The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Monday, April 8, 2024, is “Over The Rainbow.”

About Today

Today we are celebrating the great E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, who was born 128 years ago today on April 6, 1896. Yip Harburg was one of America’s most gifted lyricists, known for songs including “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime,” “April in Paris,” “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” and, most famously, “Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz.

About This Song

“Over The Rainbow” was written in 1939 by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. Probably the most widely known of all Arlen’s and Harburg’s songs, “Over The Rainbow” is from the The Wizard Of Oz. Interestingly, 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 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 “Over The Rainbow” in July 1995 for Here’s To The Ladies, in tribute to Judy Garland. It was arranged and conducted by Bill Holman.

“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies, is available on Apple Music.

In 1979, Yip Harburg appeared in a television program about the art of songwriting. Here’s an excerpt from that program.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Monday, August 14, 2023, is “Over The Rainbow.”

About This Song

“Over The Rainbow” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.

Interestingly, 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 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 “Over The Rainbow” in July 1995 for his album Here’s To The Ladies, consisting of songs associated with some of America’s finest female vocalists. It was arranged and conducted by Bill Holman. This song is, of course, for Judy Garland.

“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Here’s To The Ladies is available on Apple Music.

In 1979, Yip Harburg appeared on a television program called They Write The Songs and sang this beautiful version of “Over The Rainbow.”

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Saturday, April 8, 2023, is “Over The Rainbow.”

About Today

Isidore Hochberg, known professionally as E.Y. (Yip) Harburg, was born on April 8, 1896, in New York City to Russian immigrants. He attended high school with Ira Gershwin and the two became life-long friends. After college, Harburg, now married with two children, became a co-owner of an electrical appliance company, which went bankrupt following the crash of 1929, while writing light verse for local newspapers. His friend Ira Gershwin suggested that he start writing song lyrics. Within in just a few years, he wrote one of the great songs about The Great Depression: “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime.” Harburg went on to become one of the best and most sought-after lyricists in Hollywood, as well as Broadway. His films and movies include The Wizard of Oz, Bloomer Girl, and Finian’s Rainbow. Though never a member of the Communist Party, Harburg was blacklisted from film, television, and radio from 1950 to 1962.

Happy birthday to the great Yip Harburg.

About This Song

“Over The Rainbow” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg for the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Just before the film opened, 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 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.

Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song for “Over The Rainbow.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett first recorded “Over The Rainbow” on August 15, 1960, for his album Tony Bennett Sings a String of Harold Arlen. This song, as well as the entire album, was arranged and conducted by Glenn Osser.

“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Tony Bennett Sings a String of Harold Arlen is available on Apple Music.

We’ve got a couple of videos today. First up is an appearance by Harburg on television where he talks about “Over The Rainbow.”


And what post about “Over The Rainbow” is complete without Judy Garland singing “Over The Rainbow.”

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

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.

By Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Somewhere Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Friday, April 8, 2022, is “Over The Rainbow.”

About Today

Today we are celebrating one of America’s great lyricists: E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, who was born on April 8, 1896. Known mostly for his work with Harold Arlen, he also wrote lyrics for Vernon Duke, Arthur Schwartz, Burton Lane, and Jerome Kern.

About This Song

“Over The Rainbow” was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg in 1939. Probably the most widely known of all Arlen’s songs, “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. It 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 1995 for the album Here’s To The Ladies. In this album, Bennett recorded songs associated with the 20th century’s greatest women singers. “Over The Rainbow” was, of course, for Judy Garland. The album was arranged and conducted by Bill Holman.

“Over The Rainbow,” as well as Here’s Top The Ladies is available on Apple Music.

As we are honoring Yip Harburg, I have a clip from a 1979 television program special They Wrote The Songs. Yip Harburg was the guest for one episode. The clip is 11 minutes long and I hope you can find the time to watch it. He talks about the importance of music in our lives, and segues into “Over The Rainbow.” Next, he talks about the making of The Wizard of Oz and some of the lyrics he wrote. He ends with the story of how he and Harold Arlen wrote one of the greatest songs in the Great American Songbook, “Last Night When We Were Young.”

Here’s Tony Bennett’s recording of “Last Night When We Were Young” from his 1992 album Perfectly Frank.

Subscribe to The Year of Tony Bennett

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Current Reader Favorites