Laughter in the Rain

"Laughter in the Rain" is a song composed and recorded by Neil Sedaka, with lyrics by Phil Cody. It includes a 20-second saxophone solo by Jim Horn.[2]

"Laughter in the Rain"
Side A of Australian single
Single by Neil Sedaka
from the album Sedaka's Back
B-side"Endlessly" (US); "Kiddio" (UK); "Betty Grable" (Belgium); "For the Good of the Cause" (Brazil)
ReleasedOctober 1974
Recorded1974
GenrePop, soft rock[1]
Length2:53
LabelRocket (US); Polydor (Europe)
Songwriter(s)Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody
Producer(s)Neil Sedaka and Robert Appere
Neil Sedaka singles chronology
"The Way I Am"
(1974)		 "Laughter in the Rain"
(1974)		 "The Immigrant"
(1975)
Official audio
"Laughter In The Rain" on YouTube

Background

The song was released on Elton John's Rocket Records.

After hearing a version of "Laughter in the Rain" by singer Lea Roberts on the radio several weeks before the planned release of his single, Sedaka phoned Elton John to have MCA Records rush the Sedaka version to release within five days.[3]

The opening chord of the chorus was based on that used by John in "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", which Sedaka has described as a "drop-dead chord."[3] He combined that with a pentatonic melody inspired by Aaron Copland.[4] Cody claims to have written the lyrics in about five minutes after smoking marijuana and falling asleep under a tree for a couple of hours.[5]

Hello - Philip Cody here. To clarify - Neil and I started writing the song early in the day and I just wasn't getting it. So, I went for a walk, smoked a very small amount of weed and sat under a tree and took a short nap. It was a bright sunny day, not a cloud in the sky and yet, when I got back to my post at Sedaka's right elbow, the lyric just fell onto the page with very little effort from me. Somewhere, in my consciousness, I guess I was having a Gene Kelly moment . . .

Chart performance

In the U.S., "Laughter in the Rain" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 1, 1975 (Sedaka's first single to top the Hot 100 since 1962).[6] The song spent two weeks at the top of the adult contemporary chart.

The record was also a major hit in Canada, reaching #2 on the pop singles chart and #1 on the adult contemporary chart. It was also released in the U.K., where it spent nine weeks on the Singles Chart, peaking at #15 on June 22, 1974.[7]

Weekly charts

Lea Roberts

Chart (1974) Peak
position
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100[8] 109
US Billboard R&B 20

Personnel

References
  1. "Billboard Top Soft Rock Hits: 1974 - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via AllMusic.
  2. "Bob Weir & Neil Sedaka: West Meets East (Coast)" at elmoremagazine.com
  3. Professor of Rock - Neil Sedaka - The Story of Laughter In The Rain, retrieved 2019-12-02
  4. "Today's Mini-Concert - 9/2/2020 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  5. "Songwriter Interviews: Philip Cody" at songfacts.com
  6. "Music: Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  7. "Neil Sedaka". officialcharts.com/. 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  8. Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
  9. "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. December 29, 1975. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
  10. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  12. "laughter in the rain | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  13. "Adult Contemporary Music Chart - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  14. "Cash Box Top 100 2/01/75". cashboxmagazine.com.
  15. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
  16. "Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975". Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  17. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1975". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
  18. "Artie Butler | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic.

Other sources
  • Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
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