There’s more than one way to rock.

Gospel tends to stay under the radar except to those who are actively looking for it. Which is why “Didn’t It Rain” went mostly unnoticed upon its initial release in 1958 on the tiny Bel Canto label in Los Angeles.

It wasn’t a new song. The Galilee Singers released the earliest known recording in the 1920’s (though it’s based on a much older spiritual) and Mahalia Jackson, one of the most popular and influential gospel singers of the 20th century, released a version in 1955. But Evelyn Freeman’s version sounds like it took inspiration from Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s 1948 arrangement. However, that’s all it took.

Freeman adds drums, but even then it’s a mellow groove set by the rhythm section and The Exciting Voices in the intro. Then Evelyn enters and absolutely tears it up, rocking the rafters and raising the roof. She’s clearly feeling it, and she wants you to feel it, too. It’s difficult not to jump up, throw your hands up, and shout “Hallelujah!” (even if those are not normal actions for you — they certainly aren’t for me and I’m doing all three right now).

Unfortunately, not many heard the song initially. But in 1962, United Artists, a major label with major distribution, reissued the single and “Didn’t It Rain” started making waves. By late 1964, it was a bestseller among their reissue catalog. Freeman and her husband would go on to found a well-known and well-respected performing arts school in Los Angeles, and the song would later receive cover versions from The Band, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, and House M.D. aka Hugh Laurie, who also named an album after it.

Who needs an umbrella? Let’s get wet!