Hyman Arluck (aka Harold Arlen) as Dance Band Musician ...
Hyman Arluck (aka Harold Arlen) as Dance Band Musician, Vaudeville Artist and Composer.
The 1920s and Early 1930s.
by Albert Haim
"He's the most original of all of us." George Gershwin.
Introduction.
Hyman Arluck, better known as Harold Arlen, was born on February 15, 1905 in Buffalo, New York, and died in New York City on April 23, 1986. The son of Samuel Arlick, a Jewish cantor, seven-year old Harold began singing in the Pine Street Synagogue where his father was the choir director. At age nine, Harold began studying piano. By age 15, he dropped out of school and began his professional career as pianist, singer, vaudeville artist and songwriter. Composer of about 500 songs, second only to Irving Berlin in productivity, Arlen was inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971. Following the success of his 1929 song Get Happy, Arlen signed a contract with George & Arthur Piantadosi Music Co., a Warner Brothers subsidiary, and became a professional songwriter. Some of Arlen’s best-known, early songs are “Sweet and Hot” (1930), “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” (1931), “I Got A Right To Sing the Blues” (1932,), and "Stormy Weather" (1933). In 1940, Arlen received the Academy Award for best original song for Over the Rainbow featured in the film “The Wizard of Oz” and voted the twentieth century's number one song by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Before he became a world renowned composer for Broadway shows and Hollywood films, Arlen was a dance band pianist, vocalist and vaudevillian. I cover here Arlen’s career in the 1920s and early 1930s.
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Figure 1. Harold Arlen in 1926.
The First Half of the 1920s: The Snappy Trio and the Southbound Shufflers.
At age 15, Arlen began playing piano in movie houses and for vaudeville acts. Arlen’s first band was the Snappy Trio with Hymie Sandler on drums and Ted Myers on violin. Arlen was the pianist, singer, arranger and made all the booking decisions. The little group first played in a tavern, the Maple Leaf Café. But with Prohibition, the Café closed down and the Trio had to find work in the red light district of Buffalo. The band was expanded to five and named The Southbound Shufflers; it included Harold’s younger brother Julius on saxophone. In the summer of 1923, the band played on the Canadiana, a ship that made round trips between Buffalo, NY and the Crystal Beach Amusement Park in Ontario, Canada where there was no Prohibition.
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[pic]Figure 2. The Canadiana.
At this time, Arlen was a great admirer the Original Memphis Five and the Southbound Shufflers played popular songs for dancers and jazzy novelty tunes where the members of the band took turns at playing solos.
In the summer of 1924, Harold Arluck (the first time that Arlen drops his first name Hyman) copyrighted with the Bishop Music Publishing House (self-publishing) his first composition, My Gal, Won't You Please Come Back to Me? aka as My Gal, My Pal with lyrics by Hyman Cheiffetz.
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Figure 3. Cover of Sheet Music of My Gal, My Pal.
Not a single copy of the sheet music was sold, but the tune was recorded as OKeh 40349 in March 1925 in Buffalo, NY by a territory band, the Blue Ribbon Syncopators.
Arlen took the failure of his first composition as a clear signal that his future was not in songwriting! He found great satisfaction in playing and improvising at the piano and singing and arranging for the band, but he became frustrated with the burden of finding gigs and taking care of expenses. Thus, after their engagements in the summer of 1925, Arlen decided to quit as leader of the Southbound Shufflers.
1925-1926. The Yankee Six and the Buffalodians.
As success was coming his way, Arlen was invited to join a popular local band in Buffalo named The Yankee Six. The Yankee Six consisted of two saxophonists, Stan Meyers and Warren Bullock; one trumpeter, Ray Weller; Ralph LaGuardia on banjo and guitar; drummer Joe Rosen; and Harold Arlen on piano.
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Figure 4. The Yankee Six on the Canadiana. Harold Arlen sitting at the piano.
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Figure 5. The Yankee Six on the Canadiana. Harold Arlen sitting at the piano.
Before Arlen joined them, the Yankee Six had a recording session for OKeh:
The Yankee Six: Carl Davis, cnt; Bill Fitzerald, tb; Ted Benton, cl; Jules Pillar, cl, ts; Jack MacLaughlin, vln, dir; Dick George, p; Iving Matthews, bj; Harrison Hall, tu; Harold Tapson, d. [Most became members of the Buffalodians]. Buffalo, NY, March 1925.
I Never Knew How Much I Loved You/Oh! Those Eyes, OK 40335.
Jimtown Blues/No One, OK 40348.
The Yankee Six with Arlen played college dates, society events and the Dellwood Ballroom, the old Auditorium and the Royal Casino in Crystal Beach.
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Figure 6. Ad for the appearance of the Yankee Six in the Dellwood Ballroom and the old Auditorium.
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Figure 7. Ad in the Buffalo Express, May 23, 1924 for the appearance of the Yankee Six in Crystal Beach.
The Yankee Six also appeared in Geyer's ballroom restaurant in the theater district of Buffalo. Here is where Arlen met and started a lifetime friendship with eccentric dancer Ray Bolger, the straw man in the film “The Wizard of oz.” Five musicians were added and the band was renamed the Buffalodians.
In late 1925, the Buffalodians went on tour with appearances in Cleveland, OH and Pittsburgh, PA. By the early Spring of 1926 the Buffalodians were in New York City and had engagements in the Palace Theater in Times Square and Gallagher’s Monte Carlo on Broadway and 51st. Street. The featured show at the Monte Carlo was by entertainer Ray Bolger. Arlen and Bolger renewed their friendship and became roommates. In July 1926, the Buffalodians moved to Monte-Carlo-By-The-Sea in Far Rockaway, Long Island.
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Figure 8. Ad for the appearance of the Buffalodians at Monte Carlo-By-The-Sea, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 11, 1926.
There is an interesting review of the Buffalodians in the August 25, 1926 issue of Variety. The complete roster of musicians is included in the article by Abel: Henry Krompart, Frank Davis (tp) Norman Booth (tb) Bill Wullen, Ivan Beaty (cl,as,sop) Jules Pillar (cl,sop,ts) Harold Aurluck [by this time Hyman had been changed to Harold, but Arlick was retained] (p,vcl) Dick George (p) Jack McLaughlin (vln) Charles Panico (bj,g) Hal Raub (bj) Harold Tapson (d).
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Figure 9. The Buffalodians, 1926. Arlen last on the right.
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Figure 10. Some of the Buffalodians, 1925. Arlen first from left.
Interestingly, the band included two pianists and, according to reports, their duets were spectacular, including a two-piano arrangement of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Harold Aurluck [sic] is described as a “pianist-entertainer-singer. According to Abel, one of the key features of the band was "the specially orchestrated dance numbers," undoubtedly a reference to the quality of Arlen's arrangements. Abel went on to describe the Buffalodians as “a sizzling yet clean-cut jazz outfit that represents the utmost in rhythmic syncopation.” Fletcher Henderson who was leading the band at Roseland, not far from the Monte Carlo, heard the Buffalodians one night and asked Arlen to do an orchestration for the Henderson band. Arlen came up with an arrangement of Dynamite which Henderson recorded on April 14, 1926 as the Dixie Stompers. Arlen and Henderson developed a friendship that lasted for years.
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Figure 11. Harold Arlen and Fletcher Henderson in Atlantic City in 1929.
Throughout their stay in New York City in the summer of 1926, the Buffalodians had great success. They had weekly broadcasts over WEAF, the first radio station in New York City (1922) which became, in 1926, the flagship of the NBC Red Network. They also recorded several numbers under various names:
- The Buffalodians , May 1926: Here Comes Emaline/DeepHenderson, Col 666-D.
- Jack McLaughlin Melodians, August 1926: Someone Is Losin' Susan, Pathe-Act 36518; I Never Knew What the Moonlight Could Do, Pathe-Act 36517; Broken-Hearted Sue, Pathe-Act 36524; Play Gypsies, Dance Gypsies, Pathe-Act 36515.
- July 1926: Baby Face/How Many Times with Arlen on vocal, issued under a variety of names: Yankee Six, Merry Makers, Yankee Ten, Beach Six, Six Black Dominoes, Jimmy Johnson's Rebels, Lou Connor's Dance Orchestra, Yankee Ten Dance Orchestra, Savanna Serenaders, Londynskiej Piccadilli Jazz, Carolinians, Arcadia Sextette for a variety of labels: Bn, Bwy, Dom, NML, Or, Pm, Pur, Re, Sil, Apex, BM, Dahl, Imp, Leo, LS, Mic, Starr, Usiba. This recording session probably breaks a record for the number of labels and pseudonyms!
According to the article in Variety cited above, The Buffalodians were to open in Gallagher's Monte-Carlo in New York in the Fall of 1926. But this did not happen. The Buffalodians were a short-lived band, by the end of the summer the band leader violinist Jack McLaughlin quit as the result of a dispute. Harold Arlen provided two versions of the dispute. In one version, McLaughlin and Dick George had a fight on stage in the Monte Carlo on Broadway. In the other version, the fight took place on stage at the Monte Carlo in Rockaways between McLaughlin and Arlen, and ended in the street outside the night club. The fact is that McLaughlin quit, the other musicians asked Arlen to take over the leadership of the band, but he refused. Fascinated by the glamour of performing in front of audiences, Arlen was determined to have a career as a singer. In this context, it is relevant to bring in an anecdote related in the two biographies cited in the list of recommended reading.
Arlen frequented nightclubs and dance halls when he was done with his nightly engagements. He was attracted particularly by jazz settings. One night, according to the reports, he went to the Silver Slipper, a plush nightclub on Broadway and 48th Street. The band was playing I’m Coming Virginia, a song that Arlen liked particularly because of Bix Beiderbecke’s solo in his recording with the Frank Trumbauer orchestra. Arlen jumped on the stage and sang the lyrics. To Arlen’s astonishment, Bix Beiderbecke was in the audience, accompanied by shimmy queen Bee Palmer. Apparently, Beiderbecke approached Arlen and said, “Great, kid.” Arlen was highly impressed and this was an incentive for him to embark in a career as singer/performer.
From 1926 to the Early 1930s. Performer, Sideman and Composer.
1926-1927: The Buffalodians. Arlen’s chronological data in his biographies [1-4] provide little information about his whereabouts during the second half of 1926 and most of 1927. The biographies report [1-4] that the Buffalodians broke up in the late summer of 1926, and that, at that time, Arlen joined Arnold Johnson’s orchestra as arranger/pianist/vocalist. This information is incorrect. Woody Backensto reported, on the basis of statements by contemporary witnesses, [5] that Arlen and several of the Buffalodians went back to Buffalo after their recording sessions of August 1926. As a matter of act, Arlen did not join the Arnold Johnson outfit until late in 1927. All this is confirmed in accounts and ads in 1926 and 1927 newspapers.
Let us first examine this account in the Register, Sandusky, OH, October 1, 1927.
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Figure 12. The Register, Sandusky, OH, October 1, 1927.
According to this account, the Buffalodians were in Buffalo in the Spring of 1927. As a matter of fact, the Buffalodians were in Buffalo much earlier than that. They appeared in the Palais Royal in Buffalo in late 1926 as demonstrated by two ads, both in the Buffalo Evening News.
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Figure 13, Buffalo Evening News, November 12, 1926.
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Figure 14, Buffalo Evening News, December 24, 1926.
Additional confirmation of the Buffalodians engagements in Buffalo in the Spring of 1927 comes from radio listings: on February 25, 1927 and April 1, 1927 the Buffalodians had broadcasts over WGR, the oldest continuously operating station in Buffalo.
By June 1927, the Buffalodians were in Cleveland where they appeared in Willoughby Beach Park and Willie’s Lake Shore Gardens and had broadcasts over WTAM and WJAY. Harold Arluck is cited in several radio listings for the Buffalodians in 1927. Here are some examples.
- WJAY 10 pm Pillar and Tapson’s Buffalodians with Harold Arluck, director, direct from Willie’s (or Willy’s?) Lake Shore Gardens. I note that Jules Pillar and Harold Tapson were members of the Yankee Six and the original Buffalodians. Sandusky Register (OH) September 9, 1927.
- WJAY 11 pm Pillar and Tapson’s Buffalodians with Harold Arluck, director, direct from Willie’s Lake Shore Gardens. Elyria Chronicle Telegram (OH), September 24, 1927.
- WJAY 11 pm Pillar and Tapson’s Buffalodians with Harold Arluck, acting director, direct from Willie’s Lake Shore Gardens. Sandusky Register (OH) October 2, 1927.
- WJAY 11 pm Pillar and Tapson’s Buffalodians, Harold Arluck, acting director, from Willie’s Lake Shore Gardens. Norwalk Reflector Herald (OH), October 9, 1927.
Evidently, Arlen was in Ohio with the Buffalodians in September-October 1927. There is evidence that he joined Arnold Johnson’s orchestra in late 1927. Arlen was keen on a career as a singer, and joining the Arnold Johnson orchestra provided him with an opportunity to sing, although with the associated burden of doing a lot of arranging and playing piano. The December 14, 1927 issue of Variety, reporting on the show at the Palace, informed readers that “Arnold Johnson again got their most on their corking radio number. Harry Arlock (or so announced) is an important member of the troupe. He should be given fuller opportunities.” The radio number, “A Quiet Evening at Home with the Radio,” consisted of Arnold Johnson changing the dials in a receiving set while the members of the band, in a darkened stage, imitated the sounds of what might be heard on the radio: bedtime stories, negro prayer meetings, static and songs –At Dawning, The Song Is Ended, I’m Coming Virginia, Blue Room. [6]
1928: Arnold Johnson. 1928 was a busy year for Harold Arlen and Arnold Johnson. Johnson landed the highly desirable engagement as house band at the Park Central Hotel beginning on January 19, 1928.
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Figure 15. New York Times, January 31, 1928.
At the same time, Arnold Johnson’s orchestra was the pit band for the 1928 Greenwhich Village Follies. The Arnold Johnson orchestra went to Boston for the tryouts from February 28 to March 2, 1928.
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Figure 16. Fannie Farmer Flyer Promoting the Pre-Broadway Engagement of the Greenwhich Village Follies at the Court Square Theatre in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The show ran from April 9, 1928 to July 28, 1928 at the Winter Garden Theatre.
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Figure 17. New York Times, April 2, 1928.
Arnold Johnson’s orchestra continued with its engagement at the Park Central Hotel until the Fall of 1928. By September 1928, the orchestra was doubling between the George White Scandals of 1928 and the Grill Room of the (then) new Paramount Hotel.
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Figure 18. Columbia Daily Spectator, October 30, 1928.
George White’s Scandals ran at the Apollo Theater from July 2, 1928 to January 19, 1929. The role of the pit orchestra in Broadway shows was evolving at this time. Members of the orchestra were becoming an integral part of the show on the stage. Arnold Johnson made the following comments on this subject: “The blending of the orchestra in the pit with the actors across the footlights works for a harmony and unity that is not found in the average musical show. My men know not only every musical cue, but since they are actors in ‘Scandals’ they know every line cue as well. They are a part of the cast of ‘Scandals’ instead of just musicians playing song and dance numbers.” [7]
It was reported that Harold Arlen “sang a medley of songs in the pit during intermission.” [8] One of these was I’m on the Crest of a Wave. This was a reprise of the number sung by Harry Richman in the show. Although it must have been satisfying for Arlen to sing in a prestigious show on Broadway and fulfilling one of his dreams, it was also frustrating. Patrons were going in and out of the theatre during intermission and conversing while Arlen was singing.
Throughout 1928, Arnold Johnson’s orchestra with Harold Arlen had weekly broadcasts over the NBC Red radio network and on Sunday nights appeared on the Majestic Hour. In addition, the orchestra had eleven recording sessions for Brunswick in 1928. Harold Arlen himself recorded a Victor test on July 23, 1928, a vocal with his own piano accompaniment, BE-Test-129. According to the Discography of American Historical Recordings, “Victor master numbers marked "Test" are trials (auditions) or tests. They were not made with the intention of release.” No copy of the test pressing has surfaced.
1929: Great Day and Get Happy: Arlen’s first major composition. By 1929, Arlen was rather disappointed with his activities in the Arnold Johnson orchestra. His main task was arranging and he had little opportunity to sing and perform. Arlen quit his position and tried to make it in vaudeville, but had little success. In May 1929, Vincent Youmans offered Arlen the role of Cokey Joe, a singer-pianist, in the musical Louisiana Lou, a mixed-race extravaganza trying to capitalize on the enormous success of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s Show Boat. Arlen was to darken his skin with burned cork for his performances. The show was renamed Great Day and from its opening in Philadelphia on June 4, 1929 to its closing in the Cosmopolitan Theatre in Columbus Circle on November 26, 1929 (after 36 performances) it went from crisis to crisis. Some of the problems were described in detail in an article titled Some Production Blues: “GREAT DAY!" and its tribulations in the New York Times of November 3, 1929. Black musicians were to be hired for the pit orchestra. First, there were negotiations for Duke Ellington’s orchestra between Youmans and Irving Mills, but they did not pan out. Next, Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra was brought in and Tommy Rockwell arranged for Louis Armstrong to come from Chicago and become a member of the pit band. Armstrong joined the Henderson orchestra in Philadelphia a few days after the premiere. By then Henderson’s orchestra had been augmented with several white string and wind musicians. Henderson was ostensibly unable to deal with such a large orchestra and a white conductor, Robert Goetzl, was brought in. He proceeded to dismiss several of Henderson’s musicians and eventually Henderson himself. Louis Armstrong quit and returned to New York. [9]
Great Day opened in early July 1929 in Werba’s Jamaica Theatre. New scenes and musical numbers had been added. Some of the members of the cast were listed in the New York Times of July 10, 1929. Harold Arlen was one of the names in the list. By this time, Arlen’s role in the show was not restricted to his performance on stage, but he also was helping with revisions and arrangements. But when the show moved back to New York, Arlen left.
One crucial event happened during that summer. The rehearsal pianist took ill and Arlen was designated as the replacement. During rehearsals, when breaks were taken, Arlen noodled on the piano and elaborated on the pickup (the musical phrase that warns the dancers that rehearsal is about to begin). Will Marion Cook, the choral director for the show, heard Arlen’s improvisations, liked what he heard and suggested that Arlen write the pickup as a song. Harry Warren was collaborating with Youmans in three of the best songs in the show: More Than You Know, Without a Song and Great Day. Warren also liked Arlen’s improvisation and put him in touch with lyricist Ted Kohler. Arlen and Kohler met in the Remick Publisher’s office in New York. Arlen played his composition; Kohler liked it and wrote lyrics for it. The result was Get Happy, copyrighted by the Remick Music Corporation on August 1, 1929.
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Figure 19. Cover of Get Happy Sheet Music.
The day before, Arlen and Kohler had signed a one-year contract with George and Arthur Piantadosi’s agency, a subsidiary of Remick’s. Harold Arlen’s fate was sealed. A career in singing was replaced by a career as a composer. In Arlen’s own words: “It got me away from that which I had loved, a goal I had set. And yet I suddenly realized that goal had become something my temperament couldn't take." [1]
Get Happy is a joyful religious number along the lines of George Gerswhin’s Clap Yo’ Hands, 1926, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, a modern dance spiritual according to the composer; Vincent Youmans’ s Hallelujah, 1927, lyrics by Clifford Grey and Leo Robin, according to Furia and Lasser a "cheer-up piece that borrowed its spirit from the white revivalist tradition" [10], and Cole Porter’s Blow, Gabriel, Blow, 1934, lyrics by Cole Porter, loosely based on the Reverend Gary Davis 19th century shout spiritual Blow Gabriel.
Get Happy was used as the finale of Act I of Ruth Elwyn’s Nine-Fifteen Revue. Although the show failed miserably (it ran for four days, Feb 11, 1930 - Feb 15, 1930 in the George M. Cohan's Theatre, New York, NY), the song, performed by Ruth Etting, was a great success.
Arlen had been writing tunes during the 1920s, but at a very low pace. Between 1924 and 1928, Arlen wrote one or two tunes per year. In 1929, he composed nearly a dozen and between 1930 and 1934 an average of about two dozen songs every year. Many of the songs written from 1930 to 1934 were for the Cotton Club Parade shows: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Trickeration, Kickin' the Gong Around, I've Got the World On A String, Minnie the Moocher's Wedding Day, Stormy Weather. Arlen also wrote the music for several Broadway shows during this period: Earl Carroll’s Vanities of 1930, You Said It (1931), Earl Carroll’s Vanities of 1932, Americana (1932), George White's Music Hall Varieties (1932), The Great Magoo, George White's Music Hall Varieties (1933). Some of the best known songs in these shows were: Sweet and Hot, I've Got A Right To Sing The Blues, It’s Only a Paper Moon).
1929-1933. Still Doing Vaudeville. Although his career as composer began to prosper in 1929 and accelerated rapidly in subsequent years, Arlen was still active as a performer, his first ambition in show business. In July of 1929 and in June 1930, Arlen was the pianist for Frances Williams in her appearances in the Palace Theater. Harold and Frances had met in the set of the George White’s Scandals of 1928 and had become close friends. The Palace Theater was known for his vaudeville acts. But the July 1929 show represented something new for the Palace. As described in the July 21, 1929 issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “The Palace Theater is experimenting this week with a program made up of acts new to vaudeville. This is the first time that such a policy has been introduced during the theater’s fifteen years as a vaudeville house. Neither Frances Williams with the company from George White’s ‘Scandals’ nor Albert Carroll have ever appeared before in vaudeville.”
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Figure 20. Ad in Variety, June 11, 1930.
In July 1931 Arlen was the accompanist for Lyda Roberti, the star of You Said It, in the vaudeville show at the Palace Theater. In February 1932, Arlen was performing his songs in Lou Holtz’s Vaudeville Revue at the Hollywood Theater and participating in a trio made up of Holtz, Roberti and himself.
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Figure 21. Ad in the New York Times, February 15, 1932.
As Harold Arlen’s reputation spread out, the New York Times of October 16, 1932 included biographical information about Harold Arlen in an article titled “Some Names in Theatrical Programs”: “Arlen who is tall and dark, sang in a choir in Buffalo before he organized an orchestra, directed another and then came to New York as a vaudeville artist.”
By 1933, Arlen was sufficiently successful that he and Tom Howard headed the stage show at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
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Figure 22. New York Times, May 18, 1933.
1929-1934. Recordings as a Vocalist. At the same time as he was active as songwriter and vaudeville performer, Arlen continued recording with dance bands.
Since I Found You was recorded by Henry Busse’s orchestra on August 27, 1929, matrix BVE-55807 with Harold Arlen on vocal, but all three takes were rejected. The song was recorded again by Busse’s orchestra on September 20, 1929, but with Scrappy Lambert as vocalist. Take 5 was mastered and issued as Victor 22140.
From late 1930 to mid 1931, Arlen recorded about half a dozen sides with Red Nichols’ orchestra, among them his own compositions:
- Linda, November 6, 1930, Brunswick 4982
- You Said It/Sweet and Hot, January 16, 1931, Brunswick 6029
There were two sides by Arlen as vocalist with Joe Venuti’s Rhythm Boys, Pardon Me Pretty Baby/Little Girl, June 10, 1931, OKeh 41506/Columbia 2488-D.
The Nichols and Venuti bands included some of the best white jazz musicians of the time: Jack and Charlie Teagarden, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, Eddie Lang.
Arlen also recorded several sides with some of the most popular bands of 1932-1934: Leo Reisman and Eddy Duchin. The following are recordings of Arlen’s own compositions.
- Steppin’ Into Love, Leo Reisman, January 19, 1932, Victor 22913.
- Stormy Weather, Leo Reisman, February 28, 1933, Victor 24262.
- Happy As The Day Is Long, Leo Reisman, May 2, 1933, Victor 24315.
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Figure 23. Record Label of Victor 24315.
Ill Wind/As Long As I Live, Eddy Duchin, February 28, 1934, Victor 24579.
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Figure 24. Record Label of Victor 24579.
In addition, Arlen recorded several sides under his own name:
- Carmichael and Mercer’s Lazy Bones, August 23, 1933, Victor rejected.
- Arlen and Heyman’s Shame on You, August 23, 1933, Victor, rejected.
- Arlen and Koehler’s Let’s Fall in Love/This Is Only the Beginning, November 1, 1933, Victor 24579, accompanied by dance band.
- Arlen and Koehler’s Ill Wind/As Long As I Live, February 6, 1934, Victor 24569 accompanied by Arthur Schutt on piano
Coda.
Between 1933 and 1939, Arlen spent quite a bit of time in Hollywood writing music for the movies. In 1933, Arlen and Koehler were engaged by the Columbia Pictures Corporation to write songs for the film Let’s Fall in Love. In 1935, Arlen was hired by Samuel Goldwyn to write several songs for the film Strike Me Pink, starring Eddie Cantor and Ethel Murman. In 1936, Arlen was signed to a one-year contract with Warner Brothers. Arlen wrote songs for three movies: Al Jolson’s The Singing Kid; Stage Struck, directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Dick Powell and Joan Blondell; Goldiggers of 1937 starring Dick Powell and Joan Blondell.
In July 1938, Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg signed a contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer to write the score for the film The Wizard of Oz. The song Over the Rainbow was honored in 1939 with the Academy Award for Best Original Song, perhaps the culmination of Harold Arlen’s career as a songwriter.
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Figure 25. Music for The Wizard of Oz.
Bibliographic citations.
[1] The Official Harold Arlen Website:
[2] The Man That Got Away: The Life and Songs of Harold Arlen by Walter Rimler, University of Illinois Press, 2015.
[3] Harold Arlen: Rhythm, Rainbows and Blues by Edward Jablonski, Northeastern, 1996.
[4] Harold Arlen: Happy With the Blues by Edward Jablonski, Da Capo Press, 1985.
[5] Woody Backensto, The Record Changer, January 1954.
[6] Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World, January 21, 1928.
[7] Tin Pan Alley: An Encyclopedia of the Golden Age of American Song by David Jansen, Routledge, 2004.
[8] New York Times, August 29, 1928, p. 7.
[9] Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong by Terry Teachout, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
[10] America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley, by Philip Furia and Michael Lasser, Routledge, 2006.
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