in-universe.
The song (the Bobbie Gentry version specifically) plays duringFinal Destination: Bloodlines during the premonition scene.
Sacha Distel, in French as "Toute La Pluie Tombe Sur Moi", while his English-language version was a number 10 hit in theUK Singles Chart,[6] and number 13 in Ireland; the French version reaching number 10 in his home country. Distel also recorded a version in Italian, ”Gocce Di Pioggia Su Di Me”.
Portuguese-born television and radio presenter Pedro Biker, who released aDanish version re-entitled "Regndråber Drypper I Mit Hår".[49]
Swedish singerSiw Malmkvist in Swedish as "Regnet, det bara öser ner" (The rain just pours down).[50] It peaked at #5 in the Swedish best selling chart "Kvällstoppen".
Patty Pravo in the 1970 album of the same name, (RCA Italiana- LP8S 21102), in Italian, entitledGocce di pioggia su di me (Raindrops on me).
In 1973, theBarry Sisters covered the song in a Yiddish version ("Trop'ns Fin Regen Oif Mein Kop") on their albumOur Way.[52][53]
The 1995 cover version by Welsh rock bandManic Street Preachers is credited with adding greater nuance to the song, theFinancial Times citing their recording as transforming the song from carefree optimism to "an exhortation to keep going in the face of tragedy", and noting that singerJames Dean Bradfield's voice "added grit to the facile lyric".[54] The group often spent their downtime on the tour bus watching the filmButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and incorporated the song into live sets. After the disappearance of lyricistRichey Edwards, the band decided to continue rather than split up. Having booked studio time in France to record their fourth album,Everything Must Go (1996), they were invited to record for theWar Child charity albumThe Help Album (1995). The project required all songs to be recorded in one day.[55] While band biographerSimon Price has described the recording and release of the record as a "coded message" that the band still existed,[56] Bradfield recalls the events differently: "...us putting it out wasn't planned as us saying 'We're OK, guys!', but the deadline was the next day after we'd arrived in this place, for some kind of new beginning."[55] The band's recorded version of the song contains the first recorded instance of drummerSean Moore performing on trumpet,[56] and also appears on their 2003 B-sides and rarities compilation albumLipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers). The Manics further reference the filmButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with the B-side "Sepia".[57]
in 1998,Ben Folds Five took part in Bacharach's 'One Amazing Night' tribute concert and covered the song.[58]
Lisa Miskovsky covered the song in the extended version of her self-titled (2004) album.[59]
^Dominic, Serene (2003).Burt Bacharach: Song by Song: The Ultimate Burt Bacharach Reference for Fans, Serious Record Collectors, and Music Critics. Omnibus Press.ISBN978-0825672804.
^"2014 Grammy Hall of Fame".Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head. THE RECORDING ACADEMY. 3 December 2013. Archived fromthe original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved3 December 2013.
^Nimmervoll, Ed (January 24, 1970)."National Top 40".Go-Set. Waverley Press. RetrievedMay 16, 2014. Note: Australian pop singer, Johnny Farnham's cover version sits at No. 1 (first week), while B. J. Thomas' version is at No. 20.
^Groening, Matt; Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (1997).The Simpsons: A Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperPerennial. p. 249.ISBN978-0-06-095252-5.
