Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World

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."

At the time, copies of the acoustic recording were made only for Kamakawiwoʻole himself and Bertosa. 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." 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 ''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. 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. 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.*

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.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

References

1. "National Recording Registry Adds 'Rhythm Nation' Among 25 New Selections".
2. (December 6, 2010). "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: The Voice Of Hawaii". [[NPR]].
3. Kois, Dan. (January 1, 2010). "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Facing Future". A&C Black.
4. Montagne, Renee. (March 9, 2011). "Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: The Voice Of Hawaii". NPR.
5. "The Official Site of Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole {{!}} Biography".
6. Rayson, Ann. (2004). "Modern History of Hawai'i". Bess Press.
7. (March 18, 2010). "IMAX: Hubble 3D – Toronto Screen Shots".
8. Kim Grant. (2005). "Lonely Planet Hawaii". [[Lonely Planet Publications]].
9. (April 9, 2008). "Where Have You Heard Jason Castro's 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' Before?". Vulture.
10. (December 15, 2001). "Official Charts".
11. "Luxembourg Digital Songs – November 13, 2010".
12. (October 19, 2025). "מדיה פורסט {{ndash}} המצעד הבינלאומי השבועי {{ndash}} Week 42 {{ndash}} 12/10 {{ndash}} 18/10/2025". [[Media Forest]].
13. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2010".
14. "Tops de L'année {{!}} Top Singles 2010". [[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
15. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2010". [[GfK Entertainment]].
16. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2010".
17. "Tops de L'année {{!}} Top Singles 2011". [[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
18. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2011". [[GfK Entertainment]].
19. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2011".
20. "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.". [[GfK Entertainment]].
21. Trust, Gary. (21 October 2014). "Chart Beat – Ask Billboard: The Weird Connections Between Mary Lambert & Madonna". [[Prometheus Global Media]].