Biography
Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; 15 February 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an American composer of popular songs. Born in Buffalo, New York, the son of a cantor, he left school as a teenager and moved to New York City, where he worked as a pianist, singer and arranger with dance bands before concentrating on composition.
In the late 1920s he began a successful partnership with lyricist Ted Koehler, writing numbers for Harlem’s Cotton Club revues. From the mid-1930s he collaborated with E. Y. “Yip” Harburg on stage and screen scores, including the songs for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, among them “Over the Rainbow”. In the 1940s he worked frequently with Johnny Mercer on film songs such as “Blues in the Night” and “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)”.
Arlen also contributed to Broadway musicals including Hooray for What? (1937), Bloomer Girl (1944) and St. Louis Woman (1946). His film credits include songs for A Star Is Born (1954) and The Country Girl (1954).
