Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World

"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", recorded by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. First released on the 1990 album Ka ʻAnoʻi, an acoustic rendition of the medley became notable after its release on his 1993 album Facing Future.

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"
Cover art of the 2010 re-release
Single by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
from the album Ka ʻAnoʻi and Facing Future
Released	November 23, 1990 (KʻA) November 1, 1993 (FF)
Recorded	1989 (KʻA) 1988 (FF)
Genre	Hawaii reggae world
Length	5:08
Label	Big Boy Records
Songwriter(s)	Harold Arlen Yip Harburg Bob Thiele George David Weiss
Music video
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" on YouTube
Audio sample
file help

The song became a sleeper hit, after charting across Europe in 2010 and 2011 and in the meanwhile being featured in numerous film and TV soundtracks throughout the 2000s and 2010s. In 2020, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[1]

Recording history

The song was originally recorded in a spur-of-the-moment demo session in 1988. Israel called the recording studio at 3 A.M., 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."^[2]

At the time, copies of the acoustic recording were made only for Kamakawiwoʻole himself and Bertosa.^[3] The song was re-recorded the following year as an "upbeat Jawaiian version" for Kamakawiwoʻole's debut album Ka ʻAnoʻi, listed as "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World."^[4] 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".^[3]

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" reached number 12 on Billboard's 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 first became interested in using the song in the movie and on the soundtrack for the 1998 film Meet Joe Black after director Martin Brest became interested in it.^[5] 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; Hubble; and The Healer.^[6][7] It was also featured on TV series such as ER, Charmed, Scrubs, Cold Case, the UK original version of Life on Mars, Glee, and more.^[8][9]

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 number 11 on the UK Singles Chart in 2001.^[10]

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" Chart (2010–2011) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 4 Denmark (Tracklisten)[12] 35 France (SNEP)[13] 1 Germany (GfK)[14] 1 Hungary (Single Top 40)[15] 22 Luxembourg Digital Songs (Billboard)[16] 1 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[17] 10 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 3 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[19] 22

Year-end charts 2010 year-end chart performance for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" Chart (2010) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20] 28 France (SNEP)[21] 16 Germany (Official German Charts)[22] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 39 2011 year-end chart performance for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" Chart (2011) Position France (SNEP)[24] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[25] 37 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 16 Decade-end charts Decade-end chart performance for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" Chart (2010–2019) Position Germany (Official German Charts)[27] 16

Certifications

Certifications for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[28]	Platinum	30,000*
Belgium (BEA)[29]	Platinum	30,000*
Germany (BVMI)[30]	2× Platinum	600,000^
Italy (FIMI)[31]	Gold	25,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[32]	2× Platinum	60,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33]	Platinum	600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[34]	Platinum	4,200,000[35]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• World Digital Song Sales

References

1. "National Recording Registry Adds 'Rhythm Nation' Among 25 New Selections". Library of Congress. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
2. "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: The Voice Of Hawaii". 50 Great Voices. NPR. December 6, 2010. 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.
3. Montagne, Renee (March 9, 2011). "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: The Voice Of Hawaii". NPR. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
4. Kois, Dan (January 1, 2010). Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Facing Future. A&C Black. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-8264-2905-6.
5. de Mello, Jon. "The Official Site of Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole | Biography". izhawaii.com. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
6. Rayson, Ann (2004). Modern History of Hawai'i. Bess Press. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-57306-209-1.
7. "IMAX: Hubble 3D – Toronto Screen Shots". March 18, 2010. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
8. 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.
9. Williamson, Matthew (April 9, 2008). "Where Have You Heard Jason Castro's 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' Before?". Vulture. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
10. "Official Charts". Official Charts. December 15, 2001. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
11. "Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
12. "Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow". Tracklisten. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
13. "Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
14. "Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
15. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
16. "Luxembourg Digital Songs – November 13, 2010". Billboard.
17. "Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
18. "Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
19. "Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
20. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2010". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved April 28, 2020.
21. "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2010" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
22. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2010" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
23. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2010". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved April 28, 2020.
24. "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2011" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
25. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2011" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
26. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2011". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved April 28, 2020.
27. "Weiter geht's mit den Plätzen 17 und 16 unseres Jahrzehnte-Rankings. Diese sichern sich Bonez MC/ RAF Camora/ Maxwell ("Ohne mein Team") & Israel Kamakawiwo'ole ("Over The Rainbow") bei den Singles sowie @rsprachrohr ("Rammstein") & Santiano ("Mit den Gezeiten") bei den Alben" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved December 31, 2019 – via Twitter.
28. "Austrian single certifications – Israel IZ Kamakawiwoole – Over the Rainbow (Single)" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
29. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2013". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
30. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Israel Kamakawiwo' Ole; 'Over The Rainbow')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
31. "Italian single certifications – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 22, 2021. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Over the Rainbow" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
32. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Over The Rainbow')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
33. "British single certifications – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole – Somewhere Over The Rainbow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
34. "American single certifications – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole – Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
35. Trust, Gary (October 21, 2014). "Chart Beat – Ask Billboard: The Weird Connections Between Mary Lambert & Madonna". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on November 30, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2021.

External links

• Music video on YouTube
• Audio on YouTube
• Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World at Discogs (list of releases)