Harold Arlen

Arlen was born to a Jewish cantor's family in Buffalo, New York, and began singing in the synagogue choir as a child. He left home as a teenager to perform in vaudeville, initially as a pianist and singer, adopting the stage name “Harold Arlen.” His first major break came in the late 1920s when he moved to New York City, where he collaborated with lyricist Ted Koehler on songs for the Cotton Club revues, including “Stormy Weather” (1933) and “Let's Fall in Love.” These early works established his reputation for sophisticated melodies that drew on jazz and blues idioms, setting him apart from many of his Tin Pan Alley contemporaries.

Arlen's partnership with Yip Harburg produced some of his most enduring works, including the score for The Wizard of Oz (1939), which featured “Over the Rainbow,” a song that won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became his signature. On Broadway, he and Harburg created Bloomer Girl (1944) and Finian's Rainbow (1947), the latter yielding hits like “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” and “Old Devil Moon.” In Hollywood, Arlen wrote for films such as Jamaica (1957) and The Country Girl (1954), the latter featuring “The Man That Got Away,” a song often cited as one of Judy Garland's finest performances. His music frequently explored themes of longing and resilience, reflecting his own melancholic temperament.

Arlen's songs have been recorded by countless artists, from Frank Sinatra to Ella Fitzgerald, and remain central to the jazz and pop repertoire. His harmonic sophistication, including the use of extended chords and unexpected modulations, influenced later composers such as Stephen Sondheim and Randy Newman. In 1980, he received a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement, and in 1982 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Despite his success, Arlen struggled with depression and self-doubt, often feeling overshadowed by contemporaries like Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. His music, however, has endured, with “Over the Rainbow” consistently ranked among the greatest songs of the 20th century by organizations like the Recording Industry Association of America and the American Film Institute.

Beyond his famous hits, Arlen composed lesser-known gems such as “I've Got the World on a String” and “That Old Black Magic,” the latter with lyricist Johnny Mercer. He also wrote an unfinished musical, Sarava, based on Brazilian themes, which was never produced. Arlen was an accomplished pianist who could improvise in a jazz style, and he occasionally performed his own songs in nightclubs. He was also a painter, creating abstract works that he exhibited privately. His collaboration with Harburg was famously contentious; they often argued over lyrics and melodies, yet their partnership produced some of the most durable songs in American music. Arlen's later years were marked by declining health and a retreat from public life, but his catalog remains a vital part of the American songbook.

Great American Songbook

The canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century.

Tin Pan Alley

The collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated American popular music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Cotton Club

A famous New York City nightclub in the 1920s and 1930s that featured African American performers and was a venue for Arlen's early songs.