E.Y. "Yip" Harburg on AllMovie

American lyricist E.Y. Harburg helped create many American standards. Some of his most famous songs included "Brother Can You spare a Dime?" "It's Only a Paper Moon," "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" and many of the songs for The Wizard of Oz (1939) including the Oscar-winning "Over the Rainbow." Before becoming a lyricist, Harburg graduated from City College, New York and then ran an electrical appliance shop. In 1929, he launched his distinguished song-writing career and went on to work with such great composers as Vernon Duke and Jerome Kern, but his best known collaborations are with Harold Arlen.