{"id":45724,"date":"2023-10-16T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=45724"},"modified":"2023-10-16T09:06:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T16:06:53","slug":"cover-me-i-wish-it-would-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/16\/cover-me-i-wish-it-would-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"Cover Me: I Wish It Would Rain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You\u2019ve gotta be nuts to try and sing that song after David Ruffin sang it,&#8221; confessed Bruce Springsteen to Andy Greene in <em>Rolling Stone.<\/em> &#8220;But I found my own little part of it&#8230; I found the hurt and the center of human emotion in it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Honestly, he didn&#8217;t have to look very hard.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I Wish It Would Rain&#8221; ranks as one of the most heart-wrenching songs in the Motown catalog, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968 and topping the R&amp;B chart. Audiences viscerally responded to David Ruffin&#8217;s anguished, impassioned vocals, but few knew the tragedy that imbued the lyrics.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/keDpxp892Og?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>In the spring of 1967, songwriter Roger Penzabene discovered his wife was having an affair. Consumed with betrayal, he poured his pain into a song about a man so miserable that he hides himself from the world, hoping for rainfall to mask his tears so that he might walk the world freely and without shame.<\/p>\n<p>The Temptations recorded &#8220;I Wish It Would Rain&#8221; that summer and released it on December 21st. Ten days later, Penzabene took his own life.<\/p>\n<p>Unaware of the tragic backstory, audiences nevertheless flocked to &#8220;I Wish It Would Rain,&#8221; drawn in by Ruffin&#8217;s vocals set starkly against a minimalist arrangement.<\/p>\n<p>When the strings enter about halfway through, one can&#8217;t help but notice the similarity to The Temptations&#8217; earlier hit, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/26\/matr-the-temptations-the-wallflowers-and-bruce-springsteen-my-girl\/\">My Girl.<\/a>&#8221; In fact, from the very first line (&#8220;Sunshine, blue skies, please go away&#8221;), &#8220;I Wish It Would Rain&#8221; sounds like a mournful answer song. I&#8217;ve never seen it hypothesized, much less confirmed, but I wouldn&#8217;t be at all surprised if that was by design.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X-itA2rv8p4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I Wish It Would Rain&#8221; climbed the charts swiftly, peaking in February. It soon became a melancholy R&amp;B standard, covered over the years by heavyweights like Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner, and Gladys Knight.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s some serious talent to throw down with, but Springsteen wasn&#8217;t deterred. He understood that &#8220;I Wish It Would Rain&#8221; dares any contender to meet it in a place of anguish, and Bruce gave it his all.\u00a0 He matched Ruffin growl for growl while adding a layer of vulnerability via his inimitable falsetto.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iZ6Ojns6Fs0?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>The arrangement is faithful, even if the antagonist isn&#8217;t, and the lyrical changes are tactfully minor. (Bruce sings &#8220;My girl has found another and gone <em>astray<\/em>&#8221; instead of &#8220;gone <em>away,<\/em>&#8221; a small but fitting substitution.)<\/p>\n<p>The finished track is one of Bruce&#8217;s favorites on the album. &#8220;I just felt great,&#8221; he recollected to Greene. &#8220;It came out great, so we used it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s one of my favorites, too. If that rumored <em>Only the Strong Survive <\/em>mini-tour ever comes to pass, maybe we&#8217;ll even get to hear it live someday.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I Wish It Would Rain<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Recorded:\u00a02021<br \/>\nReleased:\u00a0<em>Only the Strong Survive\u00a0<\/em>(2022)<br \/>\nNever performed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/roll-of-the-dice-album-by-album\/\">full index<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With a tragic backstory and a standout out David Ruffin vocal performance, &#8220;I Wish It Would Rain&#8221; practically dares any cover contender to meet its anguish. Springsteen was up for the challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[3585,3550,1795],"class_list":["post-45724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-me","tag-i-wish-it-would-rain","tag-only-the-strong-survive","tag-the-temptations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/wishrain.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-bTu","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25181,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/03\/cover-me-purple-rain\/","url_meta":{"origin":45724,"position":0},"title":"Cover Me: Purple Rain","author":"Ken","date":"March 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Two days after Prince's untimely departure, Bruce and the E Street Band took the stage in purple and delivered one of their greatest covers ever.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/purple-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/purple-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/purple-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/purple-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/purple-rain.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32362,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2023\/07\/12\/cover-me-wholl-stop-the-rain\/","url_meta":{"origin":45724,"position":1},"title":"Cover Me: Who&#8217;ll Stop the Rain","author":"Ken","date":"July 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce Springsteen's cover of this timeless CCR classic sparked a national conversation that never stopped.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/whostop.jpg?fit=1200%2C1174&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/whostop.jpg?fit=1200%2C1174&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/whostop.jpg?fit=1200%2C1174&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/whostop.jpg?fit=1200%2C1174&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/whostop.jpg?fit=1200%2C1174&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36658,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/07\/23\/matr-john-mellencamp-and-bruce-springsteen-a-life-full-of-rain\/","url_meta":{"origin":45724,"position":2},"title":"A Life Full of Rain","author":"Ken","date":"July 23, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce contributed an emotive guitar solo to the closing track of John Mellencamp's recent album.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/mellencamp.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/mellencamp.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/mellencamp.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/mellencamp.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/mellencamp.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":32316,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/07\/20\/matr-ronnie-spector-and-the-e-street-band-walking-in-the-rain\/","url_meta":{"origin":45724,"position":3},"title":"Walking in the Rain","author":"Ken","date":"July 20, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Ronnie Spector (August 10, 1943 - January 12, 2022) \u2013 one of the greatest voices to ever grace the E Street stage.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/walkingrain-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/walkingrain-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/walkingrain-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/walkingrain-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/walkingrain-1.jpg?fit=1198%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20372,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/07\/03\/matr-prince-bruce-springsteen-and-madonna-baby-im-a-star\/","url_meta":{"origin":45724,"position":4},"title":"Baby I&#8217;m a Star","author":"Ken","date":"July 3, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"One time only: Pop's triumvirate unites on stage for the first and only time when the Purple Rain Tour stops in L.A.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/babyimastar.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/babyimastar.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/babyimastar.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/babyimastar.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/babyimastar.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56010,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/23\/kingdom-of-days-february-23-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":45724,"position":5},"title":"February 23","author":"Ken","date":"February 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Can a day in Bruce history get any more packed? Hear the backstory from Ernest \"Boom\" Carter's first show; listen to Bruce, Madonna, and Prince play together in 1985; watch a classic Grammy Awards performance with Elvis Costello and Dave Grohl, and much more!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kingdom of Days&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kingdom of Days","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/kingdom-of-days\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/huntervalley.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/huntervalley.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/huntervalley.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/huntervalley.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45724"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45743,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45724\/revisions\/45743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}