I Wish it Would Rain Down - wikipedia I Wish it Would Rain Down Not to be confused with I Wish It Would Rain. `` I Wish It Would Rain Down '' Single by Phil Collins from the album... But Seriously B - side `` Homeless '', `` You 've Been in Love ( That Little Bit Too Long ) '' Released 15 January 1990 ( UK ) Format 7 '' single, 12 '' single CD single, CD maxi Recorded Length 5 : 27 Label WEA Songwriter ( s ) Phil Collins Producer ( s ) Phil Collins, Hugh Padgham Phil Collins singles chronology `` Another Day in Paradise '' ( 1989 ) `` I Wish It Would Rain Down '' ( 1990 ) `` Something Happened on the Way to Heaven '' ( 1990 ) `` Another Day in Paradise '' ( 1989 ) `` I Wish It Would Rain Down '' ( 1990 ) `` Something Happened on the Way to Heaven '' ( 1990 ) Music video `` I Wish It Would Rain Down '' on YouTube `` I Wish It Would Rain Down '' is a song by Phil Collins from his 1989 album... But Seriously, featuring lead guitar by Eric Clapton. The song was a significant chart hit in 1990, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and No. 1on the RPM Top 100 in Canada. It also reached No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart. Collins felt that it was as close as he had ever gotten at the time to writing a blues song. Contents 1 Recording 2 Music video 3 Chart performances 4 Formats and track listings 5 Charts 5.1 Weekly charts 5.2 Year - end charts 6 Personnel 7 References 8 External links Recording This is one of Collins ' most dramatic songs and has a demanding vocal performance. Collins ' vocals span from E ♭ 3 - C5. Eric Clapton plays lead guitar throughout the song, which also features a large gospel choir. Regarding Clapton 's contribution, Collins recalls, `` I said ' Eric, have I never asked you to play ? Come on, I 've got a song right up your street. ' '' Collins also felt that it was a Clapton song. Music video The 8 : 30 minute - long black - and - white music video, produced by Paul Flattery and directed by Jim Yukich, contains 2 : 30 minutes of acting prior to the start of the music. The setting is a theatre in the 1930s. Actor Jeffrey Tambor plays a hyper - critical, unhappy theatre director. He is rehearsing some dancers ( who are dancing to the guitar / bass guitar riff from the song `` Sunshine of Your Love '' by the band Cream, in which Eric Clapton played guitar. ) The director complains that the girls can neither dance nor sing, and then discovers that his star has appendicitis. Eric Clapton, seated on a stool, says that Billy ( played by Collins ) used to be the drummer in a good band and is a good singer, taking over when the original singer left. ( This is an in - joke referencing Collins ' tenure with the band Genesis, in which he played drums and then became the lead singer when Peter Gabriel exited the group. ) Members of Collins ' backing band play various non-speaking parts, such as the janitor `` Chester, '' who is played by Chester Thompson and takes over on drums when Collins gets up to sing, as well as the bassist, played by Leland Sklar. Collins is forced to act with the play 's star. The director deems Collins ' acting `` terrible, '' to which Collins replies, `` I never said I could act, he ( pointing to Clapton ) said I could sing, '' and the director says, `` alright, play the song. '' As Collins sings, his character fantasizes about becoming a famous stage actor, singer, and movie star. Billy 's name is inserted onto fake covers of major industry publications such as Variety and Billboard and newspapers such as the Denver Post. His face is inserted into still photographs from the television program You Bet Your Life ( where he appears next to Groucho Marx ) and films such as White Heat ( where his image is inserted alongside that of James Cagney ). Billy is depicted imitating the character of Davy Crockett ( as played by Fess Parker on the television series of the same name ), standing next to Marilyn Monroe, and acting out a scene from the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon ( with Humphrey Bogart impersonator Robert Sacchi appearing in the scene ). ( Music video director James Yukich 's name appears on the clapperboard. ) Billy is shown receiving an Academy Award from Clark Gable ( impersonated by actor Ralph Chelli ). During the montage, the published sheet music for the song is shown, prominently featuring Collins ' photo. This is followed by a shot of the sheet music for `` Something Happened on the Way to Heaven '', the next single from the same album. After the music ends, Tambor 's character decides to cut the musical number, as he feels it was not any good compared to the dancing girls. The character says `` the fellow on the guitar ( Eric Clapton ) is pretty good, '' but his assistant informs him that `` Eric gave a week 's notice. '' Collins, in disbelief, goes back to sit behind the drums. Chart performances The song was a significant chart hit in 1990, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and No. 3 on the RPM Top 100 in Canada. It also reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart. In Canada, it was the longest - running number one single of 1990, spending six weeks atop the charts, and ranked as the top single of the year on RPM 's year - end charts. Formats and track listings CD maxi `` I Wish It Would Rain Down '' `` Homeless '' ( `` Another Day in Paradise '' demo ) `` You 've Been in Love ( That Little Bit Too Long ) '' 7 '' single `` I Wish It Would Rain Down '' `` Homeless '' ( `` Another Day in Paradise '' demo ) 12 '' single `` I Wish It Would Rain Down '' `` Homeless '' ( `` Another Day in Paradise '' demo ) `` You 've Been in Love ( That Little Bit Too Long ) '' 3 '' CD Single `` I Wish it would rain down '' 5 : 32 `` Homeless ( Another Day In Paradise Demo ) '' 4 : 15 You 're been in love ( that little bit too long ) '' 4 : 50 Virgin VSCD 1240 ( Martin H ) Charts Weekly charts Chart ( 1990 ) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart 15 Austrian Singles Chart 26 Canadian Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 Finland ( Suomen virallinen lista ) 7 French SNEP Singles Chart 11 Germany ( Media Control Charts ) 8 Irish Singles Chart New Zealand Singles Chart 27 Polish Singles Chart Swedish Singles Chart 7 Swiss Singles Chart 8 UK Singles Chart 7 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 5 Zimbabwe Singles Chart Year - end charts Chart ( 1990 ) Position Australian ARIA Singles Chart 94 Canadian Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 29 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 56 Preceded by `` Escapade '' by Janet Jackson Canadian RPM number - one single 24 March 1990 -- 28 April 1990 ( 6 weeks ) Succeeded by `` Nothing Compares 2 U '' by Sinéad O'Connor Personnel Phil Collins : keyboards, vocals, drums, tambourine Eric Clapton : guitars Pino Palladino : bass References ^ Jump up to : `` Phil Collins interview ''. philcollins.co.uk. Warner Music Group. 1989. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2009. ^ Jump up to : Top Singles - Volume 53, No. 6, 22 December 1990 Jump up ^ `` australian-charts.com > Discography Phil Collins ''. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` '' I Wish It Would Rain Down ``, in various singles charts ''. Lescharts. Retrieved 15 February 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` Single top 100 over 1990 '' ( pdf ) ( in Dutch ). Top40. Retrieved 12 April 2010. Jump up ^ Nyman, Jake ( 2005 ). Suomi soi 4 : Suuri suomalainen listakirja ( in Finnish ) ( 1st ed. ). Helsinki : Tammi. ISBN 951 - 31 - 2503 - 3. Jump up ^ `` Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Phil Collins - I Wish It Would Rain Down ( single ) '' ( in German ). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 16 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Irish Single Chart ''. irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2008. Jump up ^ `` Polish Singles Chart ``. Jump up ^ `` Official Charts > Phil Collins ''. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Billboard ''. allmusic. Retrieved 10 August 2008. Jump up ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe : singles chart book. Harare : C. Kimberley, 2000 Jump up ^ Ryan, Gavin ( 2011 ). Australia 's Music Charts 1988 - 2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia : Moonlight Publishing. Jump up ^ `` Billboard Top 100 - 1990 ''. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2009. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Phil Collins songs Face Value `` In the Air Tonight '' `` I Missed Again '' `` If Leaving Me Is Easy '' Hello, I Must Be Going ! `` Thru These Walls '' `` You Ca n't Hurry Love '' `` I Do n't Care Anymore '' `` Do n't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away '' `` Why Ca n't It Wait ' Til Morning '' `` I Cannot Believe It 's True '' `` Like China '' No Jacket Required `` Sussudio '' `` One More Night '' `` Do n't Lose My Number '' `` Take Me Home '' Buster `` A Groovy Kind of Love '' `` Two Hearts ''... But Seriously `` Another Day in Paradise '' `` I Wish It Would Rain Down '' `` Something Happened on the Way to Heaven '' `` That 's Just the Way It Is '' `` Do You Remember ? '' `` Hang in Long Enough '' Serious Hits... Live ! `` Do You Remember ? '' ( live ) `` Who Said I Would '' ( live ) Both Sides `` Both Sides of the Story '' `` Everyday '' `` We Wait and We Wonder '' Dance into the Light `` Dance into the Light '' `` It 's in Your Eyes '' `` No Matter Who '' `` Wear My Hat '' `` The Same Moon ''... Hits `` True Colors '' Tarzan `` You 'll Be in My Heart '' `` Strangers Like Me '' `` Son of Man '' `` Two Worlds '' Testify `` Ca n't Stop Loving You '' `` Come with Me '' `` Wake Up Call '' / `` The Least You Can Do '' Brother Bear `` Look Through My Eyes '' `` No Way Out '' Going Back `` ( Love Is Like a ) Heatwave '' `` Going Back '' Featured singles `` Do They Know It 's Christmas ? '' `` Easy Lover '' `` Hero '' `` In the Air Tonite '' `` Home '' Other singles `` Against All Odds ( Take a Look at Me Now ) '' `` Separate Lives '' `` Somewhere '' Other songs `` The Man with the Horn '' `` You Ought to Know... '' Book Template Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I_Wish_It_Would_Rain_Down&oldid=802172167 '' Categories : 1980s ballads 1990 singles Phil Collins songs RPM Top Singles number - one singles Rock ballads Songs written by Phil Collins Song recordings produced by Phil Collins 1989 songs Warner Music Group singles Hidden categories : CS1 Dutch - language sources ( nl ) Articles containing Finnish - language text CS1 Finnish - language sources ( fi ) CS1 German - language sources ( de ) Use dmy dates from September 2016 Use British English from September 2016 Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Italiano ქართული Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 24 September 2017, at 12 : 50. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: who plays guitar on i wish it would rain down
Answer: Eric Clapton