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.
Teenage Prayer
Gale Storm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How I adore him
I've whispered to angels
What I'd do for him
He is the answer
To a teenage prayer.
He won't go steady
But I keep praying
To have him hold me
Why won't you listen
To a teenage prayer.
I wait by the window at seven
And chill when my thrill passes by
His kiss could send me to heaven
Into his arms I could fly
My girlfriend, Betty
Tells me he's lazy
But I know Betty
Loves him like crazy
He is the answer
To a teenage prayer.
The lyrics to Gale Storm's 1956 hit song "Teenage Prayer" captures the adolescent longing for unrequited love. The song tells of a teenage girl's infatuation with a boy who won't go steady with her, but she still prays for him to hold her - he is the answer to her teenage prayer. She whispers to the angels what she would do for him, and her friends all know how much she adores him. She waits for him by the window every day at seven and chills when he passes by, yet he won’t listen to her teenage prayer. The girl's girlfriend Betty tells her that the boy is lazy, but the girl knows that Betty loves him like crazy.
Through its lyrics, "Teenage Prayer" speaks to the heart of adolescent longing and the desire to be loved. The girl is willing to wait and pray for the boy she desires, despite knowing that he might not feel the same way. The song's simple melody and heartfelt lyrics set a tone of innocent longing that resonates with listeners even today.
Line by Line Meaning
My friends all know it
Everyone I know is aware that I am deeply in love with a certain person
How I adore him
I am so smitten with him that he is always on my mind
I've whispered to angels
I have been so desperate to express my feelings that I've told ethereal beings about my love
What I'd do for him
I am willing to do anything to show him how much he means to me
He is the answer
This boy represents everything I have been hoping for
To a teenage prayer.
He is the answer to my prayers, and I believe that he is the key to my happiness
He won't go steady
Although I wish he would commit to me, it seems like he doesn't want a relationship with anyone
The crowd has told me
Other people have warned me that he doesn't want a relationship
But I keep praying
Despite the warning, I still hold out hope that he will come around and want to be with me
To have him hold me
I long to be wrapped in his arms and feel like there is nothing else in the world
Why won't you listen
I wish he would hear what I am asking for and realize how much I care about him
I wait by the window at seven
I watch for him at a particular time, hoping he will walk by so I can see him
And chill when my thrill passes by
I feel anxiety and excitement when he comes close, and then disappointment when he doesn't stop
His kiss could send me to heaven
Just the touch of his lips would make me feel like I am in paradise
Into his arms I could fly
I would give anything to be swept up into his embrace
My girlfriend, Betty
One of my close friends, named Betty
Tells me he's lazy
Betty has shared her opinion with me that this boy is not motivated or hardworking
But I know Betty
Despite her words, I still trust Betty and her friendship
Loves him like crazy
Even though she has criticized this boy, I also know that Betty is attracted to him and cares for him deeply
He is the answer
Despite the doubts, I still believe that this boy is the one I have been searching for
To a teenage prayer.
As a young person, I am feeling intense emotions and longing for someone to share my life with
Contributed by Hailey F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jonnychingas5757
Randy Wood the head of Dot Records made a fortune in covering R&B and rock n Roll Tunes in the 50's and out selling them.
@jimblue39
Gale "the copy cat!" Gale made covers of a lot of hits by other artists. Her versions always did very well though. Gale Storm was a very talented lady. Thank you for uploading this.
@user-vm4gv3xv6e
조회수 1,608회... 잘 들었습니다.
@larryjohnson6385
This is so much better than Gloria Man’s cover😎
@peterlydon5100
'Battle of the Bands'... "Our Miss Brooks" (?) versus other version.
@vinylsingleman
Gloria Mann had the other version.