“Don’t know why there’s no sun up in the sky … Stormy weather … ”
Oh yes, a splendid lightening storm this morning! I tried to catch a burst on film, but no such luck …
So I’ll treat you to a little bit of trivia this AM …
I’m most familiar with the song “Stormy Weather” as recorded by Billie Holiday. Billie’s “Greatest Hits” is one of my favorite albums …
“Stormy Weather” was written in 1933, and first sung by Ethel Waters at The Cotton Club night club in Harlem. I wish I had made it up there during my stint in NYC, but I didn’t. Not sure I even knew about it, as I had not yet come to appreciate jazz and blues …
“Stormy Weather” has been performed and recorded by artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Clodagh Rodgers, and Reigning Sound, and most famously by Lena Horne and Billie Holiday. Leo Reisman’s orchestra version had the biggest hit on records, with Harold Arlen as vocalist.
The song was later featured in a movie, by the same name, in 1943. “Stormy Weather” is considered one of the best Hollywood musicals with African-American casts, the other being “Cabin in the Sky”, and is considered a primary showcasing of some of the top African-American performers of the time, during an era when African-American actors and singers rarely appeared in lead roles. The musical is based upon the life and times of its star, dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. The film’s musical highlights also include Fats Waller’s performing his composition “Ain’t Misbehavin’. This was Robinson’s final film (he died in 1949); Waller died only a few months after its release. I used to love watching classical movies, but I haven’t seen this one. I’d love to have a classical movie night again (hint-hint Spencer).
So how about you? Are you a Billie Holiday fan? Has anyone ever been to The Cotton Club? Anyone seen the film?
And I hope you have a fabulous day, “come rain or shine” …
(a song written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer for the musical St. Louis Woman, published in 1946)
