Question: What is the restaurant Annie and Walter are sitting in that looks out onto the Empire State Building?
Question: Can anyone tell me the name of the artist who sings a jazz version of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' played when Tom Hanks finishes talking on the radio for the first time? And where can I buy this version of the song?
Answer: Ray Charles is the singer who performs this version of "Somewhere over the Rainbow" - this is not on the original movie soundtrack, but you may be able to find a Ray Charles album where this song is included.
I found an album by Ray Charles "Genius Loves Company By Ray Charles, Ray Charles And the Count Basie Orchestra" where "Over the Rainbow" is one of the songs, but it's not the same rendition as in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle." I can't fine the movie version anywhere.
Try the Ray Charles album "Genius Loves Company." It's a collections of duets and he sings "Over the Rainbow" with Johnny Mathis. It was supposedly recorded sometime between 2003 and 2004, but his lines sounds like what's in the film. So I don't know if it's just him reprising an older version he did that was used in the film, or if it's the older version with Mathis' lines mixed in. I couldn't find anything earlier.
Question: What is the Big Band song playing as the taxi drives over the bridge?
Answer: It's called Empire State Montage by Hugo W. Friedhofer.
Answer: That would be the Rainbow Room which is located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the iconic skyscraper in Rockefeller Center.
Super Grover