Stormy Weather
Encyclopedia
"Stormy Weather" is a 1933 song written by Harold Arlen
and Ted Koehler
. Ethel Waters
first sang it at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem. It has since been covered by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra
, Clodagh Rodgers
, and Reigning Sound
; but most famously by Lena Horne
and Billie Holiday
. Leo Reisman
's orchestra had the biggest hit on records (with Arlen himself as vocalist), although Ethel Waters recorded version also performed well.
The song tells of disappointment, as the lyrics, "Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky" show someone pining for her man to return. The weather is a metaphor for the feelings of the singer; "stormy weather since my man and I ain't together, keeps raining all the time."
The original handwritten lyrics, along with a painting by Ted Koehler, were featured on the (US) Antiques Roadshow on 24 January 2011, where they were appraised for between $50,000 and $100,000. The lyrics show a number of crossings out and corrections.
Ethel Waters
' recording of the song in 1933 was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Library of Congress
honored the song by adding it to the National Recording Registry in 2004.
" (1950). It is played on the piano at the party when Margo is going upstairs. It also appaers periodically in Fellini´s film Amarcord.
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
and Ted Koehler
Ted Koehler
Ted L. Koehler was an American lyricist.-Life and career:Koehler was born in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver but was attracted to the music business, where he started out as a theater pianist for silent films. He moved on to write for vaudeville shows and Broadway, and he also...
. Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
first sang it at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem. It has since been covered by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Clodagh Rodgers
Clodagh Rodgers
Clodagh Rodgers is a singer and actress from Northern Ireland, best known for her hit single, "Jack in the Box".-Career:...
, and Reigning Sound
Reigning Sound
The Reigning Sound is an American garage punk band originally based out of Memphis, Tennessee, now located in Asheville, North Carolina. The band's current lineup includes former Oblivians and Compulsive Gamblers frontman Greg Cartwright on lead vocals and guitar, David Wayne Gay on bass, Lance...
; but most famously by Lena Horne
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
and Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. Leo Reisman
Leo Reisman
Leo Reisman was a violinist and bandleader in the 1920s and 1930s. Born and reared in Boston, Reisman studied violin as a young man, and formed his own band in 1919. He became famous for having over 80 hits on the popular charts during his career. Jerome Kern called Reisman's orchestra "The...
's orchestra had the biggest hit on records (with Arlen himself as vocalist), although Ethel Waters recorded version also performed well.
The song tells of disappointment, as the lyrics, "Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky" show someone pining for her man to return. The weather is a metaphor for the feelings of the singer; "stormy weather since my man and I ain't together, keeps raining all the time."
The original handwritten lyrics, along with a painting by Ted Koehler, were featured on the (US) Antiques Roadshow on 24 January 2011, where they were appraised for between $50,000 and $100,000. The lyrics show a number of crossings out and corrections.
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
' recording of the song in 1933 was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
honored the song by adding it to the National Recording Registry in 2004.
Other versions
- Frances LangfordFrances LangfordJulia Frances Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades.-Birth:...
recorded the song in 1933. - Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
recorded an instrumental version of the song in 1933 and another version with singer Ivie AndersonIvie AndersonIvie Anderson was an American jazz singer. She was best-known for her performances with Duke Ellington's orchestra between 1931 and 1942....
in 1940. - Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
first recorded the song in 1941 for RCA Victor. In 1943, she recorded another version of Stormy Weather for the movie of the same name (which she made while on loan to 20th Century Fox from MGM). Horne recorded the song at least five times throughout her career. Horne's version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. - Connee BoswellConnee BoswellConstance Foore "Connee" Boswell was an American female vocalist born in Kansas City but raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. With her sisters, Martha and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell, she performed in the 1930s as The Boswell Sisters and became a highly influential singing group during this period via...
recorded the song for Decca on July 8, 1941 with Victor Young's Orchestra. - Shirley BasseyShirley BasseyDame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
recorded the song in 1956 and it appeared on the B-side of her first single "Burn My Candle (At Both Ends)Burn My Candle (at Both Ends)"Burn My Candle" was Shirley Bassey's first single. It was recorded in February 1956, when Bassey was nineteen years old, and released later that month on a 78 rpm shellac disc , with Stormy Weather on the B side. The record was produced by Johnny Franz, with Wally Stott and his Orchestra backing...
" released on the Philips record label. - Lou RawlsLou RawlsLouis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
recorded one version in the seventies. - Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
recorded three studio versions of the song; the first as a single for ColumbiaColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in the 1940s, the second, in 1959 for the album No One CaresNo One CaresNo One Cares is a 1959 album by Frank Sinatra.The album can be seen as a sequel to the Sinatra's earlier album Where Are You?, which was also arranged by Gordon Jenkins. The album was released in 1959 in both stereo and mono versions, each containing 11 songs...
, and lastly, in 1984 for the album L.A. Is My LadyL.A. Is My LadyL.A. Is My Lady is a 1984 studio album by Frank Sinatra, featuring arrangements by Quincy Jones. It was the last solo album that Sinatra recorded, though Sinatra recorded three further songs, which were unreleased until The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings.The album came after an album of duets...
. - Glenn MillerGlenn MillerAlton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
recorded a version on V-DiscV-DiscV-Disc was a morale-boosting initiative involving the production of several series of recordings during the World War II era by special arrangement between the United States government and various private U.S. record companies. The records were produced for the use of United States military...
, No. 91A, which was issued in January, 1944 by the U.S. War Department featuring the AAFTC Orchestra. - Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
's interpretation can be found on her VerveVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
release "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen SongbookElla Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen SongbookElla Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook is a 1961 album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Billy May...
" - Olga GuillotOlga GuillotOlga Guillot was a Cuban singer who was known to be the "queen of bolero". She was a native of the Cuban city of Santiago.Guillot and her family moved to Havana, Cuba when she was a small child...
recorded a Spanish language version of the song. - Billie HolidayBillie HolidayBillie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
recorded a version of the song on July 27, 1952, in New-York. It was released on a 7-inch album with the B-side Don't ExplainDon't ExplainDon't Explain is the title of the second Umbilical Brothers DVD, released in November 2007. The show was filmed at the Athenaeum theatre in Melbourne.The Description on the back of the DVD:...
, and has since been included on many anthologies. - In 1952, R&B group The Five SharpsThe Five SharpsThe Five Sharps were a short-lived vocal group from Queens, NY. They are best known today for their recording of "Stormy Weather". "Stormy Weather" is today considered one of the most collectible doo wop singles ever released...
recorded "Stormy Weather" for Jubilee Records, and test pressings were made. The master was later lost (either to fire or flood; sources vary), and only three extant original pressings (all on 78 RPM) are known to exist (although original 45 RPM issues on Jubilee are still, currently 56 years later [2008], rumored to exist). In the 1960s, Jubilee released a rock-and-roll recording, by a different group, with label attribution to the Five Sharps; this version holds little interest to collectors. All known 45 RPM copies of the 1952 version bearing the Jubilee label (as well as a 1972 reissue on Bim Bam Boom records) have been bootlegged from one of the three known 78 copies (a cracked copy, whose crack is audible on all reissues). A version similar to the original Five Sharps recording was also recorded and released in the 1960s by a New York based group, the Five Sharks. - Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
recorded a studio version of the song for her "London Sessions" with Capitol. Most notable is her live performance of the song recorded for the Grammy Award-winning album Judy At Carnegie HallJudy at Carnegie HallJudy at Carnegie Hall is a two-record live recording of a concert by Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall in New York.This concert appearance, on the night of April 23, 1961, has been called "the greatest night in show business history". Garland's live performances were big successes at the time and her...
. - Django ReinhardtDjango ReinhardtDjango Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
performed this song, and it can be found on the album Keep Cool: Guitar Solos (1950–1953). - Etta JamesEtta JamesEtta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
recorded the song in 1961 on her debut album At Last!. - Earl GrantEarl GrantEarl Grant was an American easy listening pianist, Hammond organist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s.-Career:...
instrumental version from his 1961 album Ebb Tide And Other Instrumental Favorites - In the last sequence of Derek JarmanDerek JarmanMichael Derek Elworthy Jarman was an English film director, stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener and author.-Life:...
's The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
(1979), an fantasy/extravaganza film adaptation of William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's eponymous play, the American-born singer, actress, and entertainer, Elisabeth WelchElisabeth Welchthumb|right|200pxElisabeth Welch was an American born singer, actress, and entertainer whose career spanned seven decades, many years of which she was based in Britain....
sings the song which she had taken as her signature tune since 1930's, while making a memorable appearance as "A Goddess". - On-U Sound supergroup New Age SteppersNew Age SteppersNew Age Steppers, one of the On-U Sound stable, under the creative direction of Adrian Sherwood, was a collective of musicians which varied over time...
has a reggae cover on their third album titled Foundation Steppers (1983) with Ari Up on the vocals. - Industrial/hip-hop group TackheadTackheadTackhead are an industrial hip-hop group that were most active during the 1980s and early 1990s, and briefly reformed in 2004 for a tour. Their music occupies the territory where funk, dub, industrial music and electronica intersect...
released a cover of the song as a 12-inch single under their Fats Comet alias in 1985. - Viola WillsViola WillsViola Wills was an American pop singer, best known for the 1979 UK Singles Chart #8 and U.S. Hot Dance Club Play #52 hit, "Gonna Get Along Without You Now". Other hits included further covers of the songs, "Both Sides Now" , and "If You Could Read My Mind" Viola Wills (December 30,...
covered the song in 1982, it peaked at number four on the dance charts. - Rock star Jeff LynneJeff LynneJeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
(of Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
fame) recorded a cover of the song on his 1990 solo album Armchair TheatreArmchair Theatre (Jeff Lynne album)Armchair Theatre is the first solo album by Jeff Lynne, released in 1990.- History :"Every little Thing" and "Lift Me Up" were released as singles. The album also features two classic cover versions "September Song" and "Stormy Weather" the latter recorded as a tribute to his late mother...
. - Rest Assured recorded a cover of the song in 1993 to coincide with the song's 60th birthday although somewhat different from the original due to the use of samples and a rap. It was produced by Harry Sutcliffe.
- Toots ThielemansToots ThielemansJean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans , known as Toots Thielemans, is a Belgian jazz musician well known for his guitar and harmonica playing as well as his whistling. Thielemans is credited as one of the greatest harmonica players of the 20th century...
recorded this song with Oleta Adams in 2006 for his album One More for the RoadOne More for the RoadOne More for the Road is a collection of 25 short stories written by Ray Bradbury.-Contents:# "First Day"# "Heart Transplant"# "Quid Pro Quo"# "After the Ball"# "In Memoriam"# "Téte-á-Téte"# "The Dragon Danced at Midnight"# "The Nineteenth"... - Reigning SoundReigning SoundThe Reigning Sound is an American garage punk band originally based out of Memphis, Tennessee, now located in Asheville, North Carolina. The band's current lineup includes former Oblivians and Compulsive Gamblers frontman Greg Cartwright on lead vocals and guitar, David Wayne Gay on bass, Lance...
This song which opens their 2002 album Time Bomb High School. - Chelsea KrombachChelsea Krombach-Biography:Krombach recorded two solo albums, Look for the Silver Lining and Profile Both of her albums are all-jazz and recorded live in one take with all real instruments...
recorded a cover of the song in her second jazz album Profile, released in 2004. - Royal Crown RevueRoyal Crown RevueThe Royal Crown Revue is a band formed in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. They are often credited with starting the Swing Revival movement. Live, RCR has been extremely successful: They participated in 1998's Vans Warped Tour, opened for the B-52s and The Pretenders and played at major US Jazz...
Recorded in their 1998 album "the contender", the RCR gave this little ditty a shuffle feel. - Joni MitchellJoni MitchellJoni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
sang the song for AT&TAT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
's concert for the benefit of the Walden Woods Project and the Thoreau Institute. - Keller WilliamsKeller WilliamsKeller Williams is an American musician from Fredericksburg, Virginia, who began performing in the early 1990s. He is also known by the names K-Dub or just Keller, when performing. Williams' music combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, and...
released a live version of the song on his 2005 DVD SightSight (Keller Williams video)Sight is a DVD released in 2005. The film is a recording of a two day concert run by Keller Williams in November 2004 at Mr. Small's theater facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
. - Performing at Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, The London PalladiumLondon PalladiumThe London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
and The Hollywood BowlHollywood BowlThe Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
, Martha WainwrightMartha WainwrightMartha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...
guested to brother, Rufus WainwrightRufus WainwrightRufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, for his Rufus, Rufus, Rufus Does Judy, Judy, JudyRufus Does Judy at Carnegie HallRufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall is the sixth album by the Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released through Geffen Records in December 2007. The album consists of live recordings from his sold-out June 14–15, 2006 tribute concerts at Carnegie Hall to the legendary American...
concert, a recreation of Judy GarlandJudy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
's celebrated 1961 concert of the same venue. - LaKisha JonesLaKisha JonesLaKisha Ann Jones is an American singer. She placed fourth on the sixth season of American Idol.-Personal life:Jones was born at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, to a teacher at the Flint Foundation Academy...
sang this song during her course of American IdolAmerican IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
under the guidance of Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
. - In the first season of The Muppet ShowThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
, Wayne and Wanda (a recurring duet couple) tried to sing the song, but as with most of their attempts to perform, it ends with slapstick violence. Because copyright licensing was not available, however, the segment does not appear on the DVD release. - The radio program MarketplaceMarketplace (radio program)Marketplace is a radio program that focuses on business, the economy, and events that influence them. Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, the show is produced and distributed by American Public Media, in association with the University of Southern California...
uses "Stormy Weather" as background music when the major stock market indices are down for the day. - Joe SampleJoe SampleJoseph Leslie "Joe" Sample is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer.He is one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 .- Biography :Sample began playing the piano...
recorded an instrumental version of this song on his 1993 album Invitation. - Wayne HancockWayne HancockWayne "The Train" Hancock is a country musician.Hancock began writing songs at the age of 12, and at 18 won a talent contest called the "Wrangler County Showdown." Immediately after the contest, he was shipped to recruit training and served four years with the United States Marine Corps. In 1994...
covers the song on his South Austin Sessions album. - 15 year-old Gitte Haenning recorded the song in 1961 on the Danish HMV Label (X 8439)
- The German a-capella group (cf. Doo-WopDoo-wopThe name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
) Comedian HarmonistsComedian HarmonistsThe Comedian Harmonists were an internationally famous, all-male German close harmony ensemble that performed between 1928 and 1934 as one of the most successful musical groups in Europe before World War II...
recorded their version of this song, "Ohne Dich", in German in Sep. 4, 1933 (Berlin). They further made a version in French language, "Quand il pleut", recorded Sep. 7, 1933 . - The Chicago punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
group, the Smoking PopesSmoking PopesThe Smoking Popes are an American pop punk from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1991. They play punk-influenced pop music with crooning vocals...
, recorded their version of this song, in 2001 - Michael CrawfordMichael CrawfordMichael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...
recorded this song for his 1993 album A Touch of Music in the Night - Eric Dolphy recorded it on the 20th of october, 1960, with the following personnal: Drums – Dannie Richmond, Saxophone [Alto], Clarinet [Bass], Flute – Eric Dolphy, Piano – Nico Bunick, Trumpet – Lonnie Hillyer, Ted Curson, Saxophone [Alto] – Charles McPherson. The track "Stormy Weather (Take 1)" is included on the Candid Dolphy LP. It is an instrumental track.
Homage
- The song is referenced in the 19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
Academy Award nominated animated short Disney musical filmMusical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
, A Symposium on Popular SongsA Symposium On Popular SongsA Symposium on Popular Songs is a special cartoon featurette made by the Walt Disney Company in 1962. It features songs written by the Sherman Brothers with music arrangements by Tutti Camarata. The Shermans also co-wrote the screenplay but are not credited for this...
during the song, "Although I Dropped $100,000" written by Robert & Richard Sherman. - The song is also referenced in the song "Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
" by CakeCake (band)Cake is an American alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. Consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Gabe Nelson and drummer Paulo Baldi, the band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan voice, DiFiore's trumpet parts, and...
. The following lyrics are found in the chorus: "While Frank Sinatra sings 'Stormy Weather,' the flies and spiders get along together; cobwebs fall on an old, skipping record." - The first line of "Weather with YouWeather with You"Weather with You" is a 1991 song by rock group Crowded House. It was the third and most successful single released from the group's third studio album Woodface, reaching top fifty charts in six countries with a peak of #7 in the United Kingdom....
" by the New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
group, Crowded HouseCrowded HouseCrowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
, is "Walking 'round the room singing 'Stormy Weather.'" - The song is played on the business radio program MarketplaceMarketplace (radio program)Marketplace is a radio program that focuses on business, the economy, and events that influence them. Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, the show is produced and distributed by American Public Media, in association with the University of Southern California...
heard daily on many NPR stations. If all three major market indices are lower, "Stormy Weather" is the background music ("We're in the Money" is played if markets are up, and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"It Don't Mean a Thing " is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills, now accepted as a jazz standard. The music was written and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at Chicago's Lincoln Tavern and was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for...
" is played if markets are mixed). - The nudie-cartoon anthology Sex to Sexty included a "Balled-Up Ballad," parodying the lyrics thus:
- "Can't go on:
- DoctorPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
says I got the gonGonorrheaGonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The usual symptoms in men are burning with urination and penile discharge. Women, on the other hand, are asymptomatic half the time or have vaginal discharge and pelvic pain...
. - Stormy Weather,
- Can't keep my poor legs together--
- Keeps running all the time!"
In popular culture
The music of the song appears in the film "All About EveAll About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve", by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
" (1950). It is played on the piano at the party when Margo is going upstairs. It also appaers periodically in Fellini´s film Amarcord.
Further reading
- The chapter "Stormy Weather" in the book Stardust Melodies: The Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs by Will FriedwaldWill FriedwaldWill Friedwald is an American author and music critic. He has written for such newspapers as The New York Times, The Village Voice, Newsday, The New York Observer, and The New York Sun, and for such magazines as Entertainment Weekly, Oxford American, New York, Mojo, BBC Music Magazine, Stereo...
(New York: Pantheon Books, 2002).