The song of the day for Friday, June 10, 2022, is “Over The Rainbow.”
About Today
Please join The Year of Tony Bennett in remembering the great Judy Garland, who was born in Grand Rapid, Minnesota exactly 100 years ago today, June 10, 1922.
I choose to say just one thing about her: I think she was the greatest female singer of the 20th century and her music will never grow old or tired or dated.
About This Song
“Over the Rainbow” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz and is one of the most widely known songs by Arlen or Harburg. 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” in July 1995 for his album Here’s To The Ladies, which honors the great female singers of the 20th century. It was arranged by Bill Holman.
“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies is available on Apple Music.
Of course, we have Judy singing today’s song from the 1939 classic The Wizard Of Oz.
I’d like to close with a clip of Tony’s visit to The Judy Garland Show, aired on July 30, 1963. You can see here how fond they were of each other.