Jay And The Americans - Walkin' In The Rain FLAC

Written by Phil Spector and recorded by far too many to name, Walkin’ In The Rain is best remembered for the 1970 release by the neo doo wop group Jay and The Americans, a soft pop 60’s band who road the lower tier, though they did their fair share of stylish make-out songs that earned the group their fair share of recognition. Contrary to popular belief, Jay and The Americans did not play their own instruments, though they did dress alike, and harmonize together behind the vocals of Jay Black. Backing Jay and The Americans was the USA Band, a group of revolving first rate musicians who actually created and developed the musical side of this outfit.

I suppose you’re scratching your head wondering why I’m even taking the time to write a review about a perfectly played 70’s hit by a group who’s fallen so far out of fashion, that nearly no one remembers them. Well, the reason has nothing to do with the cover version of this song, or even the band Jay and The Americans … it has everything to do with the USA Band, and two people who joined this touring and session group, Donald Fagan and Walter Becker, who played bass and keyboards during the late 60’s through 1970, using the pseudonyms Tristan Fabriani [Donald Fagen] and Gus Mahler [Walter Becker], or as Jay Black referred to this sardonic duo, Strakweather & Manson, and yes, the world would come to know them collectively as Steely Dan.

It was during this short tour that Fagan and Becker met Jay and The Americans’ producer Gary Katz of ABC Records, and ushered in a musical legacy that will last for all time. So while the track “Walkin’ In the Rain” may not seem that brilliant on first hearing, knowing that Becker and Fagan were responsible for making it sound so good, the song deserves a second listen, just to hear a musical timeline, and the proficiency of this cosmic duo.

*** Of interest on referencing Starkweather and Manson:

Charles Starkweather: [November 24, 1938 – June 25, 1959] was an American teenaged spree killer who murdered eleven people in the states of Nebraska and Wyoming in a two-month murder spree between December 1957 and January 1958. During the murders committed in 1958, Starkweather was accompanied by his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate.

Charles Manson: [November 12, 1934 - ] is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. Manson and his followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations over a period of five weeks in the summer of 1969. In 1971 he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the murders of seven people, most notably of the actress Sharon Tate, all of which were carried out by members of the group at his instruction. He is currently serving nine concurrent life sentences at Corcoran State Prison in Corcoran, California.

Review by Jenell Kesler