Why Dylan's a fan of Harold Arlen

In Dylan’s Words ”In Harold’s songs, I could hear rural blues and folk music. There was an emotional kinship there. I couldn’t help but notice it… I could never escape from the bittersweet, lonely world of Harold Arlen.”

Let Us Explain Arlen (above right, with Ruth Etting on the set of 1933’s Let’s Fall in Love) only has one genuine solo album (1966’s Harold Sings Arlen, featuring a young, supple Barbara Streisand), and it’s not even available on CD. Yet his legacy lives on through the golden-age tunes he penned for jazz performers, pop vocalists, and Broadway, including ”Over the Rainbow,” ”Get Happy,” ”I’ve Got the World on a String,” and his most recognized contribution to the fabric of American popular culture, songs for The Wizard of Oz.

Suggested Spin If you can find a copy, either in an MP3 or vinyl, Harold Sings Arlen (1966, Vox Cum Laude) is an relic worth recovering.

On the Web
Official Site
Start Searching This searchable Composition Catalogue is a crucial filter for more than 400 Arlen songs, written during five decades
Listen and Learn Read about and hear one of Arlen’s American classics