I’ve got a date with the rain,
Gotta go walking in the rain.
The clouds are gathered in the sky,
Gathering in my eyes, every time it rains …

On just such a day you let me go.
And as the rain drops begin to flow,
I go walking in the rain,
Hiding my tears in the rain …

I grab my coat and rubber shoes,
Walk out the door with a bagful of blues.
No-one notices at all, the way my teardrops fall,
Walking in the rain …

Every time the rain comes along,
The absence of you becomes so strong,
And I just go walking in the rain,
Hiding my tears in the rain …

Date With The Rain
Eddie Kendricks
Tamla Motown, 1972

Whenever the rain starts lashing down I can’t help but find myself thinking about this song and wondering why it’s not more well known. Being a music snob, I obviously quite like the fact it’s my little secret, but part of me wants everyone to sing it from .. well, under their umbrellas, I guess.

The original was only two and a half minutes. A great two and a half minutes, granted, but that’s way too short for a song of such magnitude and significance. So, I made an extended remix of it which you can enjoy in all its glory here, or you can hear the original right here:

Motown songs aren’t exactly known for their deep and meaningful lyrics, but Eddie Kendricks was different. He’d quit The Temptations – one of the biggest groups in the world at their peak – in order to pursue a solo career and while he never quite hit the heights he may have hoped to, he remains an important artist in the history of music.

With a unique vocal style and a gravelly yet high delivery, he was highly influential on modern artists like Maxwell and D’Angelo (who covered Kendricks’ earlier hit, Girl You Need A Change Of Mind).

Eddie’s own life ended tragically early due to cancer, but while his light may only have burned briefly, it sure burned brightly. There’s a fantastic bronze statue of him in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, which just captures all the energy, the fun and the pure soul of Motown in general and Kendricks as a performer: