Mandolin Rain
title: "Mandolin Rain" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1986-singles", "bruce-hornsby-songs", "songs-written-by-bruce-hornsby", "songs-written-by-john-hornsby", "rca-records-singles"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin_Rain" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Mandolin Rain |
| cover | Bruce Hornsby - Mandolin Rain single cover.jpg |
| type | single |
| artist | Bruce Hornsby and the Range |
| album | The Way It Is |
| released | December 1986 |
| recorded | 1985 |
| genre | Soft rock |
| length | 5:19 (album version) |
| 4:45 (single mix) | |
| label | RCA |
| writer | |
| producer | |
| prev_title | On the Western Skyline |
| prev_year | 1986 |
| next_title | The Valley Road |
| next_year | 1988 |
| :: |
| name = Mandolin Rain | cover = Bruce Hornsby - Mandolin Rain single cover.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Bruce Hornsby and the Range | album = The Way It Is | B-side =
- "The Red Plains"
- "Every Little Kiss" | released = December 1986 | format = | recorded = 1985 | studio = | venue = | genre = Soft rock | length = 5:19 (album version) 4:45 (single mix) | label = RCA | writer = | producer = | prev_title = On the Western Skyline | prev_year = 1986 | next_title = The Valley Road | next_year = 1988 "Mandolin Rain" is the third track from The Way It Is, the debut album for Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The song was co-written by Bruce Hornsby and his brother John, and featured Range member David Mansfield on the title instrument.
Cashbox called "Mandolin Rain" an "inspired song" with "emotional acoustic-flavored production". They also predicted that the song would replicate the commercial success of "The Way It Is".
Background
Co-writer of the song John Hornsby said the song is about missing someone badly: "it's about trying to pull through when so many things remind you of her – a tune, a ferry whistle, mainly a summer storm."
Charts
The song, released in late 1986, peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1987, following on the success of their previous single, the #1 hit and title track to their debut album, "The Way It Is". It also reached number one on the adult contemporary chart for three weeks, and number two on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for two weeks, also in early 1987. The song peaked at number 38 on the country chart. ::data[format=table] | Chart (1987) | Peak position | UK Singles (Official Charts Company) | |---|---|---| | 70 | | | ::
::data[format=table]
| Year-end chart (1987) | Position | US Top Pop Singles (Billboard) |
|---|---|---|
| 65 | ||
| :: |
References
References
- "Bruce Hornsby and the Range - Mandolin Rain".
- (January 17, 1987). "Single Releases".
- "Mandolin Rain".
- Whitburn, Joel. (2002). "Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001". Record Research.
- "BRUCE HORNSBY {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company".
- (December 26, 1987). "1987 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::