Editing Stormy Weather (song)

{{short description|Song written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler in 1933}}
{{For|other songs with the same name|Stormy Weather (disambiguation)#Music}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2016}}
"'''Stormy Weather'''" is a 1933 [[torch song]] written by [[Harold Arlen]] and [[Ted Koehler]]. [[Ethel Waters]] first sang it at [[Cotton Club (New York City)|The Cotton Club]] night club in [[Harlem, Manhattan|Harlem]] in 1933 and recorded it with the Dorsey Brothers' Orchestra under Brunswick Records that year, and in the same year it was sung in London by [[Elisabeth Welch]] and recorded by [[Frances Langford]]. Also in 1933, for the first time the entire floor revue from Harlem's [[Cotton Club (New York City)|Cotton Club]] went on tour, playing theatres in principal cities. The revue was originally called ''The Cotton Club Parade of 1933'' but for the road tour it was changed to ''Stormy Weather Revue''; it contained the song "Stormy Weather", which was sung by [[Adelaide Hall]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1532&dat=19330923&id=0KA9AAAAIBAJ&sjid=visMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4392,9375602 "Adelaide Hall with Cotton Club revue"], article in ''The Afro-American'', September 23, 1933, p. 18</ref>

In September 1933, the group [[Comedian Harmonists]] released their German cover version, titled "''Ohne Dich''" ("Without You") with lyrics that are quite different.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.45worlds.com/78rpm/record/eg2848 |title=Detailed information on "Ohne Dich"|website=45worlds.com}}</ref> The song has since been performed by [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Judy Garland]], [[Etta James]], [[Ella Fitzgerald]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/master/538559-Ella-Fitzgerald-Ella-Fitzgerald-Sings-The-Harold-Arlen-Song-Book|title=Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Harold Arlen Song Book &#124; Releases|website=Discogs.com|date=1961 }}</ref> [[Dinah Washington]], [[Clodagh Rodgers]], [[Reigning Sound]], [[Lena Horne]], [[Billie Holiday]], [[The Spaniels]], [[Willie Hutch]], [[Jeff Lynne]], [[Bob Dylan]] and others. [[Leo Reisman]]'s orchestra version had the biggest hit on records (with Arlen himself as vocalist), although [[Ethel Waters]]' recorded version also sold well.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Whitburn |first1=Joel |title=Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 |date=1986 |publisher=Record Research Inc. |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |isbn=0-89820-083-0 |page=440}}</ref>  "Stormy Weather" was performed by Horne in the 1943 film ''[[Stormy Weather (1943 film)|Stormy Weather]]'', a big, all-star show for [[World War II]] soldiers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/katherine-dunham/articles-and-essays/notes-on-dunhams-work/stormy-weather/|title=Stormy Weather|author=Selections from the Katherine Dunham Collection|publisher=Library of Congress|access-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref>

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.{{Original research inline|date=October 2021}} The weather is a metaphor for the feelings of the singer:{{Original research inline|date=October 2021}} "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 version of ''[[Antiques Roadshow (U.S. TV series)|Antiques Roadshow]]'' on January 24, 2011, where they were appraised for between $50,000 and $100,000.  The lyrics show a number of crossings out and corrections.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/archive/201001A41.html |title="Stormy Weather" Working Lyrics & Koehler Painting &#124; Antiques Roadshow |publisher=PBS |date=2010-06-12 |access-date=2016-07-26}}</ref>

[[Ethel Waters]]' recording of the song in 1933 was inducted in the [[List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Q-Z|Grammy Hall of Fame]] in 2003, and the [[Library of Congress]] added it to the [[List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry|National Recording Registry]] in 2004. Also in 2004, Horne's version finished at number 30 on [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs]] survey of top tunes in American movies.

According to the Acoustic Music organization, the version by [[the Five Sharps]] (1952)<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ooU8o78lMgw Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170912205245/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooU8o78lMgw Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooU8o78lMgw|title=Five Sharps - Stormy Weather (RARE) (1952)|date=15 July 2013 |access-date=May 30, 2021|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> "is one of the rarest of all R&B records. Only three 78rpm and no 45rpm copies are known to exist".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://acousticmusic.org/research/history/timeline-of-musical-styles-guitar-history/|title=Timeline of Musical Styles & Guitar History|website=Acousticmusic.org|access-date=May 30, 2021}}</ref>

==Notable recordings==
*[[Ethel Waters]] – 1933<ref name="Gioia" />
*[[Duke Ellington]] – 1933<ref name="Gioia" /> and another version with singer [[Ivie Anderson]] in 1940.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.depanorama.net/ts.htm|title=Ellington Titles|website=Depanorama.net|access-date=2016-07-26}}</ref> He also performed a vocal version with Ivy (aka Ivie) Anderson in the 1933 Paramount short film ''Bundle of Blues''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stratemann|first=Dr. Klaus|title=Duke Ellington Day by Day and Film by Film|publisher=JazzMedia ApS|year=1992|isbn=87-88043-34-7|location=Copenhagen|pages=59–64}}</ref>
*Harold Arlen – 1933<ref name="Gioia">{{cite book |last1=Gioia |first1=Ted |title=The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-19-993739-4 |pages=405–407}}</ref>
*[[Lena Horne]] recorded the song in 1941 for RCA Victor. In 1943, she recorded another version for the movie ''Stormy Weather''. She recorded the song at least five times throughout her career, including for the 1957 album ''[[Stormy Weather (Lena Horne album)|Stormy Weather]]''. Her original 1941 version of the song was inducted into the [[List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Q-Z|Grammy Hall of Fame]] in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame#s|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame|website=Grammy.org|access-date=2016-07-26}}</ref>
*[[Billie Holiday]] with [[Lester Young]] and [[Count Basie]] – ''Broadcast Performances Vol. 2'' (1955)<ref name="Gioia" />
*[[Red Garland|Red Garland Trio]] - ''[[All Kinds of Weather]]'' (1959), familiar to listeners of [[American Public Media]]'s [[Marketplace (radio program)|Marketplace]] radio program, which plays Garland's version as background accompaniment whenever news of a decline in the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]] is reported<ref>{{cite web|url=http://marketplace.org/FAQs/|title=Frequently Asked Questions|website=Marketplace.org|access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref>
*[[Frank Sinatra]] – ''[[No One Cares]]'' (1959)<ref name="Gioia" />
*[[Charles Mingus]] with [[Eric Dolphy]] – [[Mingus (Charles Mingus album)|''Mingus!'']] (1960)<ref name="Gioia" />
*[[Billy Eckstine]] – ''[[Once More with Feeling (Billy Eckstine album)|Once More with Feeling]]'' (1960)<ref name="Gioia" />
*[[Etta James]] - ''[[At Last!]]'' (1961)<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/at-last%21-mw0000194402|title=At Last - Etta James|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=2024-07-14}}</ref>
*[[Judy Garland]] – ''London Sessions''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-london-sessions-mw0000613993|title=The London Sessions|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=2018-02-13}}</ref> and the Grammy Award-winning album ''[[Judy at Carnegie Hall]]''<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/rufus-wainwright-at-carnegie-hall-more-rainbows-than-stormy-weather-20060616|title=Rufus Wainwright at Carnegie Hall: More Rainbows Than Stormy Weather|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=2018-02-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5484928|title=A Lot to Learn from 'Judy at Carnegie Hall'|access-date=2018-02-13|website=Npr.org}}</ref>
*[[Mary Lou Williams]] – ''Live at the Keystone Korner''  (1977)<ref name="Gioia" />
*[[Viola Wills]] – covered the song in 1982, peaking at #4 on the Billboard dance charts.<ref>{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Dance/Disco: 1974–2003|publisher=Record Research|year=2004|page=281|author-link=Joel Whitburn}}</ref>
*[[Woody Shaw]] with [[Steve Turre]] – ''[[Imagination (Woody Shaw album)|Imagination]]'' (1987)<ref name="Gioia" />
*[[Jeff Lynne]] - Covered the song for his first solo album ''[[Armchair Theatre (Jeff Lynne album)|Armchair Theatre]]'' (1990).
*[[Reigning Sound]] - ''[[Time Bomb High School]]'' (2002) - A raucous rock cover using many of the 1933 original's lyrics to a new arrangement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/sjcturntable/album/108297-time-bomb-high-school/|title=Reigning Sound - Time Bomb High School|access-date=2024-06-04}}</ref>
*[[Bob Dylan]] - Recorded his version for his third album of traditional American covers, ''[[Triplicate (Bob Dylan album)|Triplicate]]'' (2017).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*The chapter "Stormy Weather" in the book ''Stardust Melodies: The Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs'' by [[Will Friedwald]] (New York: Pantheon Books, 2002).

{{Ethel Waters}}
{{Judy Garland songs}}
{{Frank Sinatra singles}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stormy Weather}}
[[Category:Songs about weather]]
[[Category:Songs about heartache]]
[[Category:Songs about loneliness]]
[[Category:Torch songs]]
[[Category:1933 songs]]
[[Category:1985 singles]]
[[Category:Etta James songs]]
[[Category:Fats Comet songs]]
[[Category:Judy Garland songs]]
[[Category:Lena Horne songs]]
[[Category:Pop standards]]
[[Category:Ringo Starr songs]]
[[Category:Shirley Bassey songs]]
[[Category:Comedian Harmonists songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne]]
[[Category:Songs with lyrics by Ted Koehler]]
[[Category:Songs with music by Harold Arlen]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]
[[Category:Bluebird Records singles]]
[[Category:Ethel Waters songs]]