American Songbook Blogs

February 15, 1905: American composer Harold Arlen was born on this date in 1905! Arlen wrote 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 E.Y. Harburg), including the classic “Over the Rainbow”, Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the Great American Songbook. “Over the Rainbow” was voted the twentieth century’s No. 1 song by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).