In a new interview with Newsweek, Gene Simmons hinted at a possible cover album after ‘Stormy Weather.’
The bassist recorded a cover of Ethel Waters’ song ‘Stormy Weather’ for the ‘Reagan’ movie. Simmons has thought about recording more covers and maybe making an album of them, like Johnny Cash’s ‘American’ series.
He explained, “I sat down with producer Rick Rubin, who worked on those Johnny Cash albums, and we had a brief conversation about the very same subject.” Gene hinted that it’s uncertain whether the project will happen.
Bob Dylan was another artist who contributed to the movie. Rawhide Pictures, the producer of ‘Reagan,’ recently released a high-quality version of Dylan’s cover of ‘Don’t Fence Me In,’ which played during the end credits of the biopic.
They also uploaded ‘Stormy Weather’ on YouTube, featuring a video of Simmons recording the song, mixed with clips from the film. The song is backed by orchestral music and a simple piano. Many famous artists, like Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra, have recorded ‘Stormy Weather,’ and Waters’ version was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Simmons experimented with different covers in his solo work, like his version of ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ and the original song ‘Waiting for the Morning Light,’ written with Bob Dylan.
In a 2024 interview with Spin, Gene shared why he chose to record that song for a movie about the Gipper. He noted, “Music has become compartmentalized. Hip-hop over there, country over there, rock over there. I wanted to contribute a song in a style that had wide appeal and reflected the times the movie was set in. This is a movie worth watching.”
Besides Dylan and Simmons, the film also features songs by Clint Black and Tanya Tucker. The movie arrived in August and covers many stages of Reagan’s life, not just his time as president.
