Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"
Single by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
from the album Ka ʻAnoʻi and Facing Future
Released 1990 (K'A)
November 1, 1993 (FF)
Recorded 1988
Genre
Length 5:08
Label Big Boy Records

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" (also known as "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World") is a medley of the songs "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World", by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole and released on his albums Ka ʻAnoʻi and Facing Future.

Recording history

The song was originally recorded in a spur-of-the-moment demo session in 1988. Israel called the recording studio at 3 am, and was given 15 minutes to arrive by recording engineer Milan Bertosa. Bertosa is quoted as saying ″And in walks the largest human being I had seen in my life. 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."[1]

At the time, copies of the recording were only made for Kamakawiwoʻole himself and Bertosa.[2] 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."[3] In 1993, five years after the original recording, Bertosa played the song for producer Jon de Mello while the two were completing work on Facing Future, and de Mello decided to include it in the album as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World".[2]

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" reached #12 on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004).

According to the Israel Kamakawiwoʻole website, Universal Studios first became interested in using the song in the movie and on the soundtrack for Meet Joe Black after director Martin Brest became interested in it.[4] 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; 50 First Dates; Fred Claus; Happy, Happy; The Healer; and IMAX: Hubble 3D.[5][6] It was also featured on TV series like Charmed, ER, Scrubs, Cold Case, Glee, the UK original version of Life On Mars, and more.[7][8]

The song is still receiving airplay from Hawaiian and adult alternative-formatted radio stations.

Other cover versions

Other artists have recorded the medley as well. Cliff Richard recorded his own version of the medley, released as a single from the 2001 album Wanted, which peaked at #11 on the UK Official Charts in 2001.[9]

Aselin Debison recorded the medley for her 2002 album Sweet Is the Melody. Elisabeth von Trapp included her interpretation of the medley in her album Poetic License, released in June 2004.[10]

During season seven of American Idol, Jason Castro performed a cover of the song for his "Top 8" performance.[8][11][12] Maddie Poppe and Caleb Lee Hutchinson performed the song as a duet during the grand finale of season sixteen of American Idol.[13]

Chart performance

References

  1. ↑ "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: The Voice Of Hawaii". 50 Great Voices. NPR. December 6, 2010. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2015. 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.
  2. 1 2 Montagne, Renee (March 9, 2011). "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: The Voice Of Hawaii". NPR. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  3. ↑ Kois, Dan (1 January 2010). Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Facing Future. A&C Black. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-8264-2905-6.
  4. ↑ de Mello, Jon. "The Official Site of Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole | Biography". izhawaii.com. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Rayson, Ann (2004). Modern History of Hawai'i. Bess Press. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-57306-209-1.
  6. ↑ "IMAX: Hubble 3D – Toronto Screen Shots". 18 March 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  7. ↑ Kim Grant; Glenda Bendure; Michael Clark Ned Friary; Conner Gorry; Luci Yamamoto (2005). Lonely Planet Hawaii (7th ed.). Lonely Planet Publications. p. 97. ISBN 978-1-74059-871-2.
  8. 1 2 Williamson, Matthew (April 9, 2008). "Where Have You Heard Jason Castro's 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' Before?". Vulture. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Official Charts". December 15, 2001. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  10. ↑ http://elisabethvontrapp.com/biography/ Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  11. ↑ Harris, Chris (April 9, 2008). "'American Idol' Hopeful Jason Castro's Secret Weapon: Bruddah Iz". MTV News. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  12. ↑ Paiva, Derek (April 9, 2008). ""American Idol" does Iz's "Over the Rainbow"". Hawaii Magazine. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  13. ↑ Dugan, Christina (May 21, 2018). "Maddie Poppe Wins Season 16 of American Idol — and Is Dating Runner-Up Caleb Lee Hutchinson!". People. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – Over the Rainbow" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW / WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW / WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – Over the Rainbow". Tracklisten. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – Over the Rainbow" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Luxembourg Digital Songs - November 13, 2010". Billboard.
  21. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – Over the Rainbow" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW / WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD". Singles Top 100. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Israel Kamakawiwoʻole – Over the Rainbow". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2013". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  26. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Israel Kamakawiwo' Ole; 'Over the Rainbow')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  27. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole; 'Over the Rainbow')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  28. ↑ "British single certifications – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole – Somewhere over the Rainbow". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Somewhere over the Rainbow in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  29. ↑ "American single certifications – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 22 March 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  30. ↑ Trust, Gary (October 21, 2014). "Ask Billboard: The Weird Connections Between Mary Lambert & Madonna". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
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