‘Rider in the Rain’ is a lovely little country and western ditty by Randy Newman, included on his 1977 album Little Criminals. If you think this song sounds like a long lost Eagles track, that’s because Don Henley, Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther provide backing vocals.
Interviewed about Little Criminals at the time, Newman had this to say about today’s SOTD: “There’s also one about me as a cowboy called ‘Rider in the Rain’. I think it’s ridiculous. The Eagles are on there. That’s what’s good about it.”
R&B/jazz singer Patti Austin released a live version of this song on her 1978 album Live at the Bottom Line that’s worth hearing for both her great vocal performance and her witty stage banter.
Got a horse between my knees
And I’m goin’ to Arizona
Pardon me, boys, if you please
I have been a desperado
Raped and pillaged ‘cross the plain
Now, I’m goin’ to Arizona
Just a rider in the rain
He’s a rider in the rain
He’s a rider in the rain
And I’m goin’ to Arizona
He’s a rider in the rain
Oh, my mother’s in St. Louis
And my bride’s in Tennessee
So, I’m goin’ to Arizona
With a banjo on my knee
He’s a rider in the rain
He’s a rider in the rain
And I’m goin’ to Arizona
He’s a rider in the rain
Used to work in uncle’s feed store
While he was fightin’ in the war
Now I’m goin’ to Arizona
Ain’t gonna work for him no more
I’m the son of the prairie
And the wind that sweeps the plain
So, I’m goin’ to Arizona
Just a rider in the rain
He’s a rider in the rain
He’s a rider in the rain
And I’m goin’ to Arizona
He’s a rider in the rain
He’s a rider in the rain
He’s a rider in the rain
And I’m goin’ to Arizona
Just a rider in the rain
Meet Me In Montauk 
I like Patty Austin’s take on this song. Thanks for sharing.