Somewhere Over the Rainbow

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow", music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Yip Harburg, is one of the most famous and beloved songs of the late 1930s.

Modern-day recordings of the song

Hundreds of singers have recorded their own versions of "Over the Rainbow" , most notably by Patti LaBelle, Melissa Manchester, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Linda Eder, Johnny Mathis, Jo Stafford, Doris Day, Martina McBride, Ella Fitzgerald, Olivia Newton-John, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, and the late Eva Cassidy. Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton, Kylie Minogue, and Garland's daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft have sung the song in concert. One of the most interesting versions was recorded by the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole whose medley of "Rainbow" and Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" was featured on the soundtrack of the films Meet Joe Black, Finding Forrester, and 50 First Dates. James Stewart memorably warbled a rendition while carrying a "drunk" Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story. Even horror legend Vincent Price did a version in the film Dr. Phibes Rises Again.

Related Topics:
Patti LaBelle - Melissa Manchester - Frank Sinatra - Willie Nelson - Linda Eder - Johnny Mathis - Jo Stafford - Doris Day - Martina McBride - Ella Fitzgerald - Olivia Newton-John - Aretha Franklin - Ray Charles - Sarah Vaughan - Tony Bennett - Eva Cassidy - Barbra Streisand - Eric Clapton - Kylie Minogue - Liza Minnelli - Lorna Luft - Hawaiian - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World - Meet Joe Black - Finding Forrester - 50 First Dates - James Stewart - Katharine Hepburn - The Philadelphia Story - Vincent Price - Dr. Phibes Rises Again

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British television comedian Kenny Everett sometimes did comedy segments that included the unique sound of a British police car siren and Everett singing the lyrics, "Behind me!" and "That's where you'll find me!"

Related Topics:
British - Kenny Everett - Siren

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The cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered the song for their 1999 album Are A Drag, and in the animated series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Grey Delisle sang it as her character, Mandy. Guitarist Joe Satriani occasionally covers the song at his concerts.

Related Topics:
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - Are A Drag - The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy - Grey Delisle - Guitarist - Joe Satriani

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In Stephen Schwartz's musical Wicked, an adaptation of Gregory Maguire's novel, the main character, Elphaba, has a piece of music that plays at important moments in her life, the words of which are "Un-li-mi-ted, my fu-ture -" and this piece is played to the same notes (though not the same lengths) as "Some-where o-ver the rain-bow." The fact that Elphaba, being Dorothy's nemesis as the Wicked Witch of the West, is her literary foil, provides an ironic subtext to this song. (It also may be noted that by restricting the piece to seven notes, Schwartz prevented MGM from having the right to press legal charges against him.)

Related Topics:
Stephen Schwartz - Wicked - Gregory Maguire - Elphaba - The Wicked Witch of the West - Foil - Ironic - MGM

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