Over The Rainbow

Original by Judy Garland, Cover by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Over The Rainbow is recognized as one of the greatest ballads ever written for a film as well as Judy Garland’s signature song that helped define her career as an actress and a singer.

The song was written by the great songwriting duo of Harold Arlen and lyricist Yip Harburg in 1938 for the film The Wizard of Oz. Over the Rainbow won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and was named Song Of The Century by the National Endowment for the Arts. It was also named as the number one song on the American Film Institute’s list of top 100 songs of the 20th century.

Judy Garland recorded the song on the MGM soundstage in 1938 for the soundtrack for the film. She also recorded a studio version of the song which was released as a single in 1939. The soundtrack for The Wizard of Oz wasn’t released to the public until 1956, which coincided with the television premiere of the film, but Garland had been performing the song at her shows for years.

Over the years, several other artists recorded and performed their own versions of Over The Rainbow, often combined as a medley with Louis Armstrong’s great song What a Wonderful World, which was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss in 1967.

British artist, Cliff Richard, recorded Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World in 2001. His version made it on the UK Singles chart and peaked at number 11.

Eva Cassidy recorded and released a version for her album The Other Side in 1992. After her death in 1996, her version eventually became her first single to chart in the UK. In 2001, it reached as high as number 42 on the UK Singles Chart.

Ariana Grande also released a version of Over the Rainbow. In 2017 she performed the song to raise money at the One Love Manchester benefit concert.

But it was in 1988 that the late Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, a Hawaiian singer and songwriter, recorded a version of the medley Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World that would re-introduce the world to the song with global impact. It is said that Kamakawiwo’ole called a Honolulu recording studio at 3:00am and asked if he could make a recording. The studio owner, Milan Bertosa, said he could come in if he could arrive within 15 minutes. Kamakawiwo’ole came in and recorded the song with just his ukulele and his voice in one take. A full-band version of the song was released on his debut album, Ka ‘Ano ‘i in 1990, but it was the original acoustic version on his 1993 album Facing Future that would become the song he is known for around the world.

Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of the song went on to sell millions of copies world wide and his album Facing Future became Hawai’i’s first certified platinum album. NPR named him “The Voice of Hawaii” in 2010. But his legacy reached far beyond Hawaii as Wonderful World climbed the singles charts in both the US and all across Europe.

A big part of the song’s success was its use in multiple movie soundtracks,TV shows, and TV commercials for national ad campaigns. Kamakawio’ole’s unique arrangement of the song, along with the simplicity of just a ukulele and his gentle voice, has such universal appeal that it was eventually licensed dozens of times across many different markets.

Kamakawiwo’ole’s version of Over the Rainbow is a great example of what makes a great cover song. It’s amazing when an artist can take a 50 year old song and perform a simple ukulele/vocal version in such a unique style that it has such an impact on both the artist’s and the song’s popularity.