Harold Arlen: The Man Who Wrote the Best Song in the World
Harold Arlen wrote over four hundred songs and holds a distinguished place in the Great American Songbook. Among his many compositions, one stands above the rest—Over The Rainbow.
Voted the twentieth century’s #1 song by the Recording Industry Association of America, Over The Rainbow is more than a classic—it’s often considered the best song ever written.
But Arlen’s brilliance doesn’t end there. He also composed timeless standards such as It’s Only A Paper Moon, Stormy Weather, Get Happy, and Come Rain Or Come Shine.
No other composer has more songs represented in the Great American Songbook than Harold Arlen. His harmonic sophistication and melodic inventiveness are second to none.
If you’re an aspiring singer-songwriter, Arlen should be at the very top of your list of composers to study. You’ll be treated to a harmonic masterclass in every tune.
And if your focus is improvisation, Arlen is still your man—his melodies offer rhythmic surprises and brilliant note choices over rich chord progressions.
To become a great musician, you must study the greatest tunes—and Harold Arlen certainly wrote a few of them.
Harold Arlen Tunes | Related Pages
Over The Rainbow | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Over The Rainbow by Eva Cassidy using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, chord analysis, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Gsus2 /F# | Em /D | Bm7b13 | G7 Amadd4 /B |
Somewhere over the rainbow…
Start learning with the full lesson series: Over The Rainbow – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Harold Arlen on the web
