Duke Ellington and his orchestra introduced the 1933 Cotton Club Paradise, which featured songs by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler and staging by Dan Healy. The cast included Ethel Waters, who sang "Stormy Weather" in the production, among other numbers. The song was originally written for Cab Calloway, but Arlen and Koehler felt Waters would be the perfect interpreter. Arlen had already made a best-selling recording of the song, so audience expectations were high. Waters didn't sing "Stormy Weather" until the 11th scene of the show, after comic skits and musical numbers by other members of the cast wetted the listeners' appetites. Her moving rendition brought such ovations of applause that the production was momentarily halted while the audience demanded encore after encore.

© Rita Laurance, All Music Guide