Fool in the Rain

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Fool in the Rain
Fitrsingle1980.jpg
1980 Italian single
Appears on In Through the Out Door
Published by Flames of Albion Music
Registration ASCAP 360158983
Release date 7 December 1979
Recorded November - December 1978
Genre Rock, Latin rock
Language English
Length Album: 6 minutes 8 seconds, Single: 3 minutes 20 seconds
Composer Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones
Label Swan Song Records
Producer Jimmy Page
Engineer Leif Mases

'Fool in the Rain' is a song on English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1979 album, In Through the Out Door. It was their final U.S. single released during the band's tenure, reaching number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1980.

Overview

The song exhibits a Latin feel. Drummer John Bonham plays a half-time shuffle beat along with a samba-style breakdown. A master drum track shows that the samba breakdown (2:25) was recorded separately.

Bass player John Paul Jones and vocalist Robert Plant got the idea for the samba beat from watching the 1978 FIFA World Cup tournament in Argentina.[1] Guitarist Jimmy Page used an MXR Blue Box effect pedal during the solo to produce the octave sound.

Lyrically, the song is about a man who is supposed to meet a woman on a certain corner. When the woman doesn't appear, he is filled with grief at being stood up. By the final verse, he wonders whether he'd been waiting for her on the wrong corner, making him the eponymous 'Fool in the Rain.'

This song was never performed live at Led Zeppelin concerts, as the song was heavily studio-based. The piano was necessary in the song, but with John Paul Jones on piano, there could be no added bass. There is also a twelve-string guitar line at one point in the song and the guitar solo that has to be executed on top. On 5 October 2005, Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant however performed the song with Pearl Jam at a Hurricane Katrina benefit show.[2]

Chart positions

Single

Chart (1980) Peak position
Canadian CHUM (AM) chart[3] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 21
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles[5] 31
US Record World 100 Top Pop Chart[6] 34
Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[7] 12
New Zealand Top 50 Singles Chart[8] 44

Single (Digital download)

Chart (2007) Peak position
Canadian Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart[9] 69

Credits

Personnel
  • Musicians:
    • Jimmy Page – electric guitar, producer, remastering, digital remastering
    • Robert Plant – vocals
    • John Paul Jones – keyboards, bass guitar
    • John Bonham - drums, percussion
  • Production:
    • Peter Grant – executive producer
    • Leif Mases - engineer, mixing
    • Joe Sidore - original CD mastering engineer (mid-1980s)
    • George Marino - remastered CD engineer (1990)

References

  1. ↑ Lewis, Dave (2012). Led Zeppelin: From a Whisper to a Scream. London: Omnibus Press, 92. ISBN 978-1-78038-547-1. 
  2. ↑ Lewis, Dave (2012). Led Zeppelin: From a Whisper to a Scream. London: Omnibus Press, 93. ISBN 978-1-78038-547-1. 
  3. ↑ 1050 CHUM Toronto's Top Singles: 19 January 1980. 1050chum.com. Retrieved on 2009-01-15.
  4. ↑ Hot 100 Singles - 16 February 1980. Billboard. Retrieved on 2009-01-17.
  5. ↑ Top 100 Singles - 23 February 1980. Cash Box. Retrieved on 2009-01-17.
  6. ↑ Top 40 for 1980 - February 1980. Record World. Retrieved on 2009-01-19.
  7. ↑ RPM Singles Chart - 23 February 1980. RPM. Retrieved on 2009-01-15.
  8. ↑ Scapolo, Dean (2007). “Top 50 Singles - February 1980”, The Complete New Zealand Music Charts. Wellington: Transpress. ISBN 978-1-877443-00-8. 
  9. ↑ Hot Digital Singles - 1 December 2007. Billboard. Retrieved on 2009-01-17.
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