If the featured image looks familiar, it’s because it is. I used it for the Friday Cocktail Hour for Who’ll Stop The Rain. That song was written in 1970, but it captures the feeling of this gloomy and rainy summer.

That Fogerty classic inspired this list. It consists of songs with the word rain in the title. No rainy or teardrop songs for me. I want the real deal. If you think I’m all wet, tough cookies.

The list is arranged in chronological order based on when the song was written. I’ve used original versions except for Looks Like Rain because all Grateful Dead songs are better live.

On with the rain show this is it:

We begin with a song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer in 1946. This version of  Come Rain Or Come Shine comes from the 1961 album Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Harold Arlen Songbook.

Unlike Phil and Don Everly, I’ve never wept in the wind or cried in the rain. I have, however, sung along with this song a time or three.

The Beatles. Say no more.

I have no idea why The Temptations are wearing French Foreign Legion uniforms on this single cover. Were they inspired by Laurel & Hardy in The Flying Deuces? Beats the hell outta me.

Another day, another rain song by John Fogerty.

I excommunicated Eric Clapton from First Draft for his malakatude during the pandemic. It’s time to let bygones be bygones and let it rain.

The best live versions of Looks like Rain come from the Dead’s Keith and Donna era. Donna’s harmonizing with Bob Weir is to die for.

Next, a song that expresses my sentiments during this damnably damp summer: I Can’t Stand The Rain. Should we start a song fight between Ann Peebles and The Temptations? My money would be on Ann: she’d likely throw peebles at the Temps…

What would a rain songs dozen be without Purple Rain? In a word: Incomplete.

Red Rain is one of my favorite Peter Gabriel tunes. It washes over me every time I hear it.

Feels Like Rain is set in New Orleans on a hot summer night: is there any other kind? The covers by Aaron Neville and Buddy Guy are great but the John Hiatt OG is the gold standard with its languid pace and the slippery slide guitar of Sonny Landreth.

This summer’s rain has been nasty, downright wicked much like this Cesar Rosas classic.

What would an Adrastos music listicle be without lagniappe? We have four covers of the songs comprising the rain song dozen.

We begin with Our Mac DBA Dr. John:

Our next serving of lagniappe comes from Todd Rundgren:

We continue with Paul Rodgers in Memphis. I love me some Paul Rodgers.

Finally, he may not live in New Orleans any more, but I still consider Aaron Neville my 13th Ward Homey.