The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

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Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

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:

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Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Tuesday, January 21, 2025, is “Over The Rainbow.”

About Yip Harburg

We’re continuing our examinations of lyricists with Yip Harburg. He was born in New York City on April 8, 1898, and was named Isidore Hochberg. His parents, Lewis and Mary Hochberg, were Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jews from Russia. He later changed his name to Edgar Yipsel Harburg, called Yip for short. He attended high school and befriended another student, Ira Gershwin, and they shared a love of Gilbert and Sullivan and worked together on the school paper. After college, marriage, and two children, he wrote light verse for newspapers and co-owned an appliance company that went bankrupt following the stock market crash of 1929. At that time, Ira and Yip decided that Harburg should start writing song lyrics. “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” was one of his earliest songs. On the basis of that song, he was offered a contract with Paramount Studios, where he worked with Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Jerome Kern, Jule Styne, and Burton Lane. He also wrote lyrics for several Broadway musicals, including Bloomer Girl and Finian’s Rainbow.

Harburg was also a social activist and a member of the Socialist Party. Even though he was not a communist, he was blacklisted from 1950 until 1962, unable to work in Hollywood films, television, and radio.

Yip Harburg died in an automobile accident on Sunset Boulevard on March 5, 1981, at the age of 84. It was determined that he had suffered a heart attack while stopped at a red light.

About This Song

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

Probably the most widely known of all Harburg’s songs, “Over The Rainbow” is from 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” on August 15, 1960, for his album Tony Bennett Sings a String of Harold Arlen, released in 1961. Glenn Osser wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

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

In 1979, Yip Harburg appeared on a television program called They Write the Songs. He talked about his career and sang “Over The Rainbow.”

Here’s an extended version of Harburg’s appearance on They Write the Songs.

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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.

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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.”

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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.”