Celebrating 'The Wonderful Wizard Of Song'
Yet another adaptation of the Wizard of Oz story, based on the popular books by L. Frank Baum, returned to movie theaters this month with Disney's Oz The Great And Powerful. But most of us know the familiar tale from the 1939 film adaptation starring Judy Garland, which became an instant classic thanks to its captivating plot that includes witches, wizards, and a little girl trying to get back home.
But perhaps the film’s greatness would not have been solidified without its memorable songs like “Follow the Yellow Brick Road,” “If I Were King of the Forest,” and, of course, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Now, an Off-Broadway revue celebrates the life of the the man who composed that music: Harold Arlen. George Bugatti, co-writer and co-star of The Wonderful Wizard of Song joins us in the studio.
On Arlen’s greatness as a songwriter:
“The body of his work is just immense. And anybody who is not familiar with his work or thinks that they know his music, they should look up the Harold Arlen songbook and they’ll have the time of their life with in what my opinion is the greatest [songbook]. Even George Gershwin said, ‘He is the greatest among us.’”
On Arlen’s burst of inspiration in writing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”:
“It was very difficult for him to write. It was the last song that he had written for the picture. He wrote all the other what he called ‘the lemon drop songs,’ and he was just having a hard time. And he and his wife Anya would go driving. As the story is told, he was driving down Sunset Boulevard, and then they turned, I guess [at] Grauman’s Chinese theater. Right there, he just… got a muse, said 'Anya, pull over please,' and right there in front of Grauman’s, he got the idea for ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow.’”
On Arlen’s crusade to keep “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in The Wizard Of Oz:
“You know, that song was cut from the picture three times because the producers thought that — well two things: It slowed down the movie, and they didn’t want to entrust such a song to a new star, the new star being Judy [Garland]. They didn’t think she had the depth to pull it off. Ha! He fought to get that back in. And of course the rest is history.”
On Arlen and Garland’s lifelong bond:
"They had a very special relationship. You know, even here when he was back in NY, she was hospitalized. As a matter of fact I think it was when they were doing a tribute to Harold and some other singers at Lincoln Center. And she was in the hospital and he went and paid her hospital bill. It was a lifelong relationship of mutual admiration."
