Somewhere Over the Rainbow - The Wizard of Oz (Judy Garland) - MP3 instrumental karaoke

It's hard to think of The Wizard of Oz without the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" but the beautiful ballad, sung by Judy Garland, almost didn't make it into the film. Songwriters Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg were asked to come up with songs for the 1939 film based on their success with earlier hits "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime." After watching a screening, MGM boss Louis B. Mayer deleted the song from the film saying it slowed down the action and that the lyrics were way over the heads of their targeted child audience. Several other executives including Garland's vocal coach convinced him to put it back into the film. The iconic song is ranked #1 on The Recording Industry of America's Songs of the Century list. The American Film Institute ranks "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" the greatest movie song of all time. It became Garland’s signature song. The backing track for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is available as an instrumental. Be sure to check out the other arrangements of this classic on Karaoke Version.