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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

February 16, 2021 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Over The Rainbow

The song of the day for Wednesday, February 17, 2021, is “Over The Rainbow.”

About This Song

Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg wrote “Over The Rainbow” in 1939 for The Wizard of Oz. Probably the most widely known of all Arlen’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 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 “Over The Rainbow” in 1960 for his album Tony Bennett Sings A String of Harold Arlen. It’s no wonder that Bennett chose Arlen for his first tribute album–Arlen’s body of work will never be eclipsed by any other songwriter. Glenn Osser wrote the arrangement and conducted the orchestra.

Over The Rainbow

Listen to Over The Rainbow on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1960.

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

I got a couple of extra videos for you today.

The first is very dear to me. It’s Yip Harburg singing “Over The Rainbow” from a television program about American songwriting. It makes me cry–in a good way–every time I watch it.

Yip Harburg - Over The Rainbow

No Description

The second is from Judy’s final live performance in Denmark in March 1969. She died on June 22, 1969.

Judy Garland - Over The Rainbow (last performance)

With the new Judy Garland (1922-1969) movie coming out, I am listening to the later Judy Garland more. Here is the last public performance of Over The Rainbow. Judy sang this at a Denmark concert on March 25, 1969, and she died on June 22, 1969.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Glenn Osser, Harold Arlen, Harold Arlen Week, Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz, Tony Bennett, Tony Bennett Sings A String of Harold Alren, Yip Harburg

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