THE DEMENSIONS
Over the Rainbow
The original Academy Award-winning version of "Over the Rainbow" was written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg (nickname: "Yip") as part of their soundtrack for MGM's 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Famously sung by a 17-year-old Judy Garland (recorded in the fall of 1938), it was featured six minutes into the film's early, sepiatoned rural Kansas segment, a song that became so popular it paved the way for a hundred or more recorded versions throughout the years. Several covers were released around the time of the film's theatrical debut in August 1939; Glenn Miller rushed one out with vocalist Ray Eberle (with Oz fave "Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead," featuring Marion Hutton, on the flip side) and this Bluebird Records disc reached number one in September. Larry Clinton did one on Victor with vocalist Bea Wain at the same time.
Nearly a year after she'd done the version heard in the movie, Judy recorded a new take with Victor Young's orchestra for Decca, released in September of 1939. While this radio-ready rendition made the top ten, she was overshadowed, saleswise, by Miller's disc and another by Bob Crosby, also on Decca, that peaked at number two. Yet to many, whether they be Hollywood insiders, music critics or the fans themselves, the song (sometimes labeled as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"), Judy's barnyard Oz version in particular, is considered one of the greatest compositions ever written or performed. Accolades came quickly: on February 29, 1940, Arlen and Harburg were awarded the Oscar for Best Song from a Motion Picture. Then 20 years later, after the film's well-received television debut that led to high-rated yearly broadcasts, an up-and-coming vocal group from the Bronx, New York made changes to the melody, adjusted the tempo, altered the arrangement...and the song made its return to the top 40.
Lenny Del Guidice (henceforth known as Lenny Dell) grew up in a musical family, the son of Lou Dell, a successful trumpeter and Latin-style percussionist who'd worked with the Tommy Dorsey and Paul Whiteman orchestras and "Brazilian Bombshell" Carmen Miranda. In the late '50s, Lenny formed a vocal group at Christopher Columbus High School in the Pelham Parkway district with baritone/bass singer Howie Margolin and tenor Charlie Peterson. Fans of The Platters and The Skyliners and their female members (Zola Taylor and Janet Vogel, respectively), they embarked on a search for a similar singer. Marisa Martelli, a recently-arrived Italian immigrant who lived a short hop away on City Island in the Bronx, was made to order. In an effort to stand out, they decided to take old standards and contemporize them a bit. Choosing the name Dimensions, they tweaked that as well to The Demensions.
While eavesdropping on their practice sessions, Lenny's dad was impressed with "Over the Rainbow" and put them in touch with Irv Spice, a bandleader-bass player he'd worked with at the Copacabana who'd just started a small label, Mohawk Records. Irv singed them, though shortly before a scheduled session in Manhatttan, Charlie dropped out, buckling under pressure from his parents to concentrate on his studies and give up on what they felt was musical nonsense. Scrambling for a replacement, they called on Lenny's uncle, Phil Del Guidice, at 34 roughly twice the age of the other three. Well aware they would never surpass Garland's iconic performance, the quartet instead made noticeable changes to the melody and slight shifts to the tempo while arranger Seymour Barab (his specialty: composing modern operas) built an arrangement to match. This was actually not unprecedented, as Garland herself had been altering her renditions slightly through the years in an effort to keep the song fresh. With an uptempo ditty by Howie and Lenny called "Nursery Rhime Rock" on the B side, the Mohawk single was pressed and sent to radio stations.
New York top 40 powerhouse WMGM jumped on it first in June 1960 and WBIG in Philadelphia quickly followed; both stations were emphasizing vocal group harmonies as the so-called "doo wop revival" was underway with both established '50s hits and their newer counterparts sharing airtime. Appearances on American Bandstand and extensive touring (Marisa's dad handling road manager duties as a way to protect his daughter from the wily ways of a mostly-male music business). In August, the single reached the top 20 of the national charts. Follow-up Mohawk efforts included full-on uptempo doo wopper "Zing Went the Strings of My Heart" (another hit song for Garland in 1943) and "A Tear Fell," a ballad penned by Marisa. In early '61, Irv Spice sold their contract to Coral Records, which allowed them to work with more seasoned pros. Retreads of standards like "Again," "As Time Goes By" and "Young at Heart" remained close to the "Rainbow" formula and failed to connect.
They scored another chart single in early 1963 with "My Foolish Heart," the Victor Young-Ned Washington title tune from the 1949 drama film starring Susan Hayward. After this small success, Lenny Dell's name was placed up front in the billing of all releases through the end of their Coral contract in 1965, the later efforts lacking Marisa's vocals as she left show business to marry and start a family. The whole group split in the mid-'60s while Henry Jerome, who'd produced most of the the quartet's Coral output, joined United Artists and took Lenny with him as a solo singer. Two singles in 1968, including a swinging, uptempo remake of "Over the Rainbow," were released. Lenny Dell continued performing for many years, often as a piano bar player and singer offering a variety of English, Italian and Spanish songs and, of course, the signature hit he shared with a certain legendary movie star.
The song prominently lives on as many modern artists have put their own spin on it, though the amazing original that first stimulated our ears via that Kansas farm does, and will always, tower above them all. Mohawk head Irv Spice received a delightful prize fit for framing: shortly after The Demensions' "Over the Rainbow" made its mid-1960 impact, Judy Garland sent him a telegram complimenting the group on the nice job they'd done with their version. Validation from the highest source!
