All artists
Harold Arlen
1905–1986
Buffalo-born composer — a cantor’s son, born Hyman Arluck — who wrote the melody of “Over the Rainbow” and a shelf of American standards.
was born Hyman Arluck in Buffalo on February 15, 1905, the son of Cantor Samuel Arluck of the Pine Street Shul (Congregation B’rith Sholem). He sang in his father’s choir, left for New York as a pianist and singer, and took the name Arlen. With lyricist he wrote the songs for The Wizard of Oz (1939); “Over the Rainbow” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The rest of his catalog — “Stormy Weather,” “Blues in the Night,” “That Old Black Magic” — sits in the Great American Songbook. He died on April 23, 1986.
Songs on the site
Elsewhere
Where Harold Arlen worked
Open in full mapplaces