Maybe you know the author who sang the famous “Over the Rainbow” for the first time, but do you know who really brought it to success?
Over the Rainbow: all the curiosities about one of the most sung pieces of music
We all grew up with songs that accompanied us in childhood or in the most significant moments of our existence.
Songs that are a constant in our lives because they represent us. We know some of the author who sang them for the first time and who impassioned us because of his history, his career, his production.
And then there are the songs that are recognized and appreciated but of which we ignore the artist who wrote them.
Authors who have remained in the shadows, giving way to those who have been able to interpret their own songs at a later time.
Often, these are successful pieces that have become workhorses only in the instant that they have been proposed again, even if only in the form of covers . And, at times, it was the covers themselves that gave more vigor and prominence to those songs we love but know very little about.
Like “Over the Rainbow”. A very famous piece, who has never hummed it at least once? The piece was written by American composer Harold Arlen with text by lyricist E.Y. Harburg.
Remember the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz?” And remember the very young Judy Garland, with her pigtails, red shoes and polka dot dress? She gave the voice to this song but, listen, listen, she wasn’t the one who really made it famous.
The success of this song comes only with the version by a Hawaiian artist named Israel Kamakawiwo’ole , called IZ.
Israel transformed “Over the Rainbow” into a proto-hippy sound, all garlands, sunset waves and slow atmospheres.
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole was an American singer and musician born in the Hawaiian Islands and died there at the early age of 38.
A severe form of obesity from which he had suffered for some time took him away. Israel, in fact, had come to weigh 348 kg.
One last curiosity about the song “Over the Rainbow”. Whoever wishes to listen to the other interpretations of this famous piece can indulge in more than 70 versions. Have a good listen!
