A Rainy Day

What was your favorite rainy day of all time?
 
What did you do?  Where did you go?  Who were you with?
 
We're having a "puddle wonderful time" this week following an unprecedented drought.  One of my fondest memories goes back to a rainy day in the 1960's when I was a kid growing up in Morganton.  I recall slipping a quarter into the jukebox at a cafe near the old elementary school and listening to the song "Rhythm of the Rain" by the Cascades.  I loved the song so much I played it five times in a row.
 
Several months earlier I received my first guitar as a birthday gift from my parents.  It was a $17 Sears Silvertone with metal strings that made my fingers ache.  But I was so inspired by that beautiful melody I heard on the jukebox that I went home and wrote my first song - a simple three chord creation.

Later I wrote a fan letter to the composer of "Rhythm of the Rain."  Cascades lead singer John Gummoe and I became pen pals.  Several years ago I reconnected with John and we remain good friends today.  John wrote the song while in the Navy on a rainy night at sea.
 
While you rekindle your own rainy memories I hope you enjoy listening to two instrumental songs I have written about the rain.   "Tin Roof Rain," complete with sound effects, came to me during a stormy night at my cabin in the mountains.  "Alleghany Rain" was written on my front porch in a rocking chair during a gentle autumn shower.