Somewhere Over the Rainbow

You probably have heard of Hollywood and Broadway music composers like John Williams, Cole Porter, Steven Sondheim, Howard Shore, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, and Ira Gershwin, but have you ever heard of composer Harold Arlen? 

Jewish composer Harold Arlen, whose works include “Stormy Weather,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Paper Moon,” and “I’ve Got the World on a String,” is probably one of the most famous music writers in Broadway and Hollywood history. Yet few people recognize him by name alone. He would never receive the kind of acknowledgement or fame of his contemporaries Irving Berlin, Ira Gershwin, or Cole Porter. But Harold Arlen’s songs defined the music of the 1930’s and 1940’s. And with over 400 songs that found their way into bars, speakeasies, clubs, the Broadway stage, and the Hollywood cinema, Arlen music continues to be a mainstay of American jazz standards today.