Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz (lyrics by Yip Harburg), including "Over the Rainbow",
Arlen was born in Buffalo, New York, United States, the
child of a cantor. Hyman first began singing and developing his musical
talents. His parents introduced him to classical music and he learned the
basics of the piano. As a preteen he found the classical pieces that he studied
grand in composition, but he was much more interested in modern music. He
sustained his appetite for popular music by playing in various bands around
town and even took jobs as a pianist in local movie theatres. He was fifteen
when he formed his own band 'The Snappy Trio.' Although the members of the trio
were teenagers, they incurred no problems getting work in Buffalo's 'red-light
district' cabarets.
The Buffalodians |
At sixteen he dropped out of high school to further
pursue his musical interests. He was making good money and able to afford many spoils
others in his neighborhood went without. At age nineteen, his first foray in
songwriting was a collaboration with friend Hyman Cheiffetz. They penned the
song, "My Gal, Won't You Please Come Back to Me?" and copyrighted
lyrics by Cheiffetz and music by Arluck. He was invited to join a local band,
'The Yankee Six', and not long, the band grew into an eleven-man group called
'The Buffalodians.' They toured the East coast for several years with success.
It was during this time he changed his name to Harold Arlen.
In 1929, Arlen composed his first well-known song:
"Get Happy" (with lyrics by Ted Koehler). Throughout the early and
mid-1930s, Arlen and Koehler wrote shows for the Cotton Club, a popular Harlem
night club, as well as for Broadway musicals and Hollywood films. Arlen and
Koehler's partnership resulted in a number of hit songs, including the familiar
standards "Let's Fall in Love" and "Stormy Weather". Arlen
continued to perform as a pianist and vocalist with some success, most notably
on records with Leo Reisman's society dance orchestra. In the mid-1930s, Arlen
married, and spent increasing time in California, writing for movie musicals.
In 1938, Arlen and Harburg were signed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to write the score for the filming of "The Wizard of
Oz." The musical score was a success earning an Academy Award for
"Over The Rainbow" as the best song of the year. He remained busy in
the years after "The Wizard of Oz," scoring movies for Paramount,
Warner Brothers, and MGM studios. He has collaborated on such well known
standards as, "Blues In The Night," "Stormy Weather,"
"That Old Black Magic," and " Come Rain or Come Shine." He
divided his time between Broadway and Hollywood. Within a three year period,
his father and mother died.
sung by Harold Arlen
from above 1966 album.
In the 1940s, he teamed up with lyricist Johnny Mercer,
and continued to write hit songs like "Blues in the Night", "Out
of this World", "That Old Black Magic", "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate
the Positive", "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home", "Come
Rain or Come Shine" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the
Road)". Arlen
composed two of the defining songs of Judy Garland's career:
"Over the Rainbow" and "The Man That Got Away", the last
written for the 1954 version of the film A Star Is Born. After the completion
of the film score, the rigors of steady work since 1935 came crashing down on
Arlen in the form of a bleeding ulcer, which required a time of
hospitalization. All things aside, and despite his poor health, the highly
regarded musician continued to compose. He wrote over fifty songs between 1961
and 1976.
Arlen & Mercer |
The latter years of his life were not spent basking in
the glory of his success. He lost his wife to a brain tumour on March 9, 1970.
After Anya's death, he lost interest in life, withdrawing from friends and
loved ones. He would work much less within the next sixteen years. Suffering
from Parkinson's Disease and cancer he died quietly, surrounded by family, at
his Central Park West apartment, in New York City. In 1986 at the age of
eighty-one.
His nephew,
Samuel, had been adopted by Arlen before his death and was made primary heir.
Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg's song, "Over the Rainbow" was named
the number one 'Song of the 20th Century' by the recording industry and the
National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the American Film Institutes number
one song of "AFI's Top 100 Films." Additionally, his songs have
garnered eight Academy Award nominations.
(Edited from Wikipedia & Katzizkidz)
Here’s a clip circa 1954 of Harold Arlen playing piano and
singing his songs on the Colgate Comedy Hour, assisted by Connie Russell, Frank
Sinatra, Eddie Cantor (host). Medley of Harold Arlen songs: It's Only A Paper
Moon (HA), Somewhere Over The Rainbow (CR), Ac-cen-tuate the Positive (EC), One
For My Baby (And One More For The Road) (HA piano), Come Rain Or Come Shine
(FS), I've Got The World On A String (FS), That Old Black Magic (FS), Get Happy
(ensemble), Blues In The Night (CR), Let's Fall In Love (HA), I Love A Parade
(EC). Musical direction by Al Goodman. Followed by short exchange between Eddie
Fisher and Frank Sinatra. Commercial for Palmolive Soap. Arlen songs co-written
with Ted Koehler, Johnny Mercer, and E.Y. (Yip) Harburg.
2 comments:
For “Over The Rainbow: Capitol Sings Harold Arlen” go here:
https://www.upload.ee/files/11134681/Harold_Arlen.rar.html
1 –Johnny Mercer Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive
2 –Peggy Lee Come Rain Or Come Shine
3 –Keely Smith Stormy Weather
4 –Nancy Wilson When The Sun Comes Out
5 –Dick Haymes Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
6 –June Christy As Long As I Live
7 –Nat King Cole Let's Fall In Love
8 –Judy Garland The Man That Got Away
9 –Dinah Shore Blues In The Night
10 –Liza Minnelli My Shining Hour
11 –Louis Prima I've Got The World On A String
12 –Margaret Whiting That Old Black Magic
13 –Stan Kenton & His Orchestra I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
14 –Peggy Lee Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe
15 –June Christy Get Happy
16 –Nat King Cole Trio It's Only A Paper Moon
17 –Judy Garland Over The Rainbow
18 –Lou Rawls One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
19 –Betty Hutton Hit The Road To Dreamland
20 –Harold Arlen Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive
Thanks again!
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