Oran "Juice" Jones - The Rain

By Mark Nobes, chief editor

"The Rain" was very apt for a December hit here in the UK (although even more so these days as it rarely snows!), and it allowed the Texan-born singer Oran "Juice" Jones to claim his five minutes of fame, at least, when it became an 80s one hit wonder.  The single reached the top 10 in both the U.S. and UK in 1986, and featured on Jones' debut album Juice, which was a commercial failure.
The lyrics are about Jones' girlfiend's infidelity, as he sees her walking in the rain with another man. This is played out in the video as he walks the streets in his raincoat (well, he'd look pretty daft in a sombrero!) watching on as his girlfriend enjoys life with the other man. We also see him take back everything he has given her as gifts, including a $3700 lynx coat (which would be controversial now with more awareness about animal rights), Gucci handbags and blue diamonds. This is mentioned in the rather long recitation by Jones in the final part of the song.
"The Rain" was penned by Vincent Bell, who also co-produced the track alongside Rusell Simmon. It was the first R&B song to become a hit in the newly formed Def Jam record label.
The single entered the UK singles chart at No.97 on October 26th 1986, reaching a peak position of No.4 for one week on 7th December 1986. In the same week, Europe were at No.1 with "The Final Countdown", Erasure's "Sometimes" was at No.2, and "Caravan of Love" by The Housemartins was at No.3, so Jones had some pretty tough competition to contend with.
The single was also a hit in Ireland, where it reached No.6, and it was successful across Europe, reaching No.3 in Germany, No.6 in Belgium, No.10 in The Netherlands, and No.12 in Switzerland.
The full album version lasts for 5 minutes and 17 seconds, and this was edited down to 3:14 for the radio edit version. The B-side featured the track "Your Song", which features as track 5 on Juice.
Other singles that featured on the Juice album were "Curiosity", "1.2.1", "You Can't Hide From Love" and "Here I Go Again", which all failed to chart. Despite the lack of success, Jones released another three albums; GTO: Gangsters Takin' Over (1987), To Be Immortal (1989), and Player's Call (1997), none of which were successful.
Before taking a shot at the pop music industry, Jones was actually a a sniper officer in the United States Marine Corps. 

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