The song of the day for Monday, May 8, 2017 is “Over The Rainbow.”
About This Song
Written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg in 1939, “Over The Rainbow” is from the great Wizard Of Oz. Interestingly, the producers wanted to cut the song from the film, as they felt it slowed downed the movie. Thankfully, the preview audiences preferred the movie with the song. “Over The Rainbow” ranked as the #1 song of the 20th century per the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment of the Arts.The song has always been closely associated with Judy Garland. In a letter to Harold Arlen, Judy Garland wrote that the song “… has become part of my life. It’s so symbolic of everybody’s dreams and wishes that I’m sure that’s why some people get tears in their eyes when they hear it. I’ve sung it thousands of times and it’s still the song that’s closest to my heart.”
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded this version of “Over The Rainbow” 1995 for the album Here’s To The Ladies. In this album, Bennett sang songs associated with the greatest female singers of the 20th century, including Margaret Whiting, Lena Horne and Billie Holiday. “Over The Rainbow” is, of course, for his friend Judy Garland.
“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies, is available from iTunes.
About Today
I absolutely adore Yip Harburg. I think you will too after watching this little film:
Here’s Judy’s version from her legendary concert at Carnegie Hall in 1961:
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