"
Over the Rainbow" (often referred to as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow") is a classic ballad song with music by
Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music.Having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to being the composer of The Wizard of Oz, Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the Great American Songbook.His 1938 song "Over the Rainbow”...
and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the
movieFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical / fantasy film directed mainly by Victor Fleming from a script by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, and others and based on the 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum...
, and was sung by
Judy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy...
in that movie. Over time it would become Garland's signature song.
In the film, part of the song is played by the MGM orchestra over the
opening creditsIn a television program, motion picture, or videogame, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
. About 20 minutes later, Garland, in the role of Dorothy, sings
Over the Rainbow after unsuccessfully trying to get her aunt and uncle to listen to her regarding an unpleasant incident involving Dorothy's dog Toto and the nasty spinster Miss Gulch, whom Toto bit after she struck him with a rake. Dorothy's
Aunt EmAunt Em is a fictional character from the Oz books. She is the aunt of Dorothy Gale and wife of Uncle Henry, and lived together with them on a farm in Kansas...
tells her to "find a place where you won't get yourself into any trouble", prompting the girl to walk off by herself and sing the song.
Influence
The song is number one of the "
Songs of the CenturyThe "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America , the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools...
" list compiled by the
Recording Industry Association of AmericaThe Recording Industry Association of America is a group which represents the recording industry distributors in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA say "create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate sound recordings...
and the
National Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
. The American Film Institute also ranked
Over the Rainbow the greatest movie song of all time on the list of "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs". It was adopted (along with
Irving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
's "
White Christmas"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about a White Christmas. It is the second-best selling single of all time, and won an Academy Award. The morning after Berlin wrote the song in 1940 at the poolside — he often stayed up all night writing — he told his...
") by American troops in Europe in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as a symbol of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Wizard of Oz
The song was deleted from the film after a preview, because MGM chief executive
Louis B. MayerLouis Burt Mayer was a Russian-born American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
thought the song "slowed down the picture" and that "our star sings it in a barnyard". Harold Arlen, who was at the preview, and executive producer
Arthur FreedArthur Freed was born Arthur Grossman in Charleston, South Carolina. He was an American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer.-Biography:Freed began his career as a song plugger and pianist in Chicago...
lobbied successfully to get the song sequence reinstated.
A
repriseIn music a reprise is the repetition or return of the opening material later in a composition such as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though it originally was simply any repeated section, such as is indicated by beginning and ending repeat signs...
of the song was deleted after being filmed. An additional chorus was to be sung by Dorothy while she was locked in a room in the witch's castle, helplessly awaiting death as the witch's hourglass ran out. However, although the visual portion of that reprise is presumably lost, the soundtrack of it survives and was included in the 2-CD Deluxe Edition of the film's soundtrack, released by
Rhino EntertainmentRhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company, owned by Warner Music Group.-Company history:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of Pop Music, Rock & Roll, and R&B successes from...
. In that extremely intense rendition, Dorothy weeps her way through it, unable to finish, concluding with a tear-filled, "I'm frightened, Auntie Em; I'm frightened." This phrase was retained in the film and is followed immediately by Auntie Em's brief appearance in the witch's crystal, where she is soon replaced by the visage of the witch, mocking and taunting Dorothy before turning toward the camera to laugh.
Original Garland recordings
Judy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy...
first pre-recorded the song on the MGM soundstages on October 7, 1938. A
studio recordingThe term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.-Studio cast recordings:...
of the song, not from the actual film soundtrack, was recorded and released as a single by
Decca RecordsDecca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades...
in September 1939. In March 1940, that same recording was included on a Decca 78-RPM four-record
studio cast albumThe term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.-Studio cast recordings:...
entitled "The Wizard of Oz". Although this is not the version of the song featured in the film, Decca would continue to re-release the so-called "Cast Album" well into the 1960s after it was reissued as a single-record 33 1/3 RPM LP. Garland always performed the song without altering it, singing exactly as she did for the movie. She explained her fidelity by saying that she was staying true to the character of Dorothy and to the message of really being somewhere over the rainbow.
It was not until 1956, when MGM released the first true soundtrack album from the film, that the
film versionThe Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical / fantasy film directed mainly by Victor Fleming from a script by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, and others and based on the 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum...
of the song was made available to the public. The 1956 Soundtrack release was timed to coincide with the television premiere of the movie. The soundtrack version has been re-released several times over the years, including in a "Deluxe Edition" from Rhino Records in 1995.
At the time of Garland's original release hers was initially not the most commonly played version in jukeboxes, where versions by dance bands such as
Bob CrosbyBob Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group Crosby and the Bob-Cats.-Family:...
and
Glenn MillerGlenn Miller , was an American jazz musician, arranger, composer, and band leader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1942, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
's predominated.
Lyrics
The verse was not used in the movie, nor was there ever any intention of using it; but it is often used in theatrical productions of
The Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, which has been adapted into several different works, the most famous being the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland...
. Judy Garland herself sang the introductory verse once on the radio during the War.
The lyrics to the verse are as follows:
Deleted Portion
The second chorus is used occasionally in theatrical productions, but remains largely unknown. The only time the second chorus lyrics have been recorded, aside from Garland's original, was for
The Wizard of Oz In Concert, where it was performed by singer/songwriter
JewelJewel Kilcher , professionally known as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet. She has received three Grammy Award nominations and has sold twenty-seven million albums worldwide, and almost twenty million in the United States alone.Kilcher debuted on February 28,...
. In 2009, Jewel recorded a studio version of the song including the new lyrics for her album, "Lullaby".
The short reprise, deleted from the final cut of the film, uses the melody of the bridge (or "B" section).
Other charting or significant versions
Billy Thorpe and The Aztecs Covered "Over The Rainbow" in the mid '60s (1964). This unique version was brought back for Billy's Final recording: Solo. Recorded live at The Basement in 2006.
Patti LaBelle and the BluebellesLabelle is an all female singing group who were a popular vocal group of the 1960s and 1970s. Originally forming as The Ordettes in 1960 by lead singer Patti LaBelle and childhood friend Sandra Tucker who was replaced by Cindy Birdsong in 1961 and with the inclusion of former members of the...
recorded a memorable version in a
soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
setting on their 1966 album of the same name for
Atlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm & blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. Lead singer
Patti LaBellePatricia Louise Holte , best known by her stage name of Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter and actress. She fronted two groups, Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, which received minor success on the pop charts in the 1960s, and Labelle, which received acclaim and a...
re-recorded the song in a more modern R&B production for her 1981 album,
The Spirit's in ItThe Spirit's in It is a 1981 album released by singer Patti LaBelle. The album was her first release off Philadelphia International Records after coming off a seven-year contract with Epic Records and four studio albums...
. LaBelle's solo version has since become a standard in her live shows, in which upon singing the words, "if birds can fly over the rainbow, then why, oh why can't I?", she yields up her microphone stand as she raises her vocals to her high register before tossing the stand over after taking the microphone off, flailing her arms around as a bird flying.
Barbra Streisand Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, film and theatre actress. She has also achieved note as a composer, liberal political activist, film producer, and film director. She has won two Academy Awards, ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, and a Peabody all by the age of...
covered "Over the Rainbow" in 1986. She sang it live at her
One Voice (Barbra Streisand album)One Voice is the third live album released by Barbra Streisand. The album was recorded at a benefit concert at Streisand's Malibu, California home on September 6, 1986 and released in April 1987...
concert and dedicated the song to Garland before she sang it. "Who knows, she may even be listening?" Streisand said.
Tori AmosTori Amos is a pianist and singer-songwriter of American citizenship. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
has performed the song live at many of her concerts . A performance from her "Dew Drop Inn Tour" in 1996 was recorded and included as a b-side to the singe "
Hey Jupiter"Hey Jupiter" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos. It served as the fourth single from her album Boys For Pele and was Amos' first EP since 1992's Crucify. The Hey Jupiter EP features a remixed version of "Hey Jupiter" followed by 4 live tracks recorded during her...
".
Israel Kamakawiwo'oleIsrael "Iz" Kaanoi Kamakawiwoole was a Hawaiian musician.He became famous outside Hawaii when his album Facing Future was released in 1993 with his medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World", which was subsequently featured in several films, television programs, and...
's album
Facing FutureFacing Future is an album by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, released in 1993.When this album was released, he became famous with his medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World". Kamakawiwo'ole's rendition of "Over the Rainbow" features fragments of different verses strung...
, released in 1993, included a
ukuleleThe ukulele , sometimes abbreviated as the uke, is a chordophone classified as a plucked lute; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings.The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of a small...
medleyIn music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks for a single...
of "Over the Rainbow" and "
What a Wonderful World"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1968. Thiele and Weiss were both prominent in the music world...
", used in several
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
s,
television programA television program , television programme , or television show is a segment of content broadcast on television...
s, and
commercialsA television advertisement or television commercial is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organisation that conveys a message. Advertisement revenue provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately owned television networks...
. The song reached #12 on Billboards
Hot Digital TracksThe Hot Digital Tracks is a song popularity chart that ranks the best selling digital tracks in the United States according to Billboard magazine...
chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004).
Eva CassidyEva Marie Cassidy was an American vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996...
did an acoustic version on her album Songbird.
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
covered this song on his 2002 cd/dvd
One More Car, One More RiderOne More Car, One More Rider is a double live album by Eric Clapton, released on November 5, 2002 on Warner. Bros. The album contains songs performed during Clapton's 2001 world tour. The recordings on this album are from two nights at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, August 18th & 19th of 2001...
as the closing song of the setlist.
The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan and James Iha , the band has included D'arcy Wretzky , Jimmy Chamberlin , and Melissa Auf der Maur among its membership.Disavowing the punk rock roots shared by...
covered a portion of the song live on tour in 1994.
Mägo de OzMägo de Oz , is a folk rock and heavy metal band from Spain. The band was formed in mid-1988 by drummer Txus. In 1992, the band was finalists in the "Villa de Madrid" contest. They went on to achieve great success in Spain and in 1995 were declared Revolution Rock Band...
, whose name was taken from the movie, covered this song in their album Belfast.
Il DivoIl Divo, is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco music...
covered this on song on their 2005 album The Christmas Collection.
In 2007 The Blanks (Also known As Ted's Band or The Worthless Peons) covered "Over The Rainbow" which appeared in Scrubs season 5, episode 7, entitled "My Way Home". The version they sang is a cover by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.
In 2007
Connie TalbotConnie Talbot is an English child singer from Streetly, Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands. She rose to fame in 2007 when she reached the final of the television talent show Britain's Got Talent, where she lost to Paul Potts...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Talbot performed the song on "Britain's Got Talent"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain's_Got_Talent_(series_1) In the auditions also later in the grand final round. Later that year Connie
http://www.connietalbot.com released an album of that name, of which "Over The Rainbow" is also the lead track. This album was re-released in 2008 with some changed tracks.
Melody GardotMelody Gardot is an American jazz singer, writer and musician in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was disabled at 19 after being struck by a car while riding her bicycle and began writing music after using music to aid her recovery...
covered this song in her 2009 album
My One and Only ThrillMy One and Only Thrill is the second studio album by American jazz singer–songwriter Melody Gardot, released in the United States on April 28, 2009 by Verve Records. As May 2009, two singles had been released: "Who Will Comfort Me" and "Baby I'm a Fool"...
.
External links