Blame It on the Rain
Encyclopedia
"Blame It on the Rain" is a song recorded by Milli Vanilli
and written by hitmaker Diane Warren
. Released during the summer of 1989, it became their last Billboard Hot 100
number one hit (November 25 - December 2, 1989) before their scandal broke out. The club mix version of the song was included on the "All or Nothing (U.S. Remix Album)" and included scratches and samples from other "rain" themed songs such as "Walking in the Rain" and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head". The extended version of the club mix featured the rap from "It's Your Thing", which was an album track. The single version of "Blame It On The Rain" did not appear on any Milli Vanilli albums until the 2006 "Greatest Hits" release.
(The other was "Girl You Know It's True
"). The plot involved Bowser's attempt to kidnap the duo. However, after the scandal broke, the two songs were replaced with generic instrumentals in the episode.
The song was re recorded by Sam Moore
& Fantasia
in August 2006 for Moore's star studded compilation album entitled Overnight Sensational. The remake was produced by Randy Jackson
and released on Rhino Records. Coincidentally, Fantasia is signed to J Records
, headed by Clive Davis. Davis was responsible for signing Milli Vanilli.
In an episode of Full House
, D.J. Tanner and Kimmy Gibbler are doing homework, and they sing this song. Michelle Tanner
then sings "Rain, rain, go away...".
In their song "Blame it on Me
," the Barenaked Ladies
sing, "Milli Vanilli told you to blame it on the rain, but if you blame it on the rain tell me what can we gain, if all else fails, you can blame it on me."
On May 15, 2008, contestant Diana Drake sang "Blame It on the Rain" on Don't Forget the Lyrics!
for the $1,000,000 prize. She missed, and dropped down to $100,000.
on October 7, 1989, at number sixty-five. Seven weeks later, for the week ending November 25, 1989, it reached number one, and occupied the spot for two weeks. It also spent a total of twenty-three weeks on the Hot 100. The song became Milli Vanilli's third number one single on the Hot 100 after "Baby Don't Forget My Number
" and "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You
". "Rain" was their final single to top the chart before their infamous scandal took off.
It was preceded at number one on the Hot 100 by Bad English
's "When I See You Smile
" and succeeded by Billy Joel
's "We Didn't Start The Fire
".
The song was ranked at number twenty-one on Billboard's Year-End Singles list for 1989, and number forty-six for 1990.
Milli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli was a pop/dance music project formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1988, visually fronted by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on Feb. 21, 1990. Milli Vanilli became one of the most...
and written by hitmaker Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
. Released during the summer of 1989, it became their last Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
number one hit (November 25 - December 2, 1989) before their scandal broke out. The club mix version of the song was included on the "All or Nothing (U.S. Remix Album)" and included scratches and samples from other "rain" themed songs such as "Walking in the Rain" and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head". The extended version of the club mix featured the rap from "It's Your Thing", which was an album track. The single version of "Blame It On The Rain" did not appear on any Milli Vanilli albums until the 2006 "Greatest Hits" release.
Cover versions and uses in the media
This was one of the two songs performed by Milli Vanilli themselves when they were a special guest on The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3
The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 is an American animated television series based on the video game Super Mario Bros. 3. It aired on NBC with Captain N: The Game Master in a programming block titled Captain N & The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 from September 8, 1990 through December 1,...
(The other was "Girl You Know It's True
Girl You Know It's True (song)
"Girl You Know It's True" is a song written by Bill Pettaway, Sean Spencer, Kevin Lyles, Rodney Holloman, and Ky Adeyemo. They recorded it as Numarx, but the song failed to make much impact until it was covered by Milli Vanilli and released as their lead single from the album Girl You Know It's...
"). The plot involved Bowser's attempt to kidnap the duo. However, after the scandal broke, the two songs were replaced with generic instrumentals in the episode.
The song was re recorded by Sam Moore
Sam Moore
Samuel David Moore is an American Southern Soul and Rhythm & Blues singer who was the tenor vocalist for the soul vocal duo Sam & Dave from 1961 through 1981...
& Fantasia
Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Monique Barrino commonly known as Fantasia, is an American R&B singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series American Idol in 2004. Following her victory, she released her debut single, "I Believe", which...
in August 2006 for Moore's star studded compilation album entitled Overnight Sensational. The remake was produced by Randy Jackson
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, music manager, A&R executive, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as a judge on American Idol and executive producer for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew...
and released on Rhino Records. Coincidentally, Fantasia is signed to J Records
J Records
J Records was an American record label, owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment, and was distributed through the RCA Music Group.-Company history:...
, headed by Clive Davis. Davis was responsible for signing Milli Vanilli.
In an episode of Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
, D.J. Tanner and Kimmy Gibbler are doing homework, and they sing this song. Michelle Tanner
Michelle Tanner
Michelle Elizabeth Tanner was a main character from the long-running television series Full House. She debuted in the show's pilot, "Our Very First Show!", which aired in 1987. Her final appearance was in the 1995 two-part episode "Michelle Rides Again", when the series finished its final season...
then sings "Rain, rain, go away...".
In their song "Blame it on Me
Gordon (album)
Gordon is the debut album by Canadian band Barenaked Ladies. It was released through Sire Records on July 28, 1992. After The Yellow Tape was certified platinum in Canada, the group won a contest hosted by a local radio station. With the winnings, Barenaked Ladies were able to hire producer Michael...
," the Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
sing, "Milli Vanilli told you to blame it on the rain, but if you blame it on the rain tell me what can we gain, if all else fails, you can blame it on me."
On May 15, 2008, contestant Diana Drake sang "Blame It on the Rain" on Don't Forget the Lyrics!
Don't Forget the Lyrics!
Don't Forget the Lyrics! is a game show that originally aired on Fox from July 11, 2007 to June 19, 2009, hosted by Wayne Brady and produced by RDF USA, part of RDF Media. The launch of this show prompted NBC to move up the launch of their similar game show The Singing Bee...
for the $1,000,000 prize. She missed, and dropped down to $100,000.
Chart performance
"Blame It On The Rain" debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on October 7, 1989, at number sixty-five. Seven weeks later, for the week ending November 25, 1989, it reached number one, and occupied the spot for two weeks. It also spent a total of twenty-three weeks on the Hot 100. The song became Milli Vanilli's third number one single on the Hot 100 after "Baby Don't Forget My Number
Baby Don't Forget My Number
"Baby Don't Forget My Number" is a song by Milli Vanilli and the second U.S single release from their album Girl You Know It's True. It became the first of their three number one hits in the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1989.-Track listings:7"-Single...
" and "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You
Girl I'm Gonna Miss You
"Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" is a song recorded by Milli Vanilli which was released as a single in the middle of 1989 off the album Girl You Know It's True...
". "Rain" was their final single to top the chart before their infamous scandal took off.
It was preceded at number one on the Hot 100 by Bad English
Bad English
Bad English was an American/British hard rock supergroup formed in 1988, reuniting keyboardist Jonathan Cain with singer John Waite and bassist Ricky Phillips, his former bandmates in The Babys.- History :...
's "When I See You Smile
When I See You Smile
When I See You Smile is the second single of American/British hard rock band Bad English, taken from their self-titled debut album of the same name, released in 1989....
" and succeeded by Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's "We Didn't Start The Fire
We Didn't Start the Fire
"We Didn't Start the Fire" is a song by Billy Joel. Its lyrics are made up from rapid-fire brief allusions to over a hundred headline events between March 1949 and 1989, when the song was released on his album Storm Front...
".
The song was ranked at number twenty-one on Billboard's Year-End Singles list for 1989, and number forty-six for 1990.
Track listings
- CD maxi
- "Blame It on the Rain" (club mix) — 7:02
- "Money" (remix) — 4:10
- "Baby Don't Forget My Number" (European mix) — 4:55
- 7" single
- "Blame It on the Rain" — 4:08
- "Money" (remix) — 4:11
- 12" maxi
- "Blame It on the Rain" (club mix) — 7:15
- "Money" (Remix) (long version) — 5:17
- "Blame It on the Rain" (radio version) — 4:08
Peak positions
| Chart (1989/90) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 8 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Dutch Mega Top 100 | 2 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| Sweden Singles Chart | 6 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 22 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
52 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
14 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
27 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1989) | Position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 28 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 21 |
| Chart (1990) | Position |
| Australian Singles Chart | 46 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 46 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Gold | December 20, 1989 | 50,000 |
| Sweden | Gold | November 30, 1989 | 10,000 |
| U.S. | Platinum | March 1, 1990 | 1,000,000 |