Feature Photo: Aleksandar Pasaric
Rain has always been one of the most evocative images in music. It can represent cleansing, renewal, sadness, isolation, romance, or the feeling that something beyond our control has taken over. Songwriters have used it literally and metaphorically for generations, which is why rain songs can sound completely different from one another while still drawing on the same familiar image.
This is our second exploration of rain in music, following an earlier list built around deeper cuts and overlooked songs. This time we went for the heavy hitters, the recordings that have become permanently connected to rain across rock, pop, soul, and popular music. Narrowing the subject to ten songs was not easy, but these are the ones we consider essential.
# 10 – Rain – The Beatles
![Past Masters (Volumes 1 & 2) [2 CD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41ZMkyrRg2L._SL500_.jpg)
The Beatles released “Rain” in 1966 as the B-side of “Paperback Writer.” Recorded at EMI Studios during the Revolver sessions and produced by George Martin, the track became an early showcase for the band’s rapidly expanding studio imagination. Its slowed rhythm track and backwards vocal at the end pointed directly toward the experimentation that would define the next phase of The Beatles’ music.
Read More: Complete List Of Beatles Band Members
# 9 – Have You Ever Seen The Rain? – Creedence Clearwater Revival
John Fogerty wrote “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” for Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1970 album Pendulum, and the song was released as a single in 1971. Beneath its simple weather imagery is a sense of change and uncertainty that fit a period when tensions inside the band were growing. Its direct melody and melancholy tone helped make it one of CCR’s most enduring recordings.
Read More: Top 10 Creedence Clearwater Revival Songs
# 8 – Red Rain – Peter Gabriel
![So by Gabriel, Peter [Music CD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51IsEWNERNL._SL500_.jpg)
“Red Rain” opens Peter Gabriel’s 1986 album So with one of the record’s darkest and most atmospheric performances. Written by Gabriel and produced by Gabriel with Daniel Lanois, the song combines unsettling imagery with a powerful band performance that gives the track its sense of danger. It later peaked at No. 46 on the UK Singles Chart and remains one of Gabriel’s most distinctive recordings.
Read More: Top 10 Peter Gabriel Songs
# 7 – Rainy Days and Mondays – The Carpenters
Roger Nichols and Paul Williams wrote “Rainy Days and Mondays,” which The Carpenters released in 1971. Jack Daugherty produced the recording, while Richard Carpenter arranged it around Karen Carpenter’s unforgettable lead vocal. The single reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, turning rainy-day melancholy into one of the duo’s defining songs.
Read More: Top 10 Carpenters Songs
# 6 – November Rain – Guns N’ Roses
Axl Rose wrote “November Rain,” the sweeping power ballad released on Guns N’ Roses’ 1991 album Use Your Illusion I. The song combines piano, orchestration, Slash’s guitar solos, and one of the band’s most ambitious arrangements. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the Andy Morahan-directed video became one of the defining rock videos of the MTV era.
Read More: Slash: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
# 5 – Let It Rain – Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton and Bonnie Bramlett wrote “Let It Rain,” which appeared on Clapton’s 1970 debut solo album. Delaney Bramlett produced the recording at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, with Carl Radle on bass, Jim Gordon on drums, Leon Russell on piano, Bobby Whitlock on organ, and Stephen Stills contributing guitar and backing vocals. The track was later released as a single in 1972 and became one of the enduring songs from Clapton’s first solo period.
Read More: 11 Incredible Eric Clapton Guitar Solos
# 4 – Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head – B.J. Thomas
Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with B.J. Thomas providing the famous vocal. The song turns bad weather into a statement of optimism and resilience rather than defeat. Bacharach and David won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, helping make the recording one of the most recognizable movie songs of its era.
Read More: Top 10 B. J. Thomas Songs
# 3 – Purple Rain – Prince
Prince and the Revolution first performed “Purple Rain” at a Minnesota Dance Theatre benefit at First Avenue in Minneapolis on August 3, 1983. The basic live recording from that night became the foundation of the version released on the 1984 Purple Rain soundtrack after studio editing and overdubs. The single reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the song and film became inseparable from Prince’s rise to global superstardom.
Read More: Complete List Of Prince Albums And Discography
# 2 – The Rain Song – Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin recorded “The Rain Song” for their 1973 album Houses of the Holy. Jimmy Page developed the music before the band recorded the track at Stargroves in Hampshire with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, while Robert Plant supplied the lyrics and John Paul Jones added the orchestral colors through keyboards and Mellotron. Produced by Page, the song remains one of the clearest examples of Led Zeppelin moving far beyond heavy rock without losing their identity.
Read More: Complete List Of Led Zeppelin Studio Albums And Songs
# 1 – Who’ll Stop The Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival
John Fogerty wrote and produced “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” which Creedence Clearwater Revival released in 1970 and included on Cosmo’s Factory. Its acoustic folk-rock sound carries a sense of weariness and uncertainty that fit the social and political atmosphere surrounding the end of the 1960s. Released with “Travelin’ Band,” the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of Fogerty’s most enduring compositions.
Read More: Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Best Song On Each Studio Album
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Updated September 27, 2026
10 Essential Songs About Rain article published on ClassicRockHistory.com © 2026
A few additional and memorable songs about Rain to consider:
“Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” – Willie Nelson
“Fire and Rain” – James Taylor
“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” – Bob Dylan
“I Wish It Would Rain” – The Temptations/Norman Whitfield
i was thinking Dylan’s “Hard Rain” as well.
what about “Rain Man” by Counting Crows-great song.
A handful more songs addressing “Rain” that came to mind, while re-reading the article
While leaning into the pop, slick, and polished production, “Laughter In The Rain”, performed by Neil Sedaka, is instantly recognizable, and a smooth listen.
Released in 1974 as a single, and incorporated into 1974’s compilation album “Sedaka’s Back”.
And one of the most memorable, albeit not classic rock, of course, is the unforgettable “Singing In The Rain” by the late/great and multi-talented Gene Kelly (dancer, singer, actor, choreographer, director, producer, writer, etc.), from the 1952 movie of the same title.
Rain – Madonna!!!