The song of the day for Tuesday, April 8, 2025, is “Over The Rainbow.”
About Today
The Year of Tony Bennett remembers Edgar Yipsel (Yip) Harburg on the anniversary of his birth in New York City on April 8, 1896. We’ve provided a link to biographical information about Yip Harburg. But I do want to add a little factoid: Yip and Ira Gershwin attended high school together and worked together on the school newspaper. They were lifelong friends.
About This Song
“Over the Rainbow” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. During studio previews, the producers wanted to cut the song from the film, as they felt it slowed down 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 for 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 “Over the Rainbow” in July 1995 for Here’s To The Ladies. In this album, Bennett recorded songs associated with prominent 20th-century female singers. “Over the Rainbow” was included in tribute to Judy Garland.
Here’s To The Ladies won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.
“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies, is available on Apple Music.
We’ve got a couple of great videos today.
First up, here’s Judy Garland singing this song from The Wizard of Oz:
And here is Yip Harburg talking about this song on a 1979 television program featuring popular ong lyricists:
Leave a Reply