Harold Arlen’s Academy Award for the music for the tune “Over the Rainbow” (1939). Reward of Rita Arlen.
Music Division/Library of Congress
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Music Division/Library of Congress
The Library of Congress has acquired uncommon artifacts associated to the beloved 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.
The treasures embody 35 musical manuscripts from composer Harold Arlen and lyricist E. Y. “Yip” Harburg’s artistic output, together with the primary handwritten drafts of music and lyrics from a number of the most well-known The Wizard of Oz songs, draft tune lists and correspondence from the director of the movie, Mervyn LeRoy.
Among the many artifacts is the one lyric sketch for “Over the Rainbow” identified to exist.
Scrawled in pencil on a scrap of yellow authorized paper by Harburg are the phrases: “Some day I will want upon a star + wake + discover the darkness far behind me.” The road finally grew to become “Sometime I will want upon a star and get up the place the clouds are far behind me.”
An E.Y. “Yip” Harburg sketch for the lyrics of “Over the Rainbow,” revealing that “clouds” had initially been conceived as “darkness,” and the order of the next two strains would reverse.
Music Division/Library of Congress
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Music Division/Library of Congress
Donated by Arlen’s sister-in-law, Rita Arlen, that scrap joins dozens of different gadgets within the library’s assortment, resembling Arlen’s Academy Award statue for “Over the Rainbow,” which received Greatest Unique Tune in 1939. It was famously sung by Judy Garland within the film.
“Over the Rainbow” is taken into account to be one of many biggest songs of all time. It topped the “Songs of the Century” lists of the Recording Business Affiliation of America and the Nationwide Endowment for the Arts, and was named the “biggest film tune of all time” by the American Movie Institute. It has been coated by artists numerous occasions together with pop star Ariana Grande and Hawaiian ukulele artist Israel Kamakawiwo’ole.
Nicholas Brown-Cáceres, the appearing chief of the Library’s Music Division, informed NPR “Over the Rainbow” practically acquired left on the slicing room flooring through the film manufacturing course of.
“The creators needed to advocate for it to get positioned again in a number of occasions,” he stated.
The Wizard of Oz was inducted within the Library of Congress’ Nationwide Movie Registry in 1989. “For a very long time this has been an necessary work for us to attempt to protect,” stated Brown-Cáceres. “For the music division’s collections to now have the chance to carry a number of the documentation referring to the creation of the soundtrack is great. We’re excited that it’s going to now be obtainable as a part of our nation’s heritage for lots of of years to return.”
Brown-Cáceres stated anybody over 16 can purchase a library card and consider gadgets associated to The Wizard of Oz and different Library of Congress Music Division collections within the Performing Arts Studying Room. A number of the newly acquired gadgets, together with the Academy Award statue and “Over the Rainbow” lyrics sketch, will likely be on view on the Library from Oct. 23 via Jan. 7, together with artifacts from the famed Oz spinoff, Depraved.
