Arlen, Harold

Composer Harold Aden's best-remembered creations are undoubtedly some of the songs he wrote for the movie The Wizard of Oz, including “Over the Rainbow,” and “Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead.” It was, however, by infusing the traditional music of Broadway with stylistic elements of blues and jazz, that Arlen influenced the popular songs of his era. He took these innovations to Hollywood in the formative days of the movie musical, and his tuneful, often mournful...