Harold Arlen wrote many songs.
He played the piano too. He wrote a song for a movie. It is called Over the Rainbow. People all over the world love it. His music makes us feel happy. Do you like to sing songs?
Harold Arlen was a great songwriter.
He wrote over 500 songs. Many people know them today.
He learned to play the piano when he was young. He even started his own band at age 15. He loved to sing, too.
Harold wrote music for movies and plays. He wrote a very famous song called "Over the Rainbow." This song won him a big prize called an Oscar.
He worked with many friends to make hit songs. Some songs were for shows in New York City. Other songs were for movies in Hollywood.
His music is still loved by people everywhere. It is a special part of history. Do you have a favorite song?
Harold Arlen was a famous American songwriter. He made more than 500 songs. Many of them are known all over the world.
Arlen was born in Buffalo, New York. He learned to play the piano as a boy. At age 15, he started his own band. He later moved to New York City. There, he changed his name to Harold Arlen. He worked as a singer and a piano player.
He wrote music for Broadway shows and movies. He worked with many lyricists, who are people who write song words. One friend was Yip Harburg. Together, they wrote songs for the movie The Wizard of Oz. Their song "Over the Rainbow" won an Oscar. An Oscar is a big prize for movie music. People voted this song as the best song of the 20th century.
Arlen also wrote songs for many other stars. He wrote hits for singer Judy Garland. He worked with another writer named Johnny Mercer. They made songs like "Blues in the Night." Arlen's music is a big part of the Great American Songbook. This is a collection of famous American songs.
Arlen died in 1986. He was eighty-one years old. He is remembered as a great maker of music.
Harold Arlen was a famous American composer of popular music. He wrote more than 500 songs during his life. Many of these songs are known all over the world today. His work is a major part of the Great American Songbook. This is a special collection of famous American songs. One of his most famous songs is "Over the Rainbow." This song was even voted the number one song of the 20th century.
Arlen learned to play the piano when he was very young. At age 15, he formed a band called Hyman Arluck's Snappy Trio. He moved to New York City in his early twenties. In the city, he worked as an accompanist in vaudeville. Vaudeville was a type of popular variety show. He also changed his name to Harold Arlen at this time. He spent many years performing as a singer and a piano player.
He often worked with people called lyricists. Lyricists are the writers who create the words for a song. One of his most important partners was Yip Harburg. Together, they wrote music for the famous 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Their song "Over the Rainbow" won him an Oscar for Best Original Song. He was nominated for eight other Oscar awards as well. He also worked with a writer named Ted Koehler. They wrote hits like "Stormy Weather" and "Let's Fall in Love."
Arlen's career took him to many famous places. He wrote shows for the Cotton Club in Harlem. This was a very popular nightclub. He also wrote music for Broadway musicals and Hollywood films. In the 1940s, he teamed up with a writer named Johnny Mercer. They created songs like "Blues in the Night" and "That Old Black Magic." He even wrote two very important songs for the singer Judy Garland. One was "The Man That Got Away" for the film A Star Is Born.
Arlen lived a long and busy life in music. He married Anya Taranda in 1937. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1979. Arlen died of cancer in 1986 at his home in Manhattan. He was eighty-one years old when he passed away. A famous songwriter named Irving Berlin spoke about him after he died. Berlin said that Arlen was a better songwriter than most people. He will be missed by many people in the music world.
Harold Arlen was a highly influential American composer of popular music. He wrote more than 500 songs during his long career. His work is considered a vital part of the Great American Songbook. This is a collection of many famous American songs. One of his most significant achievements was writing the music for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. His song "Over the Rainbow" won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The RIAA and the NEA even voted this song the number one song of the 20th century.
Arlen's musical journey began in Buffalo, New York. He was born Hyman Arluck in 1905 to a Jewish cantor. He began learning the piano while he was still a youth. By age 15, he had already formed a band called Hyman Arluck's Snappy Trio. He left home at age 16 to pursue music professionally. Within two years, he was performing on a lake boat called the "Canadiana." In 1924, he co-wrote his first song, "My Gal, My Pal," with Hyman Cheiffetz. He eventually moved to New York City in his early twenties. There, he worked as an accompanist in vaudeville and adopted the name Harold Arlen.
Songwriting often requires a partnership between a composer and a lyricist. A composer creates the melody and the music. A lyricist writes the words that go with that music. Arlen worked with many talented lyricists throughout his life. He had a productive partnership with Ted Koehler during the 1930s. Together, they wrote hits like "Stormy Weather" and "Let's Fall in Love." He also worked closely with E. Y. "Yip" Harburg. This team wrote many songs for Broadway and Hollywood. Their collaboration on The Wizard of Oz remains their most famous work.
Arlen's career spanned many different types of entertainment. He wrote music for shows at the Cotton Club in Harlem. This was a very popular nightclub during the 1930s. He also composed for various Broadway musicals and Hollywood films. In the 1940s, he teamed up with lyricist Johnny Mercer. This partnership produced famous songs like "Blues in the Night" and "That Old Black Magic." He also wrote "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" with Mercer. Arlen's ability to write for different styles made him a versatile artist.
Arlen had a deep connection to several famous performers. He wrote two defining songs for the singer Judy Garland. These were "Over the Rainbow" and "The Man That Got Away." The latter was written for the 1954 film A Star Is Born. During her 1961 Carnegie Hall concert, Garland even honored him in front of the audience. Arlen also recorded his own debut album in 1966. The album was titled "Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend)." The famous singer Barbra Streisand even accompanied him on two of those songs.
Arlen's personal life included both joy and difficulty. He married Anya Taranda in 1937. Their marriage faced objections because he was Jewish and she was Gentile. In 1951, Anya was institutionalized for seven years. She later died from a brain tumor in 1970. Arlen never remarried after her death. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1979. He died of cancer in Manhattan in 1986 at age eighty-one.
After he passed away, other musicians honored his massive legacy. The famous songwriter Irving Berlin gave a tribute to him. Berlin stated that Arlen was a better songwriter than most people. He noted that Arlen would be missed by everyone in the industry. Arlen's nephew, Samuel Arlen, became a musician and music publisher. Samuel now controls the company that owns the Arlen catalog. This ensures that Harold Arlen's music continues to be shared with the world.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (1)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.