B. J. Thomas – Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head

Burt Bacharach and Hal David composed the song for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Director George Roy Hill wanted something for a particular scene involving a romantic bike ride. Ray Stevens was first offered the opportunity to record it for the film, but turned it down. Bob Dylan is supposed to have been approached for the song, but he reportedly declined too. Carol Kaye played electric bass on the song.

B. J. Thomas accepted the offer to record the song, and he recorded the version heard in the film in seven takes, after Bacharach expressed dissatisfaction with the first six. Thomas had been recovering from laryngitis, which made his voice sound huskier. The film version featured a separate vaudeville-style instrumental break in double time while Paul Newman performed bicycle stunts. Two weeks later Thomas re-recorded the song at A & R Studio in New York City for its single release.

That tack piano (a piano with thumbtacks on the hammers) simulates the raindrops in the song. Bacharach decided the song should be titled “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,” and turned it over to Hal David who wrote the lyrics to Bacharach’s melody and title. The lyrics match the jovial vibe of the scene but don’t match the weather: it takes place on a sunny day.

The lead actor of the film for which it was intended didn’t like the song at all. Neither did the first artist approached to sing it. Radio stations initially balked at the finished product, what with its old-timey sound seeming out of place as the 1960s turned into the ’70s.

In the face of all that opposition, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” soared to the top of the charts. And it still stands as one of the memorable songs ever composed for an American motion picture.

“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” won the Oscar for Best Song From A Motion Picture at the 1970 awards, where Thomas performed it. Bacharach also won for Best Score for his work on the film.

This song is played in Spider-Man 2, right after Peter Parker decides not to be Spider Man anymore. Thankfully, Parker changed his mind and became a valued superhero.

Something about this song goes well with animated comedies – it has been used in The Simpsons, Family Guy and Futurama. Movies that have used the song include Boys on the Side (1995), Spy Hard (1996), Clockwatchers (1997) and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002).

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” – Single by B. J. Thomas from the album Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
B-side “Never Had It So Good”
Released October 1969
Label Scepter
Songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Producers Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Charted No. 1 in US; No.38 in UK; No.20 in Australia; No.1 in Canada; No.9 in Ireland; No.1 inn Mexico; No.1 in Norway.