Storm was born Josephine Owaissa Cottle in Bloomington in Victoria County, Texas. The youngest of five children, she had two brothers and two sisters. Her father, William Walter Cottle, died after a year-long illness when she was just seventeen months old, and her mother, Minnie Corina Cottle, struggled to raise the children alone. One of her sisters gave Josephine the middle name "Owaissa," a Norridgewock Amerindian word meaning "bluebird." Storm's mother Minnie took in sewing, then opened a millinery shop in McDade, Texas, which failed, and finally moved the family to Houston. Storm learned to be an accomplished dancer and became an excellent ice skater at Houston's Polar Palace. She performed in the drama club at both Albert Sidney Johnston Junior High School and San Jacinto High School.
When she was 17 years old, two of her teachers urged her to enter a contest on Gateway to Hollywood, broadcast from the CBS Radio studios in Hollywood, California. First prize was a one-year contract with a movie studio. She won and was immediately given the stage name Gale Storm. Her performing partner (and future husband), Lee Bonnell from South Bend, Indiana, became known as Terry Belmont.
In Gallatin, Tennessee in November 1954, a 10-year-old girl, Linda Wood, was watching Storm on a Sunday night television variety show, NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour, hosted by Gordon MacRae, singing one of the popular songs of the day. Linda's father asked her who was singing and was told it was Gale Storm from My Little Margie. Linda's father Randy Wood was president of Dot Records, and he liked Storm so much that he called to sign her before the end of the television show. Her first record, "I Hear You Knockin'," a cover version of a rhythm and blues hit by Smiley Lewis, sold over a million copies. The follow-up was a two-sided hit, with Storm covering Dean Martin's "Memories Are Made of This" backed with her cover of Gloria Mann's "A Teenage Prayer." That was followed by a hit cover of Frankie Lymon's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love." Storm's subsequent record sales began to slide but soon rebounded with a cover of her own labelmate Bonnie Guitar's haunting ballad "Dark Moon" that went to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Storm had several other hits and headlined in Las Vegas and appeared in numerous stage plays. Amazingly, Storm only recorded for approximately two years with Dot and then gave up recording because of her husband's concerns with the time she had to devote to that career. Equally amazing, almost her entire recording career was based on her quickly recording cover versions of new hits by other artists (one, a cover of Joni James' "I Need You So," was never released). Many felt that Storm's covers often were better than the originals, and she developed a large following.
After winning the contest in 1940, Storm made several films for the studio, RKO Radio Pictures. Her first was Tom Brown's School Days, playing opposite Jimmy Lydon and Freddie Bartholomew. She worked steadily in low-budget films released during this period. In 1941 she sang in several Soundies, three-minute musicals produced for "movie jukeboxes."
Storm acted and sang in Monogram Pictures' popular Frankie Darro series, and played ingénue roles in other Monogram features with the East Side Kids, Edgar Kennedy and The Three Stooges, most notably in the film Swing Parade of 1946. Monogram had always relied on established actors with reputations, but in Gale Storm the studio finally had a star of its own. She played the lead in the studio's most elaborate productions, both musical and dramatic. She shared top billing in Monogram's Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher (1943), opposite Edgar Kennedy, Richard Cromwell, and Frank Graham in the role of Jones, a character derived from network radio.
American audiences warmed to Storm and her fan mail increased. She performed in more than three dozen motion pictures for Monogram, experience which made possible her success in other media. She became an American icon of the 1950s, starring in two highly successful television series. It was also in this decade that her singing career took shape. She appeared on such variety programs as ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom.
n 1950, Storm made her TV debut in Hollywood Premiere Theatre on ABC. From 1952 to 1955, she starred in My Little Margie. The show, which co-starred former silent film actor Charles Farrell as her father, was originally a summer replacement for I Love Lucy on CBS, but ran for 126 episodes on NBC and CBS. The series was broadcast on CBS Radio from December 1952 to August 1955 with the same actors.
Storm's popularity was capitalized on when she served as hostess of the NBC Comedy Hour in the winter of 1956. That year she starred in another situation comedy, The Gale Storm Show (aka Oh! Susanna), featuring another silent movie star, ZaSu Pitts. The Gale Storm show ran for 143 episodes between 1956 and 1960. Storm appeared regularly on other television programs in the 1950s and 1960s. She was both a panelist and a "mystery guest" on What's My Line?
Storm was married and widowed twice. In 1941, she married Lee Bonnell (1918–1986), then an actor and later a businessman. They had four children: Peter, Phillip, Paul and Susanna. She married the second time in 1988 to Paul Masterson (1917–1996).
In her later years she struggled with alcoholism, in her own words:
During the 1970s I experienced a terribly low and painful time of dealing with alcoholism. I had Lee's unfailing support through the entire ordeal. My treatment and recovery were more than rugged. At that time, there was such a stigma attached to alcoholism, particularly for women, that it could be hazardous to your reputation and career. I thank God daily that I have been fully recovered for more than 20 years. During my struggle, I had no idea of the blessing my experience could turn out to be! I've had the opportunity to share with others suffering with alcoholism the knowledge that there is help, hope, and an alcohol free life awaiting them.
Storm was a great believer in the benevolence of God and was very much a Christian and later became an active member of the South Shores Church. She once said of this:
Life has been good and I thank God for His many blessings and the happy life He has given to me.
Storm made occasional television appearances in later years, such as Love Boat, Burke's Law, and Murder, She Wrote. In 1981, she published her autobiography, I Ain't Down Yet, which described her battle with alcoholism. She was also interviewed by author David C. Tucker for The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms, published in 2007 by McFarland and Company.
Storm continued to make personal appearances and autographed photos at fan conventions, along with Charles Farrell from the My Little Margie series. She also attended events such as the Memphis Film Festival, the Friends of Old-Time Radio and the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention.
Storm lived alone in Monarch Beach, California, near two of her sons and their families, until failing health forced her into a convalescent home, near San Francisco in Danville, California. She died there on June 27, 2009.
Storm has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to recording, radio, and television.
Now Is the Hour
Gale Storm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Night o'er the valley is creeping!
Birds cuddle down in their nest,
Soon all the world will be sleeping
And now is the hour when we must say goodbye,
Soon you'll be sailing far across the sea,
While you're away, o, then remember me,
True lovers often must part,
Kiss me, then leave me to sorrow!
Here love, I give you my heart,
You will return some glad morrow
But now is the hour when we must say goodbye,
Soon you'll be sailing far across the sea,
While you're away, o, then remember me,
When you return, you'll find me waiting here.
The song "Now Is the Hour" by Gale Storm is a heart-wrenching ballad about saying goodbye to a loved one who is leaving on a journey, possibly forever. It describes the melancholic atmosphere of a fading sunset, the approaching darkness of night, and the birds retreating to their nests to sleep. The lyrics paint a picture of the world around the two lovers slowing down, getting quieter, while they themselves are forced to part ways. The singer is urging her lover to remember her while they are apart, promising that she will be waiting for him upon his return, no matter how long it takes.
The chorus echoes the main theme of the song - the inevitability of parting and the long wait for reunion. The use of the term "true lovers" suggests that the separation is not a temporary one and that the two people deeply care for each other. The second verse emphasizes this point, as the singer gives her heart to her lover and asks him to treasure it while they are apart. The word "sorrow" in the third line of the verse reveals the depth of her feelings, as she anticipates months or even years of waiting and missing the person she loves.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunset glow fades in the west,
The light from the sun is slowly disappearing over the horizon to the west.
Night o'er the valley is creeping!
Darkness is slowly creeping into the valley, signifying the end of the day.
Birds cuddle down in their nest,
The birds are preparing for a night of rest by settling in their nests.
Soon all the world will be sleeping
With the arrival of night, the world will be at rest and asleep.
And now is the hour when we must say goodbye,
It is time for us to bid farewell to each other.
Soon you'll be sailing far across the sea,
You will soon embark on a journey across the vast ocean.
While you're away, o, then remember me,
During your absence, please do remember me.
When you return, you'll find me waiting here
On your return, I will be here waiting for you.
True lovers often must part,
It is not uncommon for true lovers to have to say goodbye and be apart from each other.
Kiss me, then leave me to sorrow!
Although it will bring sorrow, please give me a parting kiss before leaving.
Here love, I give you my heart,
As a sign of my love and devotion, I offer you my heart, my very being.
You will return some glad morrow
I believe that you will return, hopefully bringing happiness and joy with you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ERIMA MAEWA KAIHAU, DOROTHY M.R. STEWART, CECIL SPENCER DARLING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mrob75
The era when people liked pretty songs…
@jsd8124
good , I like it
@TheDejael
A traditional Hawaiian love song.
@janosmeretei2493
She Was Born 100 Years Ago... (HU)
@mickybowser1434
OH OH SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL YES YES🌹VELVET BLU BO'NEE🌈