Song:Dark Moon
Album:Gale Storm Sings The Hits and More
Gale Storm was a star of the 50s sitcoms My Little Margie and The Gale Storm Show. But she also had several hit singles including this cover of the country music hit Dark Moon. She's somewhat forgotten today but she was big back then. She was born Jacqueline Cottle Apr. 5, 1922 in Bloomington, TX which is in Victoria Country. She was the youngest of five children. Her father died when she was very young and her mom took in sewing to support the family. They moved to Houston and Jacqueline became an accomplished dancer and joined the high school drama club. A couple of her teachers suggested she enter the CBS Radio contest Gateway To Hollywood. First prize was a one year movie contract. She won and was immediately renamed Gale Storm and went to work for RKO Pictures. Her first film was Tom Brown's School Days in 1941. By the mid-40s, Gale was starring in films for the poverty row studio Monogram Pictures. Probably her best known film at the time was Swing Parade Of 1946 with The Three Stooges. In 1952, Gale was cast in the sitcom My Little Margie on CBS. It was originally a summer replacement for I Love Lucy. But My Little Margie became very popular and ran for four seasons. Then Dot Records president Randy Wood saw Gale sing on The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1954. His ten year old daughter told him Gale was My Little Margie. He immediately signed her and her first single, a cover of the Smiley Lewis hit I Hear You Knockin', sold a million copies. In 1956, Gale started her new sitcom The Gale Storm Show which in the 70s was ripped off by The Love Boat. It also ran for four seasons. Dark Moon reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958. It was her final top ten hit. Dark Moon was written by Ned Miller, best known for his 1962 hit From A Jack To A King. Bonnie Guitar had a hit with it in 1956. You can get all of Gale's hits on this comp from the British label Jasmine. By 1961, Gale's husband Lee Bonnell wanted her to concentrate on raising their four kids. She went into semi-retirement. She never recorded again but did guest shots on TV. Gale Storm suffered from alcoholism in the 70s and wrote about that in her 1981 autobiography. She died on June 27, 2009 at age 87. Here's Gale Storm performing Dark Moon on The Gale Storm Show 1958. The actor in the clip is Peter Gunn star Craig Stevens.
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