“Stormy Weather” was originally written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler for vocalist and bandleader Cab Calloway, who, along with his fine big band, had been a fixture at New York’s Cotton Club. Calloway took over the prestigious slot from Duke Ellington in February, 1931. Before the 1933 Cotton Club Parade show went into production, Calloway left the club and Ellington returned. This left the show’s producers in tight spot since Ellington didn’t sing and they needed a “name” to feature the tune. In a fortuitous turn of events, vocalist Ethel Waters returned to New York from Chicago. The show’s producers and the tune’s composers met with Miss Waters, and she agreed perform the song in the show, her only appearance as part of the revue.

Waters took to the tune immediately. She had just been through the breakup of her marriage, and the song almost seemed to have been written with her feelings in mind. In Edward Jablonski’s biography Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows & Blues, Waters is quoted: “When I got out there in the middle of the Cotton Club floor, I was telling things I couldn’t frame in words. I was singing the story of my misery and confusion, of the misunderstandings in my life I couldn’t straighten out, the story of wrongs and outrages done to me by people I had loved and trusted.” Waters’ initial performance in the show drew twelve encores.

Even before the show’s opening night (April 6, 1933), composer Arlen contacted old friend and bandleader Leo Reisman in hopes of recording the tune. Reisman sensed the tune’s potential and let Arlen perform the number on a Victor record date. Recorded in late February, 1933, this introductory performance of “Stormy Weather” was quickly released and grabbed the public’s attention. The song quickly took off in the charts:

• Leo Reisman Orchestra (1933, Harold Arlen, vocal, #1)
• Dorsey Brothers’ Orchestra (1933, Ethel Waters, vocal, #1)
• Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians (1933, #2)
• Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (1933, Ivie Anderson, vocal #4)
• Ted Lewis and His Orchestra (1933, Shirley Jay, vocal, #6)
• Lena Horne (1943, vocal, #21)

Although backed by Duke Ellington’s Orchestra in the show, Waters recorded the tune with the Dorsey Brothers’ Orchestra (Tommy on trombone and Jimmy on alto sax and clarinet) in May, 1933, after Reisman’s recording had been released. At the time, Ellington was under contract to Brunswick Records, and Waters and the Dorseys were under contract to Columbia. However, Ellington’s Orchestra and vocalist Ivie Anderson grabbed the honors for being the first to perform the number on film, a short feature from 1933 entitled Bundle of Blues.

Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler had collaborated on a number of songs prior to “Stormy Weather,” including a previous Cotton Club show. Supposedly the two were together at a party when the tune began to take form. Another half-an-hour of work and it was finished. The two continued to collaborate on Cotton Club revues and eventually went to Hollywood to write for films.

Spotted by composer Irving Berlin during a performance of the Cotton Club Parade, Ethel Waters went on to star in Berlin’s As Thousands Cheer, performing “Heat Wave” and “Suppertime.” The appearance rejuvenated her career.

Vocalist Lena Horne starred in the 1943 motion picture Stormy Weather and performed the title tune. The movie was a splendid showcase for African-American talent, including Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Thomas “Fats” Waller, the Nicholas Brothers, and Cab Calloway.

Koehler’s masterful lyrics tell the tale of the breakup of a romance and the sadness such an event brings. An interesting twist to the song occurs before the bridge, where there are two extra bars. George Gershwin pointed this out to Arlen, who stated he was unaware of it, but the repeated line “so weary all the time” adds an extra impetus to the line, and it’s hard to imagine that Arlen and Koehler weren’t aware of the extra bars.