American composer of popular music (1905?1986)
Harold Arlen
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Arlen in 1960
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Born
| Hyman Arluck
(
1905-02-15
)
February 15, 1905
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Died
| April 23, 1986
(1986-04-23)
(aged 81)
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Resting place
| Ferncliff Cemetery
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Occupation
| Composer
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Spouse
|
(
m.
1937; died 1970)
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Children
| Adopted his brother's son in 1985
[1]
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Harold Arlen
(born
Hyman Arluck
; February 15, 1905 ? April 23, 1986) was an American
composer
of popular music,
[2]
who composed 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
Yip Harburg
), including "
Over the Rainbow
", which won him the Oscar for
Best Original Song
, he was nominated as composer for 8 other Oscar awards. Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the
Great American Songbook
. "Over the Rainbow" was voted the 20th century's No. 1 song by the
RIAA
and the
NEA
.
[3]
[4]
Life and career
[
edit
]
Arlen was born in
Buffalo, New York
, the child of a
Jewish
cantor
.
[2]
His twin brother died the next day. He learned to play the piano as a youth, and formed a band as a young man. He achieved some local success as a pianist and singer before moving to New York City in his early twenties, where he worked as an accompanist in vaudeville
[5]
and changed his name to Harold Arlen. Between 1926 and about 1934, Arlen appeared occasionally as a band vocalist on records by The Buffalodians,
Red Nichols
,
Joe Venuti
,
Leo Reisman
, and
Eddie Duchin
, usually singing his own compositions.
In 1929, Arlen composed his first well-known song: "
Get Happy
" (with lyrics by
Ted Koehler
).
[2]
Throughout the early and mid-1930s, Arlen and Koehler wrote shows for the
Cotton Club
, a popular
Harlem
night club, as well as for
Broadway
musicals
and
Hollywood
films
.
[2]
Arlen and Koehler's partnership resulted in a number of hit songs, including the familiar standards "
Let's Fall in Love
" and "
Stormy Weather
".
[2]
Arlen continued to perform as a pianist and vocalist with some success, most notably on records with
Leo Reisman
's society dance orchestra.
In the mid-1930s, Arlen married, and spent increasing time in California, writing for movie musicals. It was at this time that he began working with lyricist
E. Y. "Yip" Harburg
.
[2]
In 1938, the team was hired by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
to compose songs for
The Wizard of Oz
,
[2]
the most famous of which is "
Over the Rainbow
", for which they won the
Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song
. They also wrote "
Down with Love
" (featured in the 1937 Broadway show
Hooray for What!
), "
Lydia the Tattooed Lady
", for
Groucho Marx
in
At the Circus
in 1939, and "
Happiness is a Thing Called Joe
", for
Ethel Waters
in the 1943 movie
Cabin in the Sky
.
[2]
Arlen was a longtime friend and onetime roommate of actor
Ray Bolger
, who starred in
The Wizard of Oz
.
In the 1940s, he teamed up with lyricist
Johnny Mercer
, and continued to write hit songs like "
Blues in the Night
", "
Out of this World
", "
That Old Black Magic
", "
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive
", "
Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home
", "
Come Rain or Come Shine
" and "
One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
".
[2]
Arlen composed two of the defining songs of
Judy Garland
's career: "Over the Rainbow" and "
The Man That Got Away
", the last written for the 1954 version of the film
A Star Is Born
.
[2]
At her famous
1961 Carnegie Hall concert
, after finishing a set of his songs, Garland acknowledged Arlen in the audience and invited him to receive an ovation.
Arlen recorded his debut album as a vocalist,
Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend)
, in 1966.
Barbra Streisand
accompanied him on two songs.
[6]
Marriage and death
[
edit
]
Arlen and
Anya Taranda
married on January 6, 1937, over the objection of their parents, because she was
Gentile
and he was
Jewish
. In 1951, Anya was institutionalized for seven years. Coming home the same year that Celia Arnuk (Harold's mother) had died,
[7]
she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1969, which became fatal by 1970.
[8]
Arlen never remarried. He died of cancer on April 23, 1986, at his Manhattan apartment at the age of eighty-one.
[8]
[9]
Arlen is buried next to his wife at the
Ferncliff Cemetery
in
Hartsdale, New York
. After Arlen's death,
Irving Berlin
summed up his life at a tribute, saying: "He wasn't as well known as some of us, but he was a better songwriter than most of us and he will be missed by all of us."
[10]
Shortly before his death, Arlen adopted his own nephew, Samuel, the 22 year old adult son of his brother Julius "Jerry" Arluck; his estate would have an heir in order to extend his copyright.
[11]
Known as Samuel Arlen, he is a musician in his own right, as both a
saxophonist
as well as a music publisher;
[12]
his control extends to the company that owns the rights to the Arlen catalog.
Timeline
[
edit
]
- 1905 Arlen born in
Buffalo, New York
- 1920 (age 15) He formed his first professional band, Hyman Arluck's Snappy Trio.
- 1921 (16) Against his parents' wishes he left home.
- 1923 (18) With his new band ? The Southbound Shufflers, performed on the Crystal Beach lake boat "Canadiana" during the summer of 1923.
- 1924 (19) Performed at Lake Shore Manor during the summer of 1924.
- 1924 (19) Wrote his first song, collaborating with friend Hyman Cheiffetz to write "My Gal, My Pal". Copyrighting the song as "My Gal, Won't You Please Come Back to Me?" and listed lyrics by Cheiffetz and music by Harold Arluck.
- 1925 (20) Makes his way to
New York City
with the group, The Buffalodians, with Arlen playing piano.
- 1926 (21) Had first published song, collaborating with Dick George to compose "Minor Gaff (Blues Fantasy)" under the name Harold Arluck.
- 1928 (23) Hyman (or Chaim (Hebrew name meaning life)) Arluck renames himself Harold Arlen.
- 1929 (24) Landed a singing and acting role as Cokey Joe in the musical
The Great Day
.
- 1929 (24) Composed his first well known song ? "Get Happy" ? under the name Harold Arlen.
- 1929 (24) Signed a yearlong song writing contract with the George and Arthur Piantadosi firm.
- 1930?1934 (25?29) Wrote music for the
Cotton Club
.
- 1933 (28) At a party, along with partner
Ted Koehler
, wrote the major hit song "Stormy Weather"
- 1934 (29) Wrote "
Ill Wind (You're Blowin' Me No Good)
" with lyrics by
Ted Koehler
for their last show at the
Cotton Club
Parade, in 1934, which was sung by
Adelaide Hall
[13]
- 1935 (30) Went back to California after being signed by
Samuel Goldwyn
to write songs for the film
Strike Me Pink
.
- 1937 (32) Composed the score for the Broadway musical
Hooray for What!
. Married 22-year-old
Anya Taranda
, a celebrated
Powers Agency
model and former
Earl Carroll
and
Busby Berkeley
showgirl
, actress, and one of the Original "Breck Girls".
- 1938 (33) Hired by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
to compose songs for
The Wizard of Oz
.
- 1938 (33) While driving along
Sunset Boulevard
in
Hollywood
and stopping in front of
Schwab's Drug Store
, he came up with the song "
Over the Rainbow
".
- 1939 (34) Wrote music for the
Marx Brothers
' film
At the Circus
.
- 1941 (36) Wrote "
Blues in the Night
"
- 1942 (37) Along with
Johnny Mercer
, he wrote one of his most famous songs, "
That Old Black Magic
".
- 1943 (38) Wrote "
My Shining Hour
"
- 1944 (39) While driving with songwriter partner
Johnny Mercer
came up with the song "
Accentuate the Positive
".
- 1945 (40) In a single evening's work in October with
Johnny Mercer
, came up with the song "
Come Rain or Come Shine
".
- 1949 (44) Collaborated with Ralph Blane to write the score for
My Blue Heaven
.
- 1950 (45) Worked with old pal
Johnny Mercer
on the film
The Petty Girl
, out of which came the song "Fancy Free".
- 1951 (46) His wife Anya was institutionalized in a sanitarium for 7 years.
- 1952 (47) Teamed up with
Dorothy Fields
on the film
The Farmer Takes a Wife
.
- 1953 (48) Harold's father, Cantor Samuel Arluck, died.
- 1954 (49) The musical
A Star is Born
starring
Judy Garland
singing the now classic, Harold Arlen and
Ira Gershwin
collaboration, "
The Man That Got Away
".
- 1954 (49) Becomes dangerously ill with a bleeding ulcer and is hospitalized but recovers to work with
Truman Capote
on the musical
House of Flowers
.
- 1958 (53) His mother Celia Arluck dies and Harold does not touch music for over a year, mourning her loss.
- 1962 (56) Wrote the score for the animated musical
Gay Purr-ee
, lyrics by
E.Y. Harburg
.
- 1970 (65) Arlen's wife
Anya Taranda
dies from a brain tumor. Arlen begins to lose interest in life, withdrawing from friends and family and becoming more reclusive.
- 1974 (69) The theme song for the
ABC
sitcom
Paper Moon
is based on the song of that title, written by Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg in 1932. The series was based on a 1973
Peter Bogdanovich
film of the same name
, which used the same song.
- 1979 (74) Is inducted into the
American Theater Hall of Fame
.
[14]
- 1985 (80) Adopts Samuel ("Sammy"), son of his younger brother Jerry and Rita Arluck as his son and primary heir.
[1]
- 1986 (81) Harold Arlen dies in
New York City
and is interred next to his wife at
Ferncliff Cemetery
in
Hartsdale
, New York.
Works for Broadway
[
edit
]
Major songs
[
edit
]
Films
[
edit
]
Biographies
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Jablonski, Edward
(1996).
Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows, and Blues
.
University Press of New England
. p. 360.
ISBN
978-1555532635
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Colin Larkin
, ed. (1997).
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music
(Concise ed.).
Virgin Books
. p. 50.
ISBN
1-85227-745-9
.
- ^
"Honors & Awards"
. Haroldarlen.com
. Retrieved
June 7,
2012
.
- ^
"New song list puts 'Rainbow' way up high ? CNN"
. Archives.cnn.com. March 7, 2001. Archived from
the original
on July 7, 2009
. Retrieved
June 7,
2012
.
- ^
Laurie, Joe Jr.
(1953).
Vaudeville: From the Honky Tonks to the Palace
. New York:
Henry Holt
. p.
328
.
ASIN
B000NRYS3A
.
- ^
Harold Sings Arlen (With Friend)
at
AllMusic
- ^
Singer, Barry (December 6, 2017).
"Harold Arlen at 110: Before It's Too Late"
.
huffpost.com
. Huffpost
. Retrieved
October 27,
2023
.
... In November 1958, Arlen's mother, Celia Arluck, died. Shortly thereafter, perhaps not coincidentally, Anya Arlen came home ...
- ^
a
b
"Come Rain or Come Shine"
.
The New Yorker
. September 12, 2005
. Retrieved
July 7,
2019
.
- ^
Pace, Eric (April 24, 1986).
"Harold Arlen, Composer of Song Standards"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Jablonski, Edward
(1998).
Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows, and Blues
. UPNE. pp. 13?.
ISBN
978-1-55553-366-3
.
- ^
Singer, Barry (December 6, 2017).
"Harold Arlen at 110: Before It's Too Late"
.
huffpost.com
. Huffpost
. Retrieved
October 27,
2023
.
... Harold Arlen adopted Samuel as his own son, though Jerry Arlen was still alive ...
- ^
Arlen, Samuel.
"The Music of Sam Arlen - Biography"
.
The Music of Sam Arlen
. samarlen.com
. Retrieved
October 27,
2023
.
- ^
Williams, Iain Cameron (2002).
Underneath a Harlem Moon: The Harlem to Paris Years of Adelaide Hall
.
Continuum Publishing
.
ISBN
0826458939
.
- ^
Johnston, Laurie (November 19, 1979).
"Theater Hall of Fame Enshrines 51 Artists"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
May 17,
2014
.
External links
[
edit
]
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1934?1940
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1941?1950
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1951?1960
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1961?1970
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1971?1980
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1981?1990
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1991?2000
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2001?2010
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2011?2020
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2021?present
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International
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National
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Academics
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Artists
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People
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Other
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