Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head

Bacharach and David composed the song for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Director George Roy Hill wanted something for a particular scene involving a romantic bike ride. 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicaloud.com/2009/11/08/a-song-a-day-raindrops-keep-fallin-on-my-head/|title=A.Song.A.Day – Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head|website=Musicaloud.com|date=8 November 2009|access-date=30 May 2021}} Carol Kaye played electric bass on the song.{{cite web |title=Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/jots.200014190/ |website=Library of Congress}}

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-style instrumental break in double time while Paul Newman performed bicycle stunts.{{cite book|first=Serene|last=Dominic|title=Burt Bacharach: Song by Song: The Ultimate Burt Bacharach Reference for Fans, Serious Record Collectors, and Music Critics|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2003|ISBN=978-0825672804}} Two weeks later Thomas re-recorded the song at A & R Studio in New York City for its single release.

Some felt the song was the wrong tone for a western film like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but Hill insisted on its inclusion. Robert Redford, one of the stars of the films, was among those who disapproved of using the song, though he later acknowledged he was wrong:

{{blockquote|"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."}}

File:LindaNovember-Raindrops.jpg for her work on "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"]]

In 2004, it finished at number 23 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In 2008, the single was ranked 85th on Billboard's Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-90.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929032005/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/hot100/charts/top100-titles-90.shtml|url-status=dead|title=The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs (90-81)|magazine=Billboard|archive-date=Sep 29, 2008|access-date=Dec 15, 2020}} and placed 95th in the 55th Anniversary edition of the All-Time Hot 100 list in 2013.{{cite web|last1=Bronson|first1=Fred|title=Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/2155531/the-hot-100-all-time-top-songs|publisher=Billboard Magazine|access-date=3 August 2014|date=2 August 2013}} Billboard Magazine also ranked the song 15th on its Top 50 Movie Songs of All Time list in 2014.{{cite web|last1=Dan|first1=Reilly|title=Top 50 Movie Songs Of All Time|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/5922814/top-50-movie-songs-of-all-time?list_page=3|publisher=Billboard Magazine|access-date=3 August 2014|date=27 February 2014}}

{{blockquote|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.|source=B.J. Thomas, Interview, Pods o' Pop (August 22, 2011)

{{cite AV media|people=B.J. Thomas |year=2011 |title=Pods o' Pop-BJ Thomas Interview and Songs |medium=MP3 |url=http://podsopop.tracythibodeaux.com/2011/08/22/pods-o-pop-bj-thomas-interview-and-songs.aspx |access-date=7 December 2013 |format=Audio |time=34m 18s |publisher=Pods o' Pop |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212195005/http://podsopop.tracythibodeaux.com/2011/08/22/pods-o-pop-bj-thomas-interview-and-songs.aspx |archive-date=December 12, 2013 }}

}}

On December 3, 2013, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences announced that the single would be inducted into the 2014 Grammy Hall of Fame.{{cite web|title=2014 Grammy Hall of Fame|url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/press-release/the-recording-academy-announces-2014-grammy-hall-of-fame-inductees|work=Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head|publisher=THE RECORDING ACADEMY|access-date=3 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203213107/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/press-release/the-recording-academy-announces-2014-grammy-hall-of-fame-inductees|archive-date=3 December 2013|date=3 December 2013}}

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=B.J. Thomas|title=Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head|award=Gold|relyear=1969|salesamount=100,000|certref=|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://worldradihistory.com/CANADA/RPM/70s/1970/RPM-1970-05-23.pdf|title=B.J. Thomas Receives Compo Gold|magazine=RPM|page=3|date=May 23, 1970|accessdate=February 19, 2022}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=B.J. Thomas|title=Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head|award=Gold|relyear=1969|certyear=1969|salesamount=2,000,000|salesref={{cite book|title=Million selling records from the 1900s to the 1980s : an illustrated directory|url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL120558W/Million_selling_records_from_the_1900s_to_the_1980s|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1985|publisher=Arco Pub.|quote=By the end of January 1970, sales were estimated at two million in the US.A. alone. ... and the disc solve over a global three million|isbn=0668064595|page=294}}}}

{{Certification Table Summary}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|type=single|artist=B.J. Thomas|title=Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head|nocert=true|relyear=1969|salesamount=3,000,000|salesref=}}

{{end}}

• It was mentioned in a candidate's name in the Monty Python's Flying Circus Election Night Special sketch in the "It's a Living" episode in 1970.{{cite magazine |last1=Liebenson |first1=Donald |title=Remembering Butch Cassidy's Controversial Smash Hit, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/09/raindrops-keep-fallin-on-my-head-history |magazine=Vanity Fair| publisher=Condé Nast |access-date=February 19, 2022 |date=25 September 2019}}
• The song is used in the background of a montage in Spider-Man 2, where Peter Parker decides to opt out of being a superhero after he loses his powers.
• The song was used in the outro sequence of The Simpsons in episode 16 of season 4, "Duffless", as a reference to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).{{cite book |last1=Groening |first1=Matt |last2=Richmond |first2=Ray |last3=Coffman |first3=Antonia |title=The Simpsons: A Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family |date=1997 |publisher=HarperPerennial |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-06-095252-5 |page=249 |edition=1st}}
• The chorus of the song is referenced in the Genesis song "In the Cage" on their 1974 album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, which is sung by Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins.
• In season 6 episode 19 of the Young Sheldon series, Sheldon plays this record when he is down and this is the most angst-filled song he could find in his mother's record collection.{{Cite AV media |url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt27098736/soundtrack/ |title="Young Sheldon" A New Weather Girl and a Stay-at-Home Coddler (TV Episode 2023) - Soundtracks - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2025-02-15 |via=m.imdb.com}}
• In Final Destination: Bloodlines, it is played in one of the first scenes.

• In 1970, the song was covered by Roy Ayers, with his group the Roy Ayers Ubiquity, on their album Ubiquity, as the second track.https://www.allmusic.com/album/ubiquity-mw0000809132
• Peggy Lee on her album Bridge Over Troubled Water, released by Capitol Records.
• Barbara Mason, whose cover reached U.S. Bubbling Under number 12 and R&B number 38.Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
• John Farnham, whose version was the number-one hit (for seven weeks) in Australia on the Go-Set National Top 40 from January 24 to March 13.{{cite web|last1=Farnham|first1=John|title=Raindrops keep fallin' on my head / Bacharach - David ; [performed by] Johnny Farnham. Two / [written and performed by] Johnny Farnham|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/30436650?q=farnham+raindrops&c=music&versionId=36935024|publisher=National Library of Australia|access-date=30 July 2014|year=1969|quote=Sydney: Columbia [1969], DO-8965 7XCT3526 7XCT3527}}
• Bobbie Gentry, from her album Fancy, which reached number 40 in the UK chart.
• Robert Goulet on his album Robert Goulet Sings Today's Greatest Hits.
• Perry Como on his album It's Impossible.
• Brazilian singer Wilson Simonal on his album Mexico '70.
• Sacha Distel, in French as "Toute La Pluie Tombe Sur Moi", while his English-language version was a number 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart, 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 a Danish version re-entitled "Regndråber Drypper I Mit Hår".{{cite web|title=Pedro Biker - Regndråber Drypper I Mit Hår/Sjælens Karrusel|url=http://www.discogs.com/Pedro-Biker-Regndr%C3%A5ber-Drypper-I-Mit-H%C3%A5rSj%C3%A6lens-Karrusel/release/5821662|publisher=Discogs|access-date=30 July 2014|date=1970|quote=Polydor - 2054 005, Denmark}}
• Swedish singer Siw Malmkvist in Swedish as "Regnet det bara öser ner" (The rain just pours down). It peaked at #5 in the Swedish best selling chart "Kvällstoppen".
• Dionne Warwick, for the album I'll Never Fall in Love Again.{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ill-never-fall-in-love-again-mw0000873078 | title=Dionne Warwick - I'll Never Fall in Love Again Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic | website=AllMusic }}
• Patty Pravo in the 1970 album of the same name, (RCA Italiana- LP8S 21102), in Italian, entitled Gocce di pioggia su di me (Raindrops on me).
• In 1973, the Barry Sisters covered the song in a Yiddish version ("Trop'ns Fin Regen Oif Mein Kop") on their album Our Way.{{cite web|title=Our Way|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:GqS4N6ejjd8J:idelsohnsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/barry_sisters_our_way_Liner_notes.pdf+sam+medoff&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg1bVgiZdArizs0zyIwaGRKrM12YL0iW63RZBDGlGZL3gZoKkRS2d4w6iKQKchIKU_JoOxtKnZIfrCJfugh8GJUGEdITXxpuIILMVnbCVsIJf9dVEwxeIS2jGnym8tdbJd7IEvH&sig=AHIEtbQeDTFM-F2oKk1W5IsmUJRw7prICA|work=Album Cover Notes|publisher=Stereophonic|access-date=10 April 2014}}{{cite web|title=Our Way|url=http://www.mtv.com/artists/the-barry-sisters/discography/2347288/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140410011524/http://www.mtv.com/artists/the-barry-sisters/discography/2347288/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 10, 2014|publisher=MTV|access-date=10 April 2014|quote=Label: Reboot Stereophonic}}
• The 1995 cover version by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers is credited with adding greater nuance to the song, the Financial 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 singer James Dean Bradfield's voice "added grit to the facile lyric".{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/f8ea200e-fee5-11e4-94c8-00144feabdc0| title=The Life of a Song: 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head' | publisher=Financial Times | date=22 May 2015 | access-date=18 October 2016 | author=Aspden, Peter}} The group often spent their downtime on the tour bus watching the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and incorporated the song into live sets. After the disappearance of lyricist Richey 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 the War Child charity album The Help Album (1995). The project required all songs to be recorded in one day.{{cite web | url=http://thequietus.com/articles/20332-manic-street-preachers-everything-must-go-interview-simon-price | title=And If You Need An Explanation: Manic Street Preachers interviewed | publisher=Quietus | date=2 June 2016 | access-date=18 October 2016 | author=Price, Simon}} While band biographer Simon Price has described the recording and release of the record as a "coded message" that the band still existed,{{cite book | title=Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers) | publisher=Virgin | author=Price, Simon | author-link=Simon Price | year=1999 | pages=199–200 | isbn=0-7535-0139-2}} 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." The band's recorded version of the song contains the first recorded instance of drummer Sean Moore performing on trumpet, and also appears on their 2003 B-sides and rarities compilation album Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers). The Manics further reference the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with the B-side "Sepia".{{cite book | title=Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers) | publisher=Virgin | author=Price, Simon | author-link=Simon Price | year=1999 | pages=220 | isbn=0-7535-0139-2}}
• in 1998, Ben Folds Five took part in Bacharach's 'One Amazing Night' tribute concert and covered the song.{{Cite web |last=Gallo |first=Phil |date=1998-04-14 |title=Bacharach: One Amazing Night |url=https://variety.com/1998/tv/reviews/bacharach-one-amazing-night-1200453399/ |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
• Lisa Miskovsky covered the song in the extended version of her self-titled (2004) album.{{cite web|title=Lisa Miskovsky - Lisa Miskovsky (New Version)|url=http://www.discogs.com/Lisa-Miskovsky-Lisa-Miskovsky-New-Version/release/490729|publisher=Discogs|access-date=30 July 2014|year=2004|quote=Stockholm Records - 986 737-6}}

{{portal|1960s|Pop music}}

• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1970s
• List of RPM number-one singles of 1970
• List of number-one hits of 1970 (Mexico)
• List of number-one hits in Norway
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1969 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1970 (U.S.)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1970 (U.S.)

{{Reflist}}

• {{YouTube|6NWZpsyaIbU|B. J. Thomas - Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head}}

{{B. J. Thomas}}

{{Burt Bacharach}}

{{John Farnham}}

{{Bobbie Gentry}}

{{AcademyAwardBestOriginalSong 1961–1970}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head}}

Category:1969 songs

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Category:1970 singles

Category:B. J. Thomas songs

Category:John Farnham songs

Category:Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs

Category:Bobbie Gentry songs

Category:Andy Williams songs

Category:Barbara Mason songs

Category:Barry Manilow songs

Category:Songs with lyrics by Hal David

Category:Songs with music by Burt Bacharach

Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Cashbox number-one singles

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Category:Number-one singles in Norway

Category:Best Original Song Academy Award–winning songs

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Category:American soft rock songs

Category:1960s ballads

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Category:Scepter Records singles

Category:Songs about depression

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Category:Manic Street Preachers songs