B.A. Rolfe and his Lucky Strike Orchestra recorded the song possibly as early as 1928 but perhaps 1929. The song was recorded by
Annette Hanshaw backed by
Frank Ferera's Hawaiian Trio (reissued on the 1999 CD
Annette Hanshaw, Volume 6, 1929). It is performed on film by a nightclub band as dance music and sung in a Chinese dialect in
The Ship from Shanghai (1930), 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. • Singer
Nick Lucas recorded
Singing in the Rain in 1929 (one week after recording what would become the biggest hit of his career,
Tiptoe Through the Tulips). • British duo
Bob and Alf Pearson recorded the song in 1929 at their first session. • "Singin' in the Rain" was performed in the 1930 film short
Dogville Melody, presumably by Zion Myers and Jules White. •
Valaida Snow recorded it in 1935 accompanied by Billy Mason And His Orchestra - London, Apr 26, 1935 (Parlophone (E)F-165 (CE-6953-1)) • The song is sung by
Dean Martin in a November 1950 episode of the variety show
The Colgate Comedy Hour. He performs it while being drenched in water by comedy partner and co-host
Jerry Lewis. • The song is best 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, and briefly near the end of the film by
Debbie Reynolds. • The song was recorded in Buenos Aires for
Odeon Records twice under the title "Cantando Bajo La Lluvia," by
Francisco Canaro's orchestra and with the Spanish lyrics sung by Charlo, on December 23, 1929 (Catalog Number 16243 B, matrix number 5137) and again on March 24, 1930 (Catalog Number 4631 B/LDB 78 B, matrix number 5283). It was also recorded under the same title in 1936 by the Orquesta Tipica Victor, the
RCA Victor in-house orchestra in Buenos Aires. • The song was also recorded by
John Serry Sr. and his sextet ensemble in 1954 for RCA Victor records under the musical direction of
Ben Selvin on an LP vinyl disc(
See RCA Thesaurus). •
Vivian Blaine sang the song in "It's Sunny Again," an unsold
television pilot broadcast as an episode of the
ABC anthology series on July 3, 1956. • In 1960,
Adam Faith recorded his own version of this song on his debut album
Adam. •
Bing Crosby and
Rosemary Clooney recorded the song in 1961 for use on their
radio show and it was subsequently included in the CD
Bing & Rosie – The Crosby-Clooney Radio Sessions (2010). Crosby also included the song in a medley on his album
On the Happy Side (1962). • In 1971, Scottish folk rock-singer
John Martyn did an acoustic
folk jazz-version on his album
Bless the Weather, where he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and sang several overdubbed backing vocals. • The
Pasadena Roof Orchestra has covered the song on many occasions, including releasing it on
The Best of the Pasadena Roof Orchestra album in 1973. •
Sammy Davis Jr. gave the song a final US chart ride with a version widely played on easy listening stations (number 16 easy listening, 1974). •
Leif Garrett released a version of the song on his 1979 album
Same Goes for You. • The song was covered by Polish musician
Zbigniew Wodecki in 1979. • In 1980, Gene Kelly reprised the song on
The Muppet Show (Episode 501) • Glenn Butcher covered this song on the Australian video
ABC for Kids Video Hits. • The song was incorporated by
Michael Kamen into his score for the 1988 film
Die Hard, where it is most closely associated with the character of Theo (
Clarence Gilyard). • Brazilian musician
Maurício Pereira wrote a Portuguese-language version of the song, "Cantando num Toró", present in his 1995 debut album
Na Tradição. • British
jazz/pop singer
Jamie Cullum covered the song on his 2003 album
Twentysomething. • The song was covered in 2004 by
Carmen Bradford in her Jazz album
Home With You. • In the film called
Robots, when
Fender says goodbye to Loretta with a blowing kiss, he happily sings a parody called "Singing in the Oil" which is to the tune of this song and dances around until he gets caught by a Sweeper. • A version performed by the UK comedy partnership
Morecambe and Wise was ranked at the top of a 2007 poll of their
Greatest Moments. • A version was also performed by Jheena Lodwick in 2006, on her album titled
Singing in the rain. • In 2009, the song was performed by
Seth MacFarlane at
The Proms. • An instrumental version of this song is played in
Planet 51 where the
space probe Rover dances happily Gene Kelly style when he sees
raining rocks. • In 2009 and 2010 the song was performed by South Korean K-pop group
Girls' Generation on their
Into the New World Tour. • In 2010, the song was sung in the intermissions of concert tour of the Irish pop band
Westlife. • In 2010, the song was sung on the
FOX TV series
Glee in a mash-up with
Rihanna's "
Umbrella" featuring
Gwyneth Paltrow. • There is a jazz instrumental by
Sonny Stitt on his 1959 album
Sonny Stitt Plays Jimmy Giuffre Arrangements. • There is a jazz vocal rendition by
Joe Williams on his 1984 album
Then and Now. •
Diana Krall included it on her 2020 album
This Dream of You. • In 2022, the song is an important
plot device in the film
Babylon. It first appears in a scene set in 1928 featuring a performance being filmed to showcase MGM's "more stars than there are in heaven" sung by the studio's contract players, and it then appears more prominently at the end of the film in a scene set in 1952 in a Hollywood movie theater playing the Gene Kelly feature in ''
Singin' in the Rain''. ==Mint Royale version==