The Raindrops
Encyclopedia
The Raindrops were an American
pop
group
from New York
, associated with the Brill Building
style of 1960s pop. The group existed from 1963 to 1965 and consisted of Ellie Greenwich
and Jeff Barry
, both of whom worked as writer/producers for numerous other acts before, during and after their tenure as The Raindrops.
and Ellie Greenwich
. Greenwich had recorded a single in 1958 ("Cha-Cha Charming", as by Ellie Gaye) while a college student, and Barry began working for a Brill Building music publisher in 1959, penning
the hit "Tell Laura I Love Her
" amongst others. The two met again that year and began dating; simultaneously, they began writing songs together, mainly for other artists. However, a couple of Greenwich-led discs were issued in the early 1960s under pseudonyms, one credited to Ellie Gee and The Jets, another to Kelli Douglas.
Greenwich and Barry would marry
in October 1962. Greenwich also got a job in music publishing, not only writing but also singing on various demos of her publisher's songs.
In early 1963, Greenwich and Barry recorded a demo of their composition "What a Guy", a tune Barry had written for The Sensations
. However, the group's label
, Jubilee Records
, chose to release Barry and Greenwich's demo
as the single
under the name 'The Raindrops' (the group name was reportedly inspired by "Raindrops," a 1961 hit song by Dee Clark
).
The single hit #41 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
, and the follow-up, "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget", hit #17. The Raindrops sound was "girl-group" in style, with Greenwich singing lead vocal and double-tracked harmony parts, and Barry providing nonsense-syllable bass vocals.
. The Raindrops made occasional live appearances, but rarely with the same personnel as on record; Ellie Greenwich sometimes had Beverly Warren sing live for her, and Bobby Bosco filled in at times for Barry. To preserve the illusion that the group was a trio, Laura Greenwich also occasionally appeared in live performances
with the group, singing into a dead microphone
.
The Raindrops released an album
on Jubilee towards the end of 1963; a third single, "That Boy John", was a minor hit but sank at radio
after the assassination
of John F. Kennedy
. After a few further minor hits, Barry and Greenwich stopped releasing material as The Raindrops in early 1965, around the same time they became involved with Red Bird Records
.
s after the demise of The Raindrops, and Greenwich went on to a modest solo career as a singer as well. They divorce
d late in 1965, although they continued to write songs together for a time. They reunited on record for a 1967 single credited to The Meantime, which failed to chart. This was their last professional project as a duo.
Both Greenwich and Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 1991.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
from New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, associated with the Brill Building
Brill Building
The Brill Building is an office building located at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood...
style of 1960s pop. The group existed from 1963 to 1965 and consisted of Ellie Greenwich
Ellie Greenwich
Eleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby", "Christmas ", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Leader of the Pack", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many others...
and Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer.-Early career:...
, both of whom worked as writer/producers for numerous other acts before, during and after their tenure as The Raindrops.
Formation
The group was formed around the nucleus of childhood friends Jeff BarryJeff Barry
Jeff Barry is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer.-Early career:...
and Ellie Greenwich
Ellie Greenwich
Eleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby", "Christmas ", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Leader of the Pack", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many others...
. Greenwich had recorded a single in 1958 ("Cha-Cha Charming", as by Ellie Gaye) while a college student, and Barry began working for a Brill Building music publisher in 1959, penning
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
the hit "Tell Laura I Love Her
Tell Laura I Love Her
"Tell Laura I Love Her," a teenage tragedy song written by Jeff Barry and Ben Raleigh, was an American Top Ten popular music hit for singer Ray Peterson in 1960 on RCA Victor Records, reaching #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart...
" amongst others. The two met again that year and began dating; simultaneously, they began writing songs together, mainly for other artists. However, a couple of Greenwich-led discs were issued in the early 1960s under pseudonyms, one credited to Ellie Gee and The Jets, another to Kelli Douglas.
Greenwich and Barry would marry
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
in October 1962. Greenwich also got a job in music publishing, not only writing but also singing on various demos of her publisher's songs.
In early 1963, Greenwich and Barry recorded a demo of their composition "What a Guy", a tune Barry had written for The Sensations
The Sensations
The Sensations were an American doo wop group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The group formed in 1954 under the name the Cavaliers, soon after changing to the Sensations. The group scored two hits on the US R&B chart in 1956 with the Atco Records singles "Yes Sir That's My Baby" and "Please Mr....
. However, the group's label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Jubilee Records
Jubilee Records
Jubilee Records was a record label specializing in rhythm and blues along with novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. Jerry Blaine became Abramson's partner. Blaine bought out Abramson's half of the company in 1947. The company name was Jay-Gee Recording...
, chose to release Barry and Greenwich's demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
as the single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
under the name 'The Raindrops' (the group name was reportedly inspired by "Raindrops," a 1961 hit song by Dee Clark
Dee Clark
Dee Clark was an African-American soul singer best known for a string of R&B and pop hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the ballad "Raindrops," which became a million-seller in the United States in 1961....
).
The single hit #41 on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
, and the follow-up, "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget", hit #17. The Raindrops sound was "girl-group" in style, with Greenwich singing lead vocal and double-tracked harmony parts, and Barry providing nonsense-syllable bass vocals.
Live appearances and album
At this point, the group began to attract attention. Media stills of the group often depicted the group as a trio, featuring Greenwich and Barry as well as Greenwich's younger sister Laura, who did not sing on the recordsGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. The Raindrops made occasional live appearances, but rarely with the same personnel as on record; Ellie Greenwich sometimes had Beverly Warren sing live for her, and Bobby Bosco filled in at times for Barry. To preserve the illusion that the group was a trio, Laura Greenwich also occasionally appeared in live performances
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
with the group, singing into a dead microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
.
The Raindrops released an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
on Jubilee towards the end of 1963; a third single, "That Boy John", was a minor hit but sank at radio
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
after the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. After a few further minor hits, Barry and Greenwich stopped releasing material as The Raindrops in early 1965, around the same time they became involved with Red Bird Records
Red Bird Records
Red Bird Records was a record label started by American pop music songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1964. Though often thought of as a "girl-group" label, female-led acts made up only 40% of the artist roster on Red Bird and its associated labels...
.
Post-Raindrops careers
Both Greenwich and Barry enjoyed successful careers as songwriterSongwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s after the demise of The Raindrops, and Greenwich went on to a modest solo career as a singer as well. They divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d late in 1965, although they continued to write songs together for a time. They reunited on record for a 1967 single credited to The Meantime, which failed to chart. This was their last professional project as a duo.
Both Greenwich and Barry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
in 1991.
Singles
| Release date | Title | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
U.S. Black Singles 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,... |
||
| April 1963 | "What a Guy" | 41 | 25 |
| August 1963 | "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget" | 17 | 27 |
| November 1963 | "That Boy John" | 64 | - |
| March 1964 | "Book of Love" | 62 | 62 |
| June 1964 | "Let's Go Together" | - | - |
| September 1964 | "One More Tear" | 97 | - |
| March 1965 | "Don't Let Go" | - | - |