Somewhere over the Rainbow
Sung by Ella Fitzgerald From Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook, 1961
KEY INFO
Ella Fitzgerald was an American jazz and song vocalist who interpreted much of TTTheThe Great American SongbookSongbook. This is not in fact a book of songs, but the canon (collection or list) of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20 th century. Her incredible vocal range, fine diction and phrasing earned her a number of nicknames including ‘Queen of Jazz’, ‘First Lady of Song’ and ‘Lady Ella’.
Born on April 25 1917 in Newport News, Virginia, Ella had a difficult childhood and shortly after her parents separated she moved with her mother to New York. Her career began after she won a talent contest in 1934 aged 17 - with prize money of $25! A star was born.
Somewhere over the Rainbow was originally composed for the film soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz for actress Judy Garland to sing in her starring role as Dorothy. Ella recorded it during the 1960s, a time of great critical and commercial success for her, and it has become a jazz standard that is regularly performed by jazz musicians today.
The album to which this track belongs, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook , is one of six albums Ella recorded in her songbooks series. These albums all feature several of The Great American Songbook composers, including Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Dorothy Fields, George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, and Cole Porter. This collection showcases Ella in her prime, confidently engaging 28 of Arlen's best songs, and features the remarkable Billy May Orchestra – the first and only time that Ella would work with May. (See On the Sunny Side of the Street for another Billy May recording on the playlist, this time sung by Frank Sinatra .)
Ella was a truly collaborative artist. As well as performing with the likes of the Benny Goodman Orchestra and the Dizzy Gillespie Band, she went on to record with the Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. In 1960, she broke into the pop charts with her rendition of Mack the Knife , and was still playing concerts across the globe in the 1970s. One especially memorable concert series from this time was a two-week engagement in New York City in 1974 with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie.
In all, Fitzgerald recorded more than 200 albums and some 2,000 songs in her lifetime. Her total record sales exceeded 40 million. Her many accolades included 13 Grammy Awards, the NAACP Image Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
LISTEN
First listening – with/ without sharing the name of the piece or composer. Teacher/Musicat to choose whether to play whole piece or a specific section/s. First impressions: • What comes to mind immediately? • What do you notice about the music eg tempo, dynamics, pitch; what about the rhythm? • What about the instruments? Can you identify any of them? • What do you notice about the vocal? • Where are the improvised sections? Can you here the soloist? • How does the music/song change or develop? • What do you imagine when you are listening to it? • Does the music make you feel a particular way? (it doesn’t matter if not). • Do you have a favourite/least favourite part?
EXPLORE
Use the instrument families to look at a typical big band line up. Learn all the different sections. Brass/Wind/Rhythm .
Now have a listen to the intro: What is unusual about the instruments here? (StringsStrings don’t normally appear in a jazz band ––– but this veversionrsion features a string section! It’s a treat to lilistensten tototo .) What sort of atmosphere do these instruments create? (Dreamy,Dreamy, other worldly )
When listening to the verse don’t just listen to the singer – zone in on what is happening behind the vocals too. What is happening? (EachEach section is accompanying Ella. Accompany ––– means to play a supporting role ––– their job is to make the singer sound even better. The studio orchestra is cushioning her .)
MELODY – Can everyone sing the first opening two notes to the tune “Somewhere” – what is interesting about them? (TheyThey are exactly the same, but one octave ---8-8 notesnotes---- apart. (PITCH) This is extremely important ––– it is what gives this piece its identityidentity.) Can we hear any other wide leaps in pitch? (TheThe lyrics ‘There’s ––– A’ ‘And The Dreams’Dreams’)
Which instrument accompanies Ella with some fills in the middle section ? Clue: It also has a solo all by itself!
What important indication in tempo (speedspeed ) tells us we’re coming to the end? The music starts to slow down. (InIn musical terms ––– a rallentando/ritenutorallentando/ritenuto....)
DODODO
• This is a wonderful piece to sing – and everyone should know it. Learn it and sing along with Ella. How does she phrase her singing – How does she place her words
• Can you create a piece of music using your voice/percussion/instruments/ based around the weather/or how you imagine the place at the end of the rainbow might be? Can you write a creative piece of writing to accompany the piece?
• Perhaps you might like to look at the lyrics of the verse? Can you write your own verse?
When all the world is a hopeless jumble There’s a rainbow highway to be found And the raindrops tumble all around Leading from your window pane Heaven opens a magic lane To a place beyond the sun When all the clouds darken up the skyway Just a step beyond the rain
• Can you create a piece of art as a representation of the place that might be over the rainbow?
DID YOU KNOW?KNOW?????
• Ella Fitzgerald loved dancing and singing. Her family regularly attended church whioch is where her love for music developed. • The cover of the album Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Harold Arlen Songbook is an artwork by French artist Henri Matisse • Somewhere over the Rainbow is number one on the ‘Songs of the Century’ list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. • The American Film Institute also ranked the song the greatest movie song of all time. • The very first artist to record the song was actually big band singer Bea Wain, but MGM prohibited the release until The Wizard of Oz (1939) had opened and audiences heard Judy Garland perform it. • The song was adopted (along with Irving Berlin's ‘ White Christmas’ ) by American troops in Europe in World War II, as a symbol of the United States. Judy Garland performed it for them as part of a 1943 performance. • The opening lyric from the song was featured on a postal stamp in 2005. • The song was used as an audio wakeup call in the STS-88 space shuttle mission. • In April 2016, The Daily Telegraph listed the song as number 8 on its list of the 100 greatest songs of all time. • In March 2017 Judy Garland's original rendition of the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being ‘culturally, historically, or artistically significant’. What song would you choose? • Unlike a lot of jazz artists and other performers, Ella Fitzgerald was very shy. • In 1958 Ella Fitzgerald became the first African American to win a Grammy Award – in fact, she won two in one night for Best Jazz Performance, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. • She was awarded a total of 13 Grammy Awards during her lifetime, and in 1967 won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.