“Singin’ In the Rain” is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929.
The song “Singin’ In the Rain” is a centerpiece of the musical film of the same name, Singin’ in the Rain (1952). It is unclear exactly when the song was written; it has been claimed that the song was performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as No. 3 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs.
The song has an unusual form: the 32-bar chorus, rather than being preceded by a verse and containing an internal bridge as was becoming standard at the time, opens the song and then is followed by a 24-bar verse that has the feeling of a bridge before the chorus repeats.
“Singing in the Rain” was first performed by Doris Eaton Travis in the 1929 revue The Hollywood Music Box Revue. The song became a hit and was recorded by a number of artists, notably Cliff Edwards, who also performed the number with the Brox Sisters in the early MGM musical The Hollywood Revue of 1929. B.A. Rolfe and his Lucky Strike Orchestra recorded the song possibly as early as 1928 but perhaps 1929. The song was performed by Annette Hanshaw in her album Volume 6, on film by Jimmy Durante in Speak Easily (1932), by Judy Garland in Little Nellie Kelly (1940), and as background music at the beginning of MGM’s The Divorcee (1930) starring Norma Shearer.
The song is known today as the centerpiece of the musical film Singin’ in the Rain (1952), in which Gene Kelly memorably danced to the song while splashing through puddles during a rainstorm. The song is also performed during the opening credits of the film.