Song:The Day The Rains Came
Album:Fascination: The Ultimate Collection
Jane Morgan was a very successful nightclub singer first in France and then in the US. After signing with Kapp Records in 1956, she had a few hits including The Day The Rains Came in 1959. She was born Florence Catherine Currier May 3, 1924 in Newton, MA and she grew up in Daytona Beach, FL. She performed as a child and studied at Juilliard School of Music in New York with plans to be an opera singer. She played local clubs to pay her tuition and then in 1944, Art Mooney hired her to sing in his orchestra and changed her name to Jane Morgan. In 1948, French bandleader Bernard Hilda brought Jane to Paris to sing in the nightclub Club des Champs-Elysees. At first she sang in English but then she picked up French and sang in both languages. That would come in handy later. It was an upscale club so Jane became very popular. She recorded a few singles and also appeared on TV. In 1952 Jane moved to Montreal and played the Ritz Hotel bilingually. Then she moved to host her own NBC radio show in New York and she also played in London's West End. But she couldn't get a record deal because labels thought she was just a nightclub singer. When Dave Kapp started Kapp Records, he signed Jane and paired her with pianist Roger Williams who just scored with his big hit Autumn Leaves. The two scored with the single Two Different Worlds. Then Jane performed Fascination in the 1957 film Love In The Afternoon. This reached #7 on the pop charts and it was her biggest US hit. The Day The Rains Came was released in 1958 and it reached #21 on the US pop charts. But it topped the British charts early in 1959. So both songs were big hits. The Day The Rains Came is the song La Jour ou la Pluie Viendra written by legendary French songwriter Gilbert Becaud. Veteran songwriter Carl Sigman was hired to write English lyrics. He also wrote the Tommy Edwards hit It's All In The Game. Jane sang the French version on the B side of the single. After this, Jane got more into performing in stage musicals and she still performed in nightclubs. Her agent died in 1959 and Jerry Weintraub became her new manager. They married in 1965 and were still married when Weintraub recently died. In the 60s, Jane recorded for Colpix, Epic, ABC and RCA without much success. She even tried to record country music in the early 70s. Jane retired from performing in 1973 and helped Weintraub with his various activities including hit films like Ocean's Eleven. This 2CD comp from Jasmine Records has all of Jane Morgan's hits. Here's Jane Morgan with Louis Armstrong and Les Brown and his Band of Renown performing The Day The Rains Came on The Timex All Star Jazz Show 1959.
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