"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" (also known as "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World") is a medley of " Over the Rainbow" and "

What a Wonderful World "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single. It topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poor ...

", recorded by Hawaiian singer

Israel Kamakawiwoʻole Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (; meaning 'the fearless eye, the bold face'; May 20, 1959June 26, 1997), also called Bruddah Iz or just simply IZ, was a Hawaiian musician, singer, songwriter, and Hawaiian sovereignty activist. He achieved c ...

. First released on the 1990 album ''

Ka ʻAnoʻi Ka Anoi (English: ''The Desire'') is the debut album by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Production The album includes an upbeat Jawaiian version of Kamakawiwoʻole's popular medley blending " Over the Rainbow" with "What a Wonderful World ...

'', an acoustic rendition of the medley became notable after its release on his 1993 album '' Facing Future''. In 2020, it was selected for preservation in the United States

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Recording history

The song was originally recorded in a spur-of-the-moment demo session in 1988. Israel called the recording studio at 3am, and was given a 15-minute deadline to arrive by recording engineer Milan Bertosa. Bertosa recalled, “Israel was probably like 500 pounds. And the first thing at hand is to find something for him to sit on." The building security found Israel a large steel chair. "Then I put up some microphones, do a quick sound check, roll tape, and the first thing he does is 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' He played and sang, one take, and it was over." At the time, copies of the acoustic recording were made only for Kamakawiwoʻole himself and Bertosa. The song was re-recorded as an "upbeat Jawaiian version" for Kamakawiwoʻole's debut album ''Ka ʻAnoʻi'', listed as "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World." In 1993, five years after the original recording, Bertosa played the acoustic version for producer Jon de Mello while the two were completing work on ''Facing Future'', and de Mello decided to include it on the album as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World". "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" reached number 12 on ''Billboards Hot Digital Tracks chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004).

Impact in popular culture

According to the Israel Kamakawiwoʻole website,

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

first became interested in using the song in the movie and on the soundtrack for ''

Meet Joe Black ''Meet Joe Black'' is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film directed and produced by Martin Brest, and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Claire Forlani. The screenplay was written by Bo Goldman, Kevin Wade, Ron Osborn, and Jeff Reno, and ...

'' after director

Martin Brest Martin Brest (born August 8, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Education Brest was born in the Bronx, New York, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1969, from New York University's School of the Arts in 1 ...

became interested in it. Kamakawiwoʻole's recording of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" has been used on other soundtracks as well, including the soundtracks for ''

Finding Forrester ''Finding Forrester'' is a 2000 American drama film written by Mike Rich and directed by Gus Van Sant. In the film, a black teenager, Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown (actor), Rob Brown), is invited to attend a prestigious private high school. By chance ...

;'' ''

50 First Dates ''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the story of Henry, a womanizing ...

;'' ''

Fred Claus ''Fred Claus'' is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film directed by David Dobkin, screenplay by Dan Fogelman and a story by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Eliz ...

;'' '' Happy, Happy;'' ''

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School Randall Miller (born July 24, 1962) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and occasional actor. He directed ''Bottle Shock'', ''CBGB'', ''Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School'', ''Nobel Son'', '' The 6th Man' ...

;'' ''The Healer''; and '' IMAX: Hubble 3D''. It was also featured on TV series like '' Charmed'', '' ER'', '' Scrubs'', ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

'', '' Glee,'' the UK original version of ''

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,'' and more.

Other cover versions

Other artists have recorded the medley as well.

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

recorded his own version of the medley, released as a single from the 2001 album '' Wanted'', which peaked at number 11 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 2001.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Somewhere over the Rainbow What a Wonderful World Hawaiian music Music medleys 1993 songs 1993 singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles American reggae songs United States National Recording Registry recordings