AUDIO   |  PRINT  |  VIDEO  | WEB
Audio: Compilations
Michael Feinstein Sings the Burton Lane Songbook, Vol. 1. Elektra Nonesuch 9-79243-2, 1990.
Harold Arlen and Vernon Duke Revisited. Painted Smiles Records B0002WPSJ4, 1991.
Fancy Meeting You: Phillip Officer Sings the Lyrics of E.Y."Yip" Harburg. The noted cabaret singer performs 18 of Yip's lyrics. Pipo Reco CD0001, 1992.
Michael Feinstein Sings the Burton Lane Songbook, Vol. 2. Elektra Nonesuch 9-79285-2, 1992.
American Songbook Series: E.Y. Harburg. 23 tracks. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings RD-048-16 A 23952, 1994.
American Songbook Series: Harold Arlen. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings RD-048-5 A 22407, 1994.
Yip Sings Harburg. 27 tracks. Koch International KC-7386, 1996.
Beyond the Rainbow. Benjamin Sears and Bradford Conner, voice and piano. The Boston-based duo performs 22 Harburg songs, including the rarities Never Bedevil the Devil; The Peter Pan of Tin Pan Alley; Who Do You Kiss Goodnight?; Let's Forget Tomorrow Tonight; Brother, Just Laugh It Off; Take My Song; If Every Day Were Valentine's Day; Thank You, Columbus. Oakton ORCD0005, 1996.
Robert Clary Sings Irving Berlin and Yip Harburg. The actor-singer, best known as a character on the 1960's TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes, sings I Like the Likes of You; It's Only a Paper Moon; Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe; Let's Take a Walk Around the Block; Fun to Be Fooled; April in Paris; a medley of Then I'll Be Tired of You and Right As the Rain; a medley of Old Devil Moon, When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love and If This Isn't Love. Original Cast 8806, 1998.
Songbird (Eva Cassidy). This CD by the late singer-guitarist ends with a moving rendition of Over the Rainbow. Licensed by Blix Street Records G2-10045, 1998.
Dawn Upshaw Sings Vernon Duke. Includes I Like the Likes of You; Water Under the Bridge; April in Paris. Nonesuch 79531-2, 1999.
Leslie Orofino: Moonlight Cocktails, 2001.
William Bolcom, Joan Morris, Max Morath Sing Yip Harburg. Recorded live in concert at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, NYC, in June 2003. Original Cast 6063, 2003.
Hot Moonlight! Karen Lynn Gorney Sings the Music of Jay Gorney. Ms. Gorney, daughter of the composer, sings ten of her father's songs, including five with lyrics by Yip: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?; Hot Moonlight; Ah, But Is It Love?; Adrift on a Star; What Wouldn't I Do for That Man? Gorney Music, 2003.
The Slightly Irreverent Mitchell Trio, originally released as an LP in 1964, contains several of Yip's humorous poems set to music: An African Song (On That Great Civilized Morning); Yevtushenko?; Less Majeste; For the Man of Extinction; Achtung!; Red, White and Blue Cross; Shall I Write a Letter to My Congressman?; and Back to the Drawing Board. Collectors Choice Music B0000654-02, 2003.
Beverly Cosham Sings Yip Harburg. Produced by George Hummel, 2004.
Katharine McPhee: Somewhere Over the Rainbow / My Destiny. This best-selling single was released June 27, 2006 after McPhee performed it twice on American Idol to great acclaim.
Over the Rainbow: The Great Songs of Yip Harburg. With 30 tracks sung by Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Maureen McGovern, Tommy Hollis, Judy Garland, Catherine Russell, Groucho Marx, Yip and many others. Coming soon from The Yip Harburg Foundation.

Audio: Stage Musicals and Motion Picture Soundtracks

Ziegfeld Follies (The Nineteen Thirty-Four Edition of). Music by Vernon Duke and others. From pirate recording during 1935 national tour, very poor sound quality but rare chance to hear Vernon Duke-E.Y. Harburg songs as they sounded live. Outstanding songs: Water Under the Bridge; I Like the Likes of You; What Is There to Say. AEI-CD-039, 1997.
The Wizard of Oz. Music by Harold Arlen. Two discs: original 1939 movie soundtrack plus supplemental material including a beautifully designed and superbly written liner notes by John Fricke. Turner/Rhino R271964, 1995.
Hold on to Your Hats. Music by Burton Lane. Complete score of 1940 show sung by contemporary artists. Includes There's a Great Day Comin' Manana; Don't Let It Get You Down; The World Is in My Arms; plus extra songs from other sources including Fancy Meeting You (sung by Yip himself) and Moon About Town sung by Tammy Grimes. Painted Smiles Records PSCD-120, 1990.
Ship Ahoy (music by Burton Lane) and Las Vegas Nights. Original 1942 motion picture soundtrack of Ship Ahoy, which was Frank Sinatra's first major Hollywood feature. He sings "Last Call for Love" and "Poor You" with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Hollywood Soundstage 4006, undated.
DuBarry Was a Lady. Original 1943 motion picture soundtrack (includes selections from 1944 motion picture, Meet the People). Includes In Times Like These (Sammy Fain); It's Smart to Be People (Burton Lane); Thank You, Columbus (Lane). Turner/Rhino RHM 7851, 2004.
Cabin in the Sky. Music by Harold Arlen and Vernon Duke. Lyrics by Yip Harburg and John LaTouche. Original motion picture soundtrack. Includes Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe sung by Ethel Waters and Life's Full of Consequence sung by Lena Horne and Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. Turner/Rhino R272245, 1996
Bloomer Girl. Music by Harold Arlen. Original 1944 Broadway cast. Includes Right as the Rain; The Eagle and Me; I Got a Song; 'T'morra', T'morra'. Decca/Universal 440 103 561-2, 2001.
Finian's Rainbow. Music by Burton Lane. Original 1947 Broadway cast. All of the beloved songs including How Are Things in Glocca Morra; Old Devil Moon; Look to the Rainbow; plus Yip singing Don't Pass Me By, which was cut from the show. Digitally remastered by Thomas Z. Shepard. Columbia Masterworks SK 89208, 2000.
Finian's Rainbow. Music by Burton Lane. Cast of the 1960 Broadway revival of the Yip Harburg-Burton Lane classic. RCA Victor 1057-2-RG, 1988.
Finian's Rainbow. Music by Burton Lane, arranged for two pianos by Mark Hartmann. Irish Repertory Theatre concert revival. Ghostlight Records 4402-2, 2004.
Flahooley. Music by Sammy Fain. Original 1951 Broadway cast. Featuring Barbara Cook in her first Broadway leading role. She sings He's Only Wonderful; The World Is Your Balloon and others. Capitol/DRG 19059, 2004.
The Happiest Girl in the World. Music by Jacques Offenbach, adapted by Jay Gorney and Robert DeCormier. Score includes Adrift on a Star (to the melody of The Barcarolle). Original Broadway cast. DRG 19032, 2002.
Jamaica. Music by Harold Arlen. Original Broadway cast. Lena Horne and others perform Napoleon; I Don't Think I'll End It all Today; Monkey in the Mango; Ain't It the Truth and many others. BMG-RCA 09026-68041-2.
Gay Purr-ee. Music by Harold Arlen. Original motion picture soundtrack. Warner/Rhino RHM2 7600, 2003.
Darling of the Day. Music by Jule Styne. Original Broadway cast. Includes several little-known gems including Panache; A Gentleman's Gentleman; Let's See What Happens; Under the Sunset Tree. BMG 09026-63334-2, 1998.
Audio: Special Events
Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz? Yip Harburg, Lyricist. The fourth annual concert at the Donnell Media Center, starring Catherine Russell, Ben Harburg, John Case, Gabrielle Georgescu, Libbie Jacobson and Genevieve Koch, April 12, 2007. Conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg, with special guest Ernie Harburg (Yip's son). David Brunetti on piano. The DVD of this event is not a commercial product but is available from the Yip Harburg Foundation.
A Song Makes You Feel a Thought: Collaborations by Yip Harburg, the Gershwins and Friends. The third annual concert at the Donnell Media Center, starring Catherine Russell and Ben Harburg, with David Brunetti on piano and narration by Deena Rosenberg. April 6, 2006. The DVD of this event is not a commercial product but is available from the Yip Harburg Foundation.
The Great Songs of Yip Harburg (part of Theater for the New City's 2006 "Love'n'Courage" benefit) At this third annual benefit for the renowned downtown Manhattan theatrical venue, held on February 13, 2006, a selection of songs with Yip's lyrics was performed by Catherine Russell, Stephen Bogardus and Ben Harburg, accompanied by David Brunetti on piano. Deena Rosenberg narrated. Charles Busch and Julie Halston hosted the evening, reading Yip's poems with great timing and panache. Proceeds went to Theater for the New City's Emerging Playwrights Program as well as the Southern Rep Theater in New Orleans which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The DVD of this event is not a commercial product but is available from the Yip Harburg Foundation.
Hooray for What! Yip Harburg's Songs and Poems of Love and War. This second annual concert to celebrate the Yip Harburg Documentary Collection was held on April 7, 2005 and featured Stephen Bogardus, Catherine Russell and Diane Sutherland, as well as Ben Harburg (Yip's grandson). The concert was narrated by Deena Rosenberg, directed by Michael Montel and musical directed by David Brunetti, also on piano. The DVD and audio recording of this event are not commercial products but are available from the Yip Harburg Foundation.
Yip Harburg's Lyrics of Social Comment. A free concert held on April 8, 2004 that launched the Yip Harburg Documentary Film Collection at the Donnell Media Center, New York Public Library. The concert was conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg, directed by Michael Montel, and featured Broadway singers Stephen Bogardus, Sherry Boone, T. Oliver Reid and Diane Sutherland. The DVD and audio recording of this event are not commercial products but are available from the Yip Harburg Foundation.
Yip and Gersh: A Celebration of Two Brilliant American Lyricists - E.Y. "Yip" Harburg and Ira Gershwin. Over 20 songs with lyrics by Harburg and Gershwin are performed in this tribute held at City College of New York on June 14, 2003. Conceived by Deena Rosenberg. Directed by Michael Montel. Singers: Judy Blazer, Stephen Bogardus, Sherry Boone, Gregg Edelman, Catherine Russell. Musical Director and Pianist: David Brunetti. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Social Commentary from a Little Squirrel: Music to the Lyrics of E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. A June 14, 2003 performance by the Holy Apostles Community Chorus at the Church of the Holy Apostles in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood, directed by Jack Eppler. Several of Yip's songs are performed by this unique ensemble. Solos include "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Free and Equal Blues." Choir renditions include "Hooray for What!" and a selection of songs from Finian's Rainbow, Jamaica and Bloomer Girl. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Let's Take a Walk Around the Block: Songs by Yip Harburg, the Gershwins and Friends. A benefit for the Working Theatre of New York City held at the Cherkasky Davis Conference Center of 1199/SSEU's National Benefit and Pension Fund. Conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg. With singers Ann Crumb, Catherine Russell, Sal Viviano. Piano and musical direction by David Brunetti. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Let's Take a Walk Around the Block: Songs by Yip Harburg, the Gershwins and Friends. Benefit for the Pearl Theatre Company in New York City's East Village, June 4, 2001. Conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg, starring singer Sherry Boone and pianist-singer David Brunetti. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Fascinating Rhythms: Songs by the Gershwins, Yip Harburg and Friends. A private performance held November 15, 2000 for a dinner meeting of the Post Graduate Hospitals Alumni Association of NYU at the Water Club in New York City. Conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg. With singers Sherry Boone, Michael McElroy, Diane Sutherland and musical director-pianist Alex Rybeck. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Let's Take a Walk Around the Block. Outdoor performance held at the corner of Essex and Grand Streets in New York City on the occasion of the June 18, 2000 Lower East Side Festival. Conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg. With singers Sherry Boone, Miguel Cervantes and Tommy Hollis, joined by students from the Computers and the Arts Project (CAP) of PS 19. Conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg. Directed by Michael Montel. Musical director and pianist, Bob Goldstone. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Yip Harburg: Broadway's Social Conscience. A performance held at the New York Historical Society on April 14, 1999. Conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg. With singers Stephen Bogardus, Sherry Boone, Tommy Hollis and Nancy Opel. Musical director, David Brunetti. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
The Necessity of Rainbows. Barnes and Noble, March 7, 1997. To help promote the Yip Harburg centennial exhibition at Lincoln Center’s Billy Rose Performing Arts Library (1996-97), the Yip Harburg Foundation presented a book-signing event at Barnes and Noble book store for Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz. Speakers were Ernie Harburg and Barbara Stratyner (curator of exhibitions, NY Public Library for the Performing Arts); singers were Tommy Hollis, Nancy Opel and pianist-singer Jimmy Roberts. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Yip and Gersh. Concert featuring songs with lyrics by Yip Harburg and Ira Gershwin, fellow lyricists and lifelong best friends. Bruno Walter Auditorium, Lincoln Center, January 11, 1997. Conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg. Singers: Tommy Hollis, Liz Larsen, Nancy Opel, Sal Viviano. Pianist-singer: Jimmy Roberts. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Yip Harburg: Broadway’s Social Conscience. National Press Club, Washington, DC, November 16, 1993. Concert to launch the “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” Day campaign in which DJ’s around the country played their favorite rendition of “Dime” and then asked listeners to send donations to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Co-conceived and narrated by Deena Rosenberg. Co-conceived and directed by Mel Marvin. Singers: Sherry Boone, Betsy Joslyn, Michael McElroy. Pianist: Jimmy Roberts. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Audio: Radio Broadcasts
A Tribute to Yip Harburg. From "Footlight Parade," a nationally syndicated program hosted by Bill Rudman, this 50-minute broadcast from Spring 2003 features an interview with Ernie Harburg and several recordings. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Over the Rainbow. From BBC Radio Scotland's "Songlines" series. In this 26-minute program which was broadcast on November 10, 2002, the famous song is discussed by Ernie Harburg, Deena Rosenberg, Will Friedwald, Martin Taylor (guitarist), Alistair Savage (violinist), Rob Wasserman (musician). There are also excerpts from Yip's own talks and interviews. With recordings of the song by Judy Garland, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? From BBC Radio Scotland's "Songlines" series. Fall 2001, 26 minutes. A discussion of the classic song with Ernie Harburg, Deena Rosenberg, Georgina Boyes, Tom Waits, Billy Bragg and excerpts from Yip's own talks and interviews. With several renditions of the song by top singers through the decades. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Over the Rainbow. BBC Radio Birmingham (UK), fall 2001. A discussion of the song with Jane Horrocks (who sang it in the play and film Little Voice), John Fricke (noted Wizard of Oz historian), Ernie Harburg, Deena Rosenberg, and others. This program is available online at the BBC's website.
What Makes It So Great? "Over the Rainbow" is played and analyzed by musician Robert Kapilow. This 15-minute segment was originally aired on National Public Radio on July 16, 2001.
One Man's Vision: Yip Harburg and Finian's Rainbow. Footlight Parade (nationally syndicated program hosted by Bill Rudman). December, 2000. 52 minutes. Guest: Ernie Harburg. This recording is not a commercial product and is available only from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
A Tribute to Yip Harburg: The Man Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz. This 1996 interview of Ernie Harburg by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now (heard on Pacifica Radio and seen on independent TV stations) was first broadcast in 1996. In 2003 the Democracy Now staff added images to the interview and have been presenting it on TV every holiday season. Click here to listen online or view a transcript.
  up
Print: Biographies & Songbooks
Harold Meyerson and Ernest Harburg. Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz? Yip Harburg, Lyricist. 454 pages, black-and-white and color illustations, lyrics to dozens of songs. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1993 (hardcover), 1995 (softcover). This book is also available directly from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
The Yip Harburg Songbook. Piano/vocal sheets to 44 songs with lyrics by Yip Harburg. Contains an illustrated essay by Stephen Holden and four songs that appear here for the first time in published form: Leave the Atom Alone (Arlen, 1957); Promise Me Not to Love Me (Arlen, 1976); The Silent Spring (Arlen, 1963); and Time, You Old Gypsy Man (Springer, 1979). Warner Bros. Publications [CPP Belwin], 1994. This book is also available directly from The Yip Harburg Foundation.
Print: Books by E.Y. Harburg

Rhymes for the Irreverent. (Originally published by Grossman, NY, 1965.) Reissued by the Yip Harburg Foundation, 1999 with new illustrations by LeVan/Barbee Studio. Softcover. This book is available exclusively from The Yip Harburg Foundation.

More Rhymes for the Irreverent. Originally published as At This Point in Rhyme (NY: Crown, 1976). Reissued by the Yip Harburg Foundation, 2000 with illustrations by LeVan/Barbee Studio. Softcover.
Rhymes for the Irreverent. Just reissued (January 2006) by the Freedom from Religion Foundation. This hardcover edition incorporates the 1965 and 1976 editions of the two books cited above, plus several recently discovered, previously unpublished poems. Seymour Chwast, who illustrated the original 1965 Rhymes for the Irreverent, created new pen-and-ink drawings for this edition.
Print: Essays
Stephen Banfield. Jerome Kern. Yale Broadway Masters Series. Yale University Press, 2006. Contains a section about the songs Yip wrote with Kern for the 1944 motion picture Can't Help Singing.

Caryl Brahms and Ned Sherrin. Song by Song: 14 Great Lyric Writers. England: Ross Anderson Publications, 1984. Chapter 8: "E.Y. Harburg: Somewhere Over the Rainbow," p. 118.

Will Friedwald. Stardust Memories: A Biography of Twelve of America's Most Popular Songs. NY: Pantheon, 2002. Includes a chapter (p. 142) that describes how Yip helped composer Johnny Green and lyricist Edward Heymann create the lyric to their classic, "Body and Soul."

Philip Furia. The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of America's Great Lyricists. NY: Oxford University Press, 1990, 1992. Chapter 9: "Paper Moons: Howard Dietz and Yip Harburg."

Stanley Green. The World of Musical Comedy, 4 th ed. San Diego and NY: A.S. Barnes and Co., 1980. Chapter 14: "E.Y. Harburg, Vernon Duke, Harold Arlen, Burton Lane," p. 173.

Stephen Holden. "The Lyrics of Yip Harburg" in The Yip Harburg Songbook. Miami: CPP-Belwin, 1994. Includes 44 major songs. 

John Lahr. "The Lemon-Drop Kid" in The New Yorker. Sept. 30, 1996. Reprinted in Honky Tonk Parade, Overlook Press, 2005.

Bernard Rosenberg and Ernest Goldstein, eds., Creators and Disturbers: Reminiscences by Jewish Intellectuals of New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1982. Chapter 8: "From the Lower East Side to 'Over the Rainbow'," p. 137.
Deena Rosenberg and Harold Meyerson. Essay for The Dictionary of Literary Biography: American Song Lyricists, 1920-1960, devoted solely to great lyricists of the golden age of song writing. Spring 2002.
Benjamin Sears. Essay in 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous: Essays in American Popular Song. Forthcoming.
Max Wilk. They're Playing Our Song: Conversations with America's Classic Songwriters. New York: Atheneum, 1973; DaCapo, 1991, 1997. "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" p. 217.
William Zinsser. Easy to Remember: The Great American Songwriters and Their Songs. David R. Godine, 2001. "E.Y. Harburg and The Wizard of Oz," p. 145.
Other Print References
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. ASCAP Biographical Dictionary. 4thed. New York and London: Jaques Catrell Press and Bowker, 1980.

Steven Gould Axelrod, Camille Roman and Thomas Travisano, editors. The New Anthology of American Poetry: Volume Two: Modernisms 1900-1950. Rutgers University PressIncludes the lyrics to “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” and “Over the Rainbow.”

Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnick. Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time. NY: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2004.
Contemporary Authors, vols. 85-88. Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1980.
Current Biography, 1980. NY: H.W. Wilson.
Lehman Engel. Their Words Are Music: The Great Theatre Lyricists and Their Lyrics. NY: Crown, 1975.
David Ewen. Great Men of American Popular Song. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1972.
John Fricke, Jay Scarfone, and William Stillman. The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History. Introduction by Jack Haley, Jr. Warner, 1989.
Ira Gershwin.  Lyrics on Several Occasions. New York, Knopf: 1959. Reprint, New York: Limelight Press, 1997.
Sondra Gorney. Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? The Life of Composer Jay Gorney. The Scarecrow Press, 2005.
Martin Gottfried. Broadway Musicals. NY: H.N. Abrams, 1979.

Jack Gottlieb. Funny, It Doesn’t Sound Jewish: How Yiddish Songs and Synagogue Melodies Influenced Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, and Hollywood. State University of New York in Association with the Library of Congress, 2004.

Mark N. Grant. The Rise and Fall of the Broadway Musical. Northeastern University Press, 2004. Contains extensive passages about Yip as auteur.
Stanley Green. Ring Bells! Sing Songs! Broadway Musicals of the 1930's. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House, 1971.
Aljean Harmetz. The Making of the Wizard of Oz. New York: Knopf, 1977. 2nd edition, NY: Hyperion, 1998.
Edward Jablonski. The Encyclopedia of American Music. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981.
Edward Jablonski. Harold Arlen: Happy with the Blues. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1961.
David Jenness and Don Velsey. Classic American Popular Song: The Second Half-Century, 1950-2000. NY: Routledge, 2006. Contains commentary on several of Yip's lesser-known lyrics.

Justin Kaplan, General Editor. Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 16 th Edition. Little, Brown & Company, 1992, p. 699.

John Lahr. Notes on a Cowardly Lion: The Biography of Bert Lahr. NY: Knopf, 1969.
Ethan Mordden. Broadway Babies. NY: Oxford University Press, 1983.
Stephen Nelson. "Only a Paper Moon": The Theatre of Billy Rose. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1985, 1987. This examination of the impresario's stage career includes a discussion of some of the musical revues to which Yip contributed songs.
W. Rigdon, ed. Notable Names in the American Theatre. Clifton, NJ: J.T. White, 1976.
Deena Rosenberg. Fascinating Rhythm: The Collaboration of George and Ira Gershwin. 2nd ed. University of Michigan Press, 1997. Contains numerous quotes by Yip on his friendship with the Gershwins, his collaborations with Ira and the atmosphere of life in the world of musical theatre and film during the Golden Age of American popular songwriting.
Mary Tiegreen, Editor/Designer. Over the Rainbow. The lyric to the famous Harburg-Arlen song is illustrated with paintings by Maxfield Parrish. Welcome Press, 2006.
Who's Who. 1980-81 edition. NY: St. Martin's Press, 1981.
  up
Video

Applause (1929). The groundbreaking early talkie directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Helen Morgan; contained Yip's first film song, written with composer Jay Gorney, "What Wouldn't I Do for That Man?" One of the extra features of this DVD is Morgan's performance of the same song in another 1929 release, Glorifying the American Girl. Kino Video K323.

Office Blues (1930). One of seven Paramount musical shorts in Kino Video's DVD collection The Best of Big Bands and Swing. Contains "Can't Get Along," an early Yip Harburg-Johnny Green composition, sung by Ginger Rogers in one of her first film appearances.

They Call It Sin (1932). Yip and Jay Gorney had just made Broadway history with their classic "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" when this Warner Bros. drama was released in the fall of 1932. Their uncredited contribution to this effort is a song called "Where Are You?" which is sung in a rehearsasl scene by Clarence Nordstrom (best remembered as the "groom" in the "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" number from 42nd Street which was released a few months after this film).
Moonlight and Pretzels (Universal, 1933) was the first motion picture musical to which Yip made a substantial contribution. Inspired by the success earlier the same year of 42nd Street and Golddiggers of 1933, it’s a backstage story about a struggling songwriter (Roger Pryor). Includes “There’s a Little Bit of You in Every Love Song” (Fain), and four Harburg-Gorney songs: “Ah, But Is It Love?” “Dusty Shoes," “Moonlight and Pretzels” and “Let’s Make Love Like the Crocodiles.” This DVD was mastered directly from celluloid.

The Wizard of Oz (1939). Warner Home Video 65123. The complete film classic plus extra features. This product is available as both two- and three-disc sets, the latter boasting a new documentary about L. Frank Baum, the author of the book upon which the film was based. Both DVD sets boast a new digital transfer using "Ultra-Resolution" technology as well as a remastering of the soundtrack which features the immortal score by Yip and composer Harold Arlen.

At The Circus (1939). One of seven Marx Bros. comedies in this DVD set. Features Groucho Marx's classic rendition of "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady" (Arlen).
Warner Home Video's Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland Collection contains two films with Yip's lyrics: Babes in Arms (1939) in which the stars perform the Yip Harburg-Harold Arlen song "God's Country" in the finale, and Babes on Broadway (1941) in which Mickey Rooney and ensemble perform "Anything Can Happen in New York" Judy Garland sings "Chin Up! Cheerio! Carry On!" (both songs with music by Burton Lane).
Rio Rita (1942). This Abbott-and-Costello comedy contains one Harburg-Arlen song, "Long Before You Came Along," sung by John Carroll and Kathryn Grayson.
Ship Ahoy (1942). Highlight: "Poor You" (Lane) sung by Frank Sinatra (in his first major Hollywood film appearance), Red Skelton (to Eleanor Powell) and Virginia O'Brian (to Bert Lahr).
Panama Hattie (1942). Finale: "The Son of a Gun Who Picks on Uncle Sam" (Lane), interpolated as a finale into this film version of the Cole Porter stage musical.
Cairo (1942). Highlight: "Buds Won't Bud" (Arlen) sung by Ethel Waters with a scatted coda. Also starring Jeanette MacDonald and Robert Young.
Presenting Lily Mars (1943). Judy Garland sings "Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" (Lane) and "Paging Mr. Greenback" (Brown, Fain, Edens).
Cabin in the Sky (1943). Harburg-Arlen songs include "Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe" and "Life's Full of Consequence" sung by Ethel Waters and Lena Horne-Eddie Anderson, respectively.
DuBarry Was a Lady (1943). The Yip Harburg-Arthur Schwartz song "Salome" is sung here by Virginia O'Brien.
Thousands Cheer (1943). "Let There Be Music (Brent) and "United Nations on the March" (Rome, Shostakovich). This is not a film version of As Thousands Cheer, the 1933 Irving Berlin Broadway revue.
Kismet (1944). Marlene Dietrich sings a few bars of "Tell Me, Tell Me, Evening Star" and Joy Ann Page sings "Willow in the Wind" (both Arlen).
"Hell-Bent for Election" (1944), in Cartoongate, a collection of political animated shorts through the decades. This song was used to support the 1944 re-election campaign of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Can't Help Singing (1944). Deanna Durbin stars in this Universal release, the only project on which Yip Harburg and Jerome Kern collaborated. Includes, besides the title song, "More and More" and "Any Moment Now."
California (1947). This film, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Ray Milland, is one of four features on Universal's "Classic Western Round-Up, Volume 2" DVD and contains several songs by Yip and Earl Robinson including “Said I to My Heart, Said I” (lip-synched by Stanwyck), “California or Bust,” and “Gold Rush Montage."
April in Paris (1952). The title song (with music by Vernon Duke) is used in a number of contexts throughout this frothy Doris Day-Ray Bolger musical.
I Could Go on Singing (1963). Judy Garland's last film. Harburg and Arlen wrote the title song which she sings in the finale.
Finian's Rainbow (1968). Starring Fred Astaire and Petula Clark, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Includes all the songs from the original 1947 stage musical except "Necessity," the cutting of which is discussed by Coppola in one of the extra features.
The Great American Songbook (2003). A celebration of "100 years of music in America," hosted by Michael Feinstein. Among the songs cited are "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Over the Rainbow."
That's Entertainment (2004). A collection of all four parts of the famous retrospective of MGM musicals. On disc 1 Lena Horne sings "Ain't It de Truth?" (Harburg-Arlen) which was cut from Cabin in the Sky; on disc 3 Judy Garland sings Harburg and Arlen's "Last Night When We Were Young," cut from In the Good Old Summertime.
Broadway: The American Musical (2004). This PBS series focuses on "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" in Part 3:"I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'."
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? A 75th anniversary celebration of the classic Yip Harburg-Jay Gorney song that was known as the "anthem of the Depression." This event, which included performances of songs with lyrics by Yip Harburg, talks on the "Dime" song and extensive archival photographs and video, was held at City University of New York's Graduate Center on November 26, 2007 and featured Sheldon Harnick (lyricist of Fiddler on the Roof and protege of Yip Harburg), singer Catherine Russell, Ernie and Ben Harburg, David Brunetti and others. Conceived by Deena R. Harburg and Ernie Harburg. This is not a commercial product but copies are available from the Yip Harburg Foundation.
up
Web Sites

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: E.Y. Harburg Papers, part of the Billy Rose Theatre Collection; these materials were donated by Yip's heirs.

Yale University- a complete listing of the contents of the E.Y. Harburg Collection, part of the American Musical Theatre Collection, Irving S. Gilmore Music Library; these materials were donated by Yip in 1968

The Tams-Witmark Music Library - licensor of four of Yip's major Broadway musicals: Finian's Rainbow, Bloomer Girl, Jamaica and The Happiest Girl in the World

http://www.nfo.net/www/bigband.html - A major WorldWide Web reference source for American, Canadian, and English popular music and jazz. Many links to other Web sites

The Songwriters Hall of Fame Virtual Museum - The Yip Harburg Exhibit is one of dozens devoted to great songwriters

The Library of Congress's Show Music on Record Database - Contains discographic information for commercially-released recordings including many with lyrics by Yip

The Gorney Music Publishing web site contains biographical information, photos, videos and other material about Jay Gorney, the composer of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
Eva Cassidy's Rendition of "Over the Rainbow" is discussed at length in an essay about the late singer's affection for the song, part of the Eva Cassidy web site.
 

up


©2007 yipharburg.com