Helen Shapiro - It might as well rain until september

[GilgilKenya]

It looks like she trying to mime it. or the sound's out of sync.

[llabful]

Carole King was the greatest pop composer of all times

[goneoverboard2]

Helen Shapiro should have recorded the originals for most of Burt Bacharach/ Goffin and King compositions!!!

Her voice is amazing!!! My favourite Female singer of all time, and the best looker.....

[bluexxg]

Amy Winhouse a well knowed bad imitation of helen Shapiro had no such bravado-r.i.p Amy wherever

[TheGeraldstephen]

gorgeous looking/sounds wonderful/what more could a man ask for.

[lottaluck]

She was mis managed.She was adored by The Beatles and looking back over history she was the best female singer of all time.She is so beautiful too.

[mercury73732]

No way is her voice BETTER than C King. It is very DIFFERENT from C. King's and each has their own style with this great song.

A great job from both artists.

[livziem]

Hi Just uploaded this cover of Helen Shapiro's Don't Treat Me like a Child - hope you think I did it some justice - I really enjoyed singing it :D

[PCplays99]

She's wonderful!

[hbailen]

That voice!

[jabbaa6500]

What a voice! AMAZING. Helen's version is so much better than C. King's! All of her music is amazing. Thanks Helen!

[jabbaa6500]

What a voice! AMAZING. Helen's version is so much better than C. King's! All of her music is amazing. Thanks Helen!

[moscowandy]

@jabbaa6500 totally true

[cigs1000]

you do it girl

[Tenortalker]

Helen is terrific!

[mustangscott33]

Helen was gonna be bigger than the Beatles if it wasnt 4 u know who!

[up2space]

@mustangscott33 who?

[djebat88]

What a powerful voice!!!

[mkgrunfield]

She is absolutely stunning; looks, voice, phrasing, emotion. She should have been an international star, but she didn't have the right material. She only had a few good songs, like her first UK No 1, You don't Know.

[hercules07ful]

Hi Helen

Loved you when we were teenagers and love you now best version of this song ,great stuff.and thank you for the good times.60's

[koojean]

what…a…voice

i was looking for random 50's music and stumbled into this

[SCOTTISHFILMFAN]

best ever british female vocalist - period !!!!

helen is terrific - love this song

[lingtonsrevenge]

She captivates me, good honest talent.

[tim60s321]

much as i like helen and think she did a good job on this i think carole king's version is the best by far ....and she wrote it

[burnley5960]

@weightfeather1 Exactly what a voice the very best listen to the power

[MrScothern1]

and no drugs ,

[subways22]

Wow! Amy Winehouse eat your heart out!

[StanBennet]

@subways22 Oh my God, I've never thought of the comparison. Great call!

[rjthmson110253]

@subways - "Drink", not "eat"



[LieuweLwd]

What a wonderful song and what a fantastic singer! I love this song!!

[paulmaccarocks]

@LieuweLwd Not really heard any versions of this other than Carole, and this really is a very worthy cover. She's makes it her own!! Great voice. Cheers Helen X

[AlbertPaysonTerhune]

@paulmaccarocks Not really a cover, this was pretty much the leading version. Carole herself made at least two versions, her original 'demo' that got released and barely charted in 62, and the one she did in recent years, but she never had a hit with it.

[leoseries]

@AlbertPaysonTerhune I cannot agree with you. This is indeed a great cover version by Helen but it was never released as a single by her. The original CK version had previously been a big hit in the UK regardless of its poor showing in the USA.

[jpeyton62]

@AlbertPaysonTerhune I have heard only one version of Carole's. Where can I find the second. I think Carole's version was #22 in the US and top 5 in Great Britain. Anyway, let me know if you can-would greatly appreciate it.

[aaatombo]

ThankYou

[beefycajun]

I find Helen's voice to have more depth than Carol King's . Carol is a great talent in her own right. All the music she recorded and wrote!!!

[crowleysridgegirl]

WOAH.Helen was a "torch" type singer along the lines of a Billie Holliday,etc.This gal could handle a song,no problemo.

[tonyhgv]

i think helen and carole are legends but the best version of this song in my opinion is bobby vee

[hebneh]

Carole King's version of this song (which she wrote) was originally just a demo, for other singers to consider recording. With a little clean-up, it was released commercially. It was a hit in Britain but not in the USA.

Helen's version, to my mind, is way better because she's such a better singer - and especially because Carole's record is so unpolished-sounding. But Carole was primarily a songwriter anyway.

[PunkRockWriter]

This chick is amazing. Her voice is amazing....and she's gorgeous. Why couldn't i be a teenager in the 60's? lol

[Joehilllouistwo]

When 11 years old in 1962 i was in looove with Helen

I was right !! Still am !

No greater love than puppy love

goose bumps again

thanks norton

joe

[ThePaintermanful]

It might as well be a Bobby Vee song :)

[AlanD96]

You know that Carole wrote the song for Bobby Vee!!

He turned it down and her "demo" was released as the single.

[ThePaintermanful]

@AlanD96 Yes, I knew it... I only wanted to say that it's a pity that Bobby didn't do his version, too.

[BlackCountryPuddler]

Boy I wish I could go back to this time and know what I know now.

[Carolynnhall]

I love Helen! She is the same age as me and I wanted to sing like her as a teenager.

Such a lovely, warm,. friendly person!

[Ocean7711]

Fantastic singer and beautiful~~~~this is really lovly song,love it!!

Thanks Sonja for posting this song,,,,,,,,loved my listen. take care,Hugs,Chris.

[StopUnumNow]

Great Song! 5*

Many thanks for posting

[laggie24]

I'm sorry for ya pouring rain ... here it's sunny sunshine with 23C... but it seems that's life .... one has sunshine ... one has rainny a day... :-(

Wish ya to be warm and under shelter :-)))

[barrygioportmorien1]

Great version by Helen.

[Picard2011]

I was a teenager when this was a hit. Bought "The Ultimate Helen Shapiro" a few weeks ago - I'm a teenager again...

[fjbutch]

I didn't know Helen sang this ....Wow !

[sproutcentral]

@fjbutch Me neither mate. Great version.

[lottosbaby]

She is so much more wonderful than Amy Winehouse,

[ronjm23]

I must agree with many others who commented on this thread. I liked Carole King's version but Hellen's is the better of the two. Man, what a set of pipes! Thank's for posting norton 771.

[curtismapman]

I bought King's original (on Dimension Records I think). As much as I like hers, this is superior. Shapiro is a better singer and she really knows how to emote this song. I assume this is a sync and this is the original recording. Superb! Was it a big in the UK?

[julbim]

Isn't it funny, I'm now 55 years old and in essence from the East End of London throught my parents origins and very aware of Helen Shapiro in my childhood in the early sixties but not a lover of Walking BACK tO happiness for the same reasons Helen herself didn't like it...the female screechy yea yeahs. I needed, for a radio show on Carole King a version of It Might As Well Rain.. and checked out itunes for the Carole King version. I tried out Helen's version and bam..I'm in love! Perfect, sexy

[anthony1962]

I actually have a copy of Carole King's recording of this song which I think she also wrote.

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@anthony1962

Heln's veriosn is better than Carole King's. Helen just has a better voice.

Helen was younger than all the Beatles, having a No. 1 hit record a year before them - at 15. She was mismanaged coming across as being older than what she was. She was washed up at 20. The Beatles wrote Misery for her with managers turning it down - Helen knew knew until later. The Beatles then recorded it themselves. She just wasn't getting the right songs and the image was lacking.

[louisyoung1]

great hair.i wish i could go back in time and kiss her just one time.

[Classicrocker6119]

Helen does the best version of this song hands down!!

[LindaDooWop]

She's very good!

[slickwillie1947]

Elkie Brooks is another example of a great singer who was never givern the recognition she deserved . Maybe it's a U.K. thing.

[4battis]

kutacat6 that figures leslie gore too any1 else

[barberdavid72]

helen shapiro is one of the finest singers around, a lovely and unique voice. i have been one of her fans since 1961, and have met her on numerous occasions since 1976. a lovely, warm, and genunine nicest person in show biz you could ever meet. long may she sing in gospel for many decades to come david barber portsmouth  hampshire.

[4battis]

i never heard of her and stumbled onto this thanks a great voice

[jpeyton62]

Thanks, and I think Shapiro's voice, at the intro, would be a great one for standards, like "Body and Soul" and "My Funny Valentine." Take care!!!

[jpeyton62]

I certainly agree that Shapiro has a better voice. My earlier comment stated that, but the voice becomes the center of the song. As far as my being uninformed...I was a piano major in college, have taught, studied, and played music for the last 30 years. Last, Carole King certain wasn't and hasn't been the "squeaky voiced goody girl." She does have the musicianship that had her playing piano for Odetta and B. B. King and well as James Taylor and a host of others. Last, it's her song!

[jpeyton62]

The problem is the same with so many of those with "superior" vioces to Carole's, a lack of sincerity. The beauty of the voice becomes more important than the song. Also, Shapiro's voice is overly thick at certain times which is rather distracting.

[4battis]

u know i never heard of her how did she slip under the radar she has a great voice and is pretty

[ALFAGOMMA]

Great voice and rendition of this song.

[supreme60s]

I have this on My Ipod:)

[passinfrew]

Carole is King BUT Helen is Queen for tonight singing this song !!

[EasyAce]

If they'd pushed this one harder, this would have been a big hit, in England and the U.S. This kid could sing the song's composer right under the table at the time. There should have been more to Helen Shapiro's hitmaking career; she had a voice and a feeling that belied her age.

[jemb2000]

@EasyAce Unlikely - Carole King had charted with it two years previously (1962).

I think Helen Shapiro merely fell prey to the usual pop music model - most perfomers are lucky to get two years of big success, few last longer than five years.

[ian3150]

i know the original is always the best but hey... helen does a great job of carole kings song.

[filmbuff57]

Carol King wrote, "It might as well rain until September" and sounds better singing it! This is not the original Carol Kings is!

[EasyAce]

I know who wrote the song and cut it first. But first isn't always best---and it isn't here. King's voice improved in the years following her cut of the song, but to say the Carole King who cut "September" was a voice equal to the Helen Shapiro who cut it is simply wrong. If you want to put it this way, King sounded like the teenager Shapiro--who had a more full and more tonal voice---still was at the time. It's as if King were cutting a guide vocal for another singer.

[maximuscomfort]

a great tune and a fabulous voice.thanks

[fossie32]

Nice version!

[lingopresley]

WELL DONE HELEN.

[sophiewebb16]

So now we know who the latest bunch of popstar wannabes base themselves on. Amy Winehouse, Duffy, etc etc eat your heart out!

[trailboyus66]

I second that! A VERY LOUD JO SANSUSI

AMEN!

[goroundit123]

beautiful song...I love Helen talking about her Christian faith

[1fresia1]

Helen and her song is just lovable.

[trailboyus66]

My aunt Helen will be 90 next March. Her daughter Darlene passed away in 2001.

Darlene graduated in 1961. She had allot of records. I bet this song was in her collection. I can remember hearing this music somewhere...

[Jobeterob]

Incredible singer. Thanks.

[burnley5960]

What a voice the very best of them all I hear the likes of Celine Dion,she and the rest of the so called modern greats are not a match for Helen Shapiro has far more power

[seratt007]

oh baby sing it. so classic so classy  so hip. the summer isn't always my friend either.

[trailboyus66]

This is very good. I think Carol King had the big hit 8-25-1962. Skeeter Davis and Carol King came up with allot of what became Country-Rock. It's all good.

[OLdies1960s]

I love this lady so much !!!

[myboylollipop09]

Now thats what I call a hairdo!

[hebdag44]

Most British covers in the those days were a pale imitation of the originals but Helen takes this Carole King song to another level.

[StopUnumNow]

Great Song!

Many thanks for posting

[majomor]

GREAT song GREAT singer!!!

[anthonytorelli]

OMG..In a class with TimiYuro. Awesome voice, so gifted. Too bad we didn't get more of her here in the colonies.

[avacuppa]

I had forgotten all about Helen Shapiro from back then :), but wow, what a voice!! She is some good.

[LaVerne37]

that side profile...those lips...most beautiful ones in the UK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dessert57]

so much power in a child, basically...awesome!

[LaVerne37]

at any age...class... now she even sounds better than ever! And she owns her own record company!!! May she live till she's 150...I love this woman...

[BEATLE1947]

@LaVerne37

Calm yourself down LaVerne,take a cold shower mate.

[LaVerne37]

Norton...many many thanks for posting this...it's new to me...I'm simply, as the British say,: GOBSMACKED!!! Twistin' in Texas...lovin' me some SHAPIRO!!! ;)

[SirBasildeBrush]

Funnily enough, I was watching this yesterday...I naturally assumed you'd have this on DVD, collector's edition. Great stuff.

[technoturnip]

i get the feeling you have a thing going on for helen , like you say too bad you she didn't enjoy greater success in the states.

[fgldnglbs]

If a firm, rich chocolate cake made with Ghiradelli dark morsels could sing, I think it would sound like this.

This would have been a hit over here if her assoc

[MuscleJacker]

Helen is a beautiful woman. She could not take a bad picture. Her early 60's shots are all winners. That face matches the voice: gorgeous. What a woman. I am ready to book my flight to the UK anytime should she decide to tour again.

[MuscleJacker]

I would fly across the ocean to hear Helen perform a full concert. Helen, you have new fans who are hearing you for the first time 40+ years after your recordings. I LOVE THIS VOICE!

[dessert57]

Look at Helen, then look at the skanks and dolled up nobody 'entertainers' today...yukkk....

GO HELEN...go 60's!!!!!

[sampson1959]

how could you not love helen?exceptional voice and really a nice looking lady who nevr took a bad picture!!

[theogore]

Damn what pipes.

ThX for the up.

[margotdarby]

It was a demo for Carole. But they released it anyway! It didn't have full studio accompaniment. If it had been produced properly, maybe her vocal career would have been hurried along by another 8 or 9 years! But she was a songwriter first, remember.

[CanadaguyRudey]

Excellent quality.

Black and white vid looks so claissic.

Music, Lyrics... what a concept.

[sallieparker]

The only Carole version I know is the rough demo that got released and briefly charted in '62. But this voice would be hard to beat.

[GaryLehmann]

Nice voice!

Is she an alto?

[mikey1910]

No, I think she's a hetero.

[laggie24]

It breaks my heart to hear this tune again... reminder of happy an sorrowable times.

Thks for the touch... :)

[GenericGene]

Super - Super - Super - Gene

[waratah08]

Great version of this. As a youngster starting high school, I remember this was the chart version here.

[57Will]

I'd never heard, or even known, of this particular rendition until just now, and it's quite good. I didn't know she was as young as she was. Her voice sounds so much older and more mature than her age. Thanks for posting this.

[setiabakti]

She was 14 years old! and on her first live tour one of her "opening" acts was ... The Beatles!

[ecc84]

i've always wondered how much hair laquer she used.

it doesn't move at all.

[vibjwb]

It's called hair spray

[vibjwb]

It's called hair spray

[Blairpark]

I've said it before--Helen is great, the band is super, and the drummer (whoever it is) is fabulous.

[leadsquirter]

So beautiful a job she does with this great song. Thanks!

[Dogsledfan]

A beautiful woman and an equally beautiful voice!

You can have your coloratura sopranos,,, CONTRALTOS RULE!!! in my humble opinion.

[oberdanbingo]

Helen is really beautiful in this video !

I love it ! Thanks for posting it.

[soulmad]

ha ha, luv the Amy comparison, too much of a coincidence me thinks

[SandySummers]

Helen is beautiful here.

[jurrassicsparks]

Hmmm, i wonder who Amy Winehouse is trying to copy?

[beefoneeto]

Maybe better than Carole's original-both are great.

[aeschubert]

Thank you again!