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] The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1975.

"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)
Released	October 1974
Recorded	1974
Genre	Pop, soft rock[1]
Length	2:53
Label	Rocket (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 label in the US and on the Polydor label in the UK and elsewhere.^[3][4]

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.^[5]

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."^[5] He combined that with a pentatonic melody inspired by Aaron Copland.^[6]

Cody recalled experiencing writer's block when initially attempting to write the lyrics at first, but after a two-hour outdoor nap aided by a small amount of marijuana, the lyrics came to him, allowing him to finish the song in about five minutes:

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.^[7]

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).^[8] 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.^[9]

Weekly charts

Lea Roberts

Chart (1974)	Peak position
US Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100[10]	109
US Billboard R&B	20

Neil Sedaka Chart (1974–1975) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 17 Canada RPM Top Singles[12] 2 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[13] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 35 UK Singles Chart[14] 15 US Billboard Hot 100[8] 1 US Billboard Adult Contemporary[15] 1 US Cash Box Top 100[16] 1 Yugoslavian Singles Chart 2

Year-end charts Chart (1975) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 79 Canada [17] 61 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [18] 8 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [19] 20

Personnel

• Neil Sedaka – lead vocal, piano
• Danny Kortchmar – electric guitar^[20]
• Dean Parks - acoustic guitar
• Leland Sklar – bass guitar
• Russ Kunkel – drums
• Jim Horn – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
• William "Smitty" Smith – Hammond organ, background vocals
• Abigail Haness, Brenda Gordon, Brian Russell – background vocals

• Artie Butler – orchestral arrangement^[21]

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. https://www.45cat.com/record/mca40313 ^{[bare URL]}
4. https://www.45cat.com/record/2058494 ^{[bare URL]}
5. Professor of Rock - Neil Sedaka - The Story of Laughter In The Rain, retrieved December 2, 2019
6. "Today's Mini-Concert - 9/2/2020 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. 2 September 2020. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021.
7. "Songwriter Interviews: Philip Cody" at songfacts.com
8. "Music: Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
9. "Neil Sedaka". officialcharts.com/. 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
10. Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
11. "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. December 29, 1975. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Imgur.
12. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
13. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
14. "laughter in the rain | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
15. "Adult Contemporary Music Chart - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
16. "Cash Box Top 100 2/01/75". cashboxmagazine.com.
17. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
18. "Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975". Retrieved October 8, 2016.
19. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1975". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on August 19, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
20. https://bestclassicbands.com/danny-kortchmar-interview-kootch-10-14-211/
21. "Artie Butler | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic.

Other sources

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

External links

• "Laughter In The Rain" (Radio 2's Piano Room) on YouTube, recorded September 2017