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Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole on B101.1
- Thread starter Miguelito
- Start date
They've definitely played it before (just not as often as say, Pink, or Maroon 5.) I remember because I always laugh thinking "How many tries did the voiceover artist who do the song tags take to get it right?"
I was thinking the same thing. I have the song on my iPod and I look at the artist's name and I'm like, "Well, I could never say that." It's a tough one for sure! When the song tag played, I wondered if even she had said it correctly. haha.
Who's going to quibble with her? 
Who's going to quibble with her?
In my mind's eye, I've decided she looks like Janet from The Good Place.
He frequently shortened his name to "Iz", so they could've gone with that.
This is an unusual song. It's something we all know, from The Wizard of Oz, sung by Judy Garland. But this version was never a hit.
However, it's been featured in numerous commercials. I also remember it was played as Anthony Edward's character, Dr. Green, was dying in the TV medical drama "ER." The song was featured extensively in that episode. So even if it never was heard on Top 40 radio, most of us have been exposed to the Israel Kamakawiwo'ole version. There is a Wikpedia page devoted to it as "Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World." He did it at 3 a.m. in one take, according to the write up. The song charted as a minor hit in the U.K., Scotland and Ireland, but not in the U.S.
And finally, Kamakawiwo'ole passed away back in 1997. So it's not like he can promote the song today. The only radio station I've heard it played on is KTWV Los Angeles, 94.7 The Wave. It aired during the Smooth Jazz era and continues to rotate these days on The Wave in its Urban AC/Smooth AC format.
WBEB is noted for its extensive research of its playlist. So this song must be testing well, and WBEB is wise enough to test it, even though it has no U.S. chart history.
However, it's been featured in numerous commercials. I also remember it was played as Anthony Edward's character, Dr. Green, was dying in the TV medical drama "ER." The song was featured extensively in that episode. So even if it never was heard on Top 40 radio, most of us have been exposed to the Israel Kamakawiwo'ole version. There is a Wikpedia page devoted to it as "Somewhere Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World." He did it at 3 a.m. in one take, according to the write up. The song charted as a minor hit in the U.K., Scotland and Ireland, but not in the U.S.
And finally, Kamakawiwo'ole passed away back in 1997. So it's not like he can promote the song today. The only radio station I've heard it played on is KTWV Los Angeles, 94.7 The Wave. It aired during the Smooth Jazz era and continues to rotate these days on The Wave in its Urban AC/Smooth AC format.
WBEB is noted for its extensive research of its playlist. So this song must be testing well, and WBEB is wise enough to test it, even though it has no U.S. chart history.
It's interesting how the song has re-charted several times and has been used in numerous ways in just the last few years:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Kamakawiwoʻole
Typically they will do that whenever a song charts, and this one has charted multiple times.
The thing that revived interest was its use in an Axe deodorant commercial in 2004 and 2010.
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