Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composeMusical composition is:* an original piece of music* the structure of a musical piece* the process of creating a new piece of music- Musical compositions :...
r of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the
lyricistA lyricist is a writer who specializes in song lyrics, usually paid for by a band to write a custom song. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-songwriter, who also composes the song's melody in addition to the lyrics.- Collaboration...
s
Lorenz HartRodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Lorenz Hart...
and
Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American writer, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song", and much of his work is part of the unofficial Great...
. His compositions have had a significant impact on
popular musicPopular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres, and stands in contrast to art music, and traditional music which was disseminated orally...
down to the present day, and have an enduring broad appeal.
Rodgers is one of only two persons to have won an Oscar, a
GrammyThe Grammy Awards —or Grammys—are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry...
, an
EmmyThe Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards and Tony Awards .They are presented in various...
, a
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and...
, and a
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
(
Marvin HamlischMarvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only two people to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Tony, a Golden Globe and a Pulitzer Prize .-Early life and career:...
is the other).
Early years
Born into a prosperous Jewish family in
Arverne, QueensArverne is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, on the Rockaway Peninsula. It was initially developed by Remington Vernam, whose signature "R. Vernam" inspired the name of the neighborhood. Arverne extends from Beach 56th Street to Beach 79th Street, along its main thoroughfare...
,
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, Rodgers was the son of Mamie Levy and of Dr. William Abrahams Rodgers, a prominent physician who had changed the family name from Abrahams. Richard began playing the piano at age six. He attended P.S. 10, Townsend Harris Hall and
DeWitt Clinton High SchoolDeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the New York City borough of the Bronx.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in...
. Rodgers spent his early teenage summers in Camp Wigwam (Waterford, ME) where he composed some of his first songs. Rodgers,
Lorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include, "Blue Moon", "Isn't It Romantic?", "Mountain Greenery", "The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Where or When", "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered", "Falling in...
, and Rodgers's later collaborator
Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American writer, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song", and much of his work is part of the unofficial Great...
all attended
Columbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City...
. During his time at Columbia he became a member of the
Pi Lambda PhiPi Lambda Phi is a college social fraternity founded by Frederick Manfred Werner, Louis Samter Levy, and Henry Mark Fisher at Yale University in 1895...
fraternity. In 1921, Rodgers shifted his studies to the Institute of Musical Art (now Juilliard). Rodgers was influenced by composers like
Victor HerbertVictor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor who is best known for his many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway. He was prominent among the tin pan alley composers and later a founder of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and...
and
Jerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of popular music. He wrote around 700 songs, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight", and "Who?", a 6-week number 1 hit for...
, as well as by the
operettaOperetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Operetta in French:...
s his parents took him to see on
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
when he was a child.
Rodgers and Hart
In 1919, Richard met
Lorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include, "Blue Moon", "Isn't It Romantic?", "Mountain Greenery", "The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Where or When", "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered", "Falling in...
, thanks to Phillip Leavitt, a friend of Richard's older brother.
Rodgers and HartRodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Lorenz Hart...
struggled for years in the field of musical comedy, writing a number of amateur shows. They made their professional debut with the song "Any Old Place With You", featured in the 1919 Broadway musical comedy
A Lonely Romeo. Their first professional production was the 1920
Poor Little Ritz Girl. Their next professional show,
The Melody Man, did not premiere until 1924.
When he was just out of college Rodgers worked as musical director for
Lew FieldsLew Fields , born Moses Schoenfeld, was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager and producer....
. Amongst the stars he accompanied were
Nora BayesNora Bayes was a popular American singer, comedienne and actress of the early 20th century.-Early life and career:...
and
Fred AllenFred Allen , born John Florence Sullivan, was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and...
. Rodgers was considering quitting show business altogether to sell children's underwear, when he and Hart finally broke through in 1925. They wrote the songs for a benefit show presented by the prestigious
Theatre GuildThe Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1919 by Theresa Helburn, Lawrence Langner, and Armina Marshall. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players....
, called
The Garrick GaietiesThe Garrick Gaieties is a revue with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, the first of many musicals by this songwriting team....
, and the critics found the show fresh and delightful. Only meant to run one day, the Guild knew they had a success and allowed it to re-open later. The show's biggest hit — the song that Rodgers believed "made" Rodgers and Hart — was "
Manhattan"Manhattan" is a popular song. It has been performed by Lee Wiley, Blossom Dearie, Tony Martin and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. It was also performed by Anne Bancroft, in the role of a lounge singer, in the 1952 movie Don't Bother to Knock....
." The two were now a Broadway songwriting force.
Throughout the rest of the decade, the duo wrote several hit shows for both Broadway and London, including
Dearest EnemyDearest Enemy is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. This was the first of eight book musicals written by the songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart and writer Herbert Field...
(1925),
The Girl FriendThe Girl Friend is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields. This was the longest running show to date for the trio.-Production:...
(1926),
Peggy-AnnPeggy-Ann is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields, based on the 1910 musical Tillie’s Nightmare by Edgar Smith.-Production:...
(1926),
A Connecticut Yankee (1927), and
Present ArmsPresent Arms is a Broadway musical comedy that opened April 26, 1928, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields. It was produced by Lew Fields with musical numbers stage by Busby Berkeley. It ran for 155 performances at the Lew Fields' Mansfield Theatre.The...
(1928). Their 1920s shows produced standards such as "
Here in My Arms"Here in My Arms" is a popular song.The music was written by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart. The song was published in 1925.The song was introduced in the Broadway musical Dearest Enemy, and has become a standard recorded by many artists....
", "
Mountain Greenery"Mountain Greenery" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical The Garrick Gaieties .-Notable recordings:* Roger Wolfe Kahn and his Orchestra recorded on May 27, 1926....
", "
Blue Room"Blue Room" is a show tune from the 1926 Rodgers and Hart musical The Girl Friend, where it was introduced by Eva Puck and Sammy White.It was featured in the 1948 film Words and Music, where it was sung by Perry Como, who played Eddie Lorrison Anders....
", "
My Heart Stood Still"My Heart Stood Still" is a 1927 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical A Connecticut Yankee , where it was introduced by Constance Carpenter and William Gaxton.-Notable recordings:...
" and "
You Took Advantage of Me"You Took Advantage of Me" is a 1928 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the musical Present Arms , where it was introduced by Joyce Barbour and Busby Berkeley.-Notable recordings:...
."
With the
DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
in full swing during the first half of the 1930s, the team sought greener pastures in Hollywood. The hardworking Rodgers later regretted these relatively fallow years, but he and Hart did write a number of classic songs and film scores while out west, including
Love Me TonightLove Me Tonight is a 1932 musical comedy film which tells the story of a penniless nobleman who moves a tailor to whom he owes money into his chateau and passes him off as nobility. It stars Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Charles Ruggles, Charles Butterworth and Myrna Loy. It was directed...
(1932) (directed by
Rouben MamoulianRouben Mamoulian was an Armenian-American film and theatre director.-Biography:Born in Tbilisi, Georgia to an Armenian family, Rouben relocated to England and started directing plays in London in 1922...
, who would later direct Rodgers'
Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
on Broadway), which introduced three standards: "
Lover"Lover" is a popular song written by Richard Rodgers, with words by Lorenz Hart. It was featured in the movie Love Me Tonight .-Recorded versions:*Louis Armstrong & His All Stars *Count Basie*Tony Bennett...
", "
Mimi"Mimi" is a popular song written by Richard Rodgers, with words by Lorenz Hart. It was featured in the movie Love Me Tonight , in which it was first sung by Maurice Chevalier to Jeanette MacDonald, then later reprised by the entire company....
", and "
Isn't It Romantic?"Isn't It Romantic?" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It has a 32-bar chorus in ABAC form. Alec Wilder, in his book American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900-1950 calls it "a perfect song."It was...
." Rodgers also wrote a melody for which Hart wrote three consecutive lyrics which either were cut, not recorded or not a hit. The fourth lyric resulted in one of their most famous songs, "
Blue Moon"Blue Moon" is a classic popular song. It was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934, and has become a standard ballad.-Lyrics:The lyrics presumably refer to an English idiomatic expression: "once in a blue moon" means very rarely...
." Other film work includes the scores to
The Phantom President (1932), starring
George M. CohanGeorge Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and producer. Known as "the man who owned Broadway" in the decade before World War I, he is considered the father of American musical comedy...
,
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933), starring
Al JolsonAl Jolson was an American singer, comedian, and actor. According to PBS, he is considered the "first openly Jewish man to become an entertainment star in America"...
, and, in a quick return after having left Hollywood,
Mississippi (1935), starring
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American popular singer and actor whose career stretched over more than half a century from 1926 until his death....
and W.C. Fields.
In 1935, they returned to Broadway and began writing with a vengeance, resulting in an almost unbroken string of hit shows that ended only with Hart's death in 1943. Among the most notable are
JumboJumbo is a musical produced by Billy Rose, with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and book by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.-Production:...
(1935),
On Your ToesOn Your Toes is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart.While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Donal III tries to persuade Sergei Alexandrovich, the director of the Russian Ballet, to stage the jazz...
(1936, which included the ballet "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue", choreographed by George Balanchine),
Babes in ArmsBabes in Arms is a 1937 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a teen-age boy who puts on a show with his friends to avoid being sent to a work farm.- Production history:...
(1937),
I Married an AngelI Married An Angel is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It is based on a Hungarian play by Johann Vaszary. Rodgers and Hart wrote a number of songs for an unproduced film musical based on the same play in 1933.-1938 Broadway...
(1938),
The Boys from SyracuseThe Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporary rhythms of the 1930s...
(1938),
Pal Joey (1940), and their last original work,
By JupiterBy Jupiter is a musical with a book by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart.Based on the play The Warrior's Husband by Julian F. Thompson, it's set in the land of the Amazons, where the women rule and do battle while the men stay at home, mind the children, and buy...
(1942). Rodgers also contributed to the book on several of these shows.
Many of the songs from these shows are still sung and remembered, including "
The Most Beautiful Girl in the WorldThe Most Beautiful Girl in the World may refer to:*"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" , a 1935 song by Rodgers and Hart*"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" , a 1994 song by Prince...
", "
My Romance"My Romance" is a popular song, with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was written for Billy Rose's musical, Jumbo, in 1935. In the 1962 movie version, Doris Day performed the song. It is featured in a commercial for Ralph Lauren's Romance fragrance...
", "
Little Girl Blue"Little Girl Blue" is a popular song with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, published in 1935.The song was introduced in the Broadway musical Jumbo by Gloria Grafton....
", "
I'll Tell the Man in the Street"I'll Tell the Man in the Street" is a song first introduced by Dennis King in the 1938 stage musical I Married An Angel.The song was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.-Nelson Eddy:...
", "
There's a Small Hotel"There's a Small Hotel" is a 1936 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart originally written for but dropped from the musical "Billy Rose's Jumbo" , then used in On Your Toes , where it was introduced by Ray Bolger and Doris Carson and also interpolated in the film...
", "
Where or When"Where or When" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes In Arms. It was first performed by Ray Heatherton and Mitzi Green. That same year, Hal Kemp recorded a popular version. It also appeared in the movie of the same title two years later...
", "
My Funny ValentineFor the album by Miles Davis, see My Funny Valentine "My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms...
", "
The Lady Is a Tramp"The Lady Is a Tramp" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes In Arms. This song is a sophisticated and witty spoof of New York high society and its strict etiquette . It has become a classic song in the pop standards/vocal genre...
", "
Falling in Love with Love"Falling in Love with Love" is a show tune from the Rodgers and Hart musical The Boys from Syracuse , where it was introduced by Muriel Angelus.In the 1940 film, it was performed by Allan Jones....
", "
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" is a show tune and popular song from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey. The song was introduced by Vivienne Segal in the 1940 Broadway production, and also sung by Miss Segal both on the 1950 hit record and in the 1952 Broadway revival...
", and "
Wait Till You See Her"Wait till You See Her" is a popular song.The music was written by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart...
."
In 1939 he wrote the ballet
Ghost Town for the
Ballet Russe de Monte CarloBallet Russe de Monte Carlo was an influential ballet company founded by René Blum and Colonel Vassily de Basil in 1933. The company followed Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, which had stopped operating when Diaghilev died in 1929...
, with choreography by Marc Platoff .
Rodgers and Hammerstein
His partnership with Hart having problems because of the lyricist's unreliability and declining health, Rodgers began working with
Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American writer, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song", and much of his work is part of the unofficial Great...
, with whom he had previously written a number of songs (before ever working with Lorenz Hart). Their first musical, the groundbreaking hit,
Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
(1943), marked the beginning of the most successful partnership in American musical theatre history. Their work revolutionized the form. What was once a collection of songs, dances and comic turns held together by a tenuous plot became an integrated work of art.
The team went on to create four more hits that are among the most popular of all musicals and were each made into successful films:
CarouselCarousel is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II that was adapted from Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting the Budapest setting of Molnar's play to a New England fishing village. The show includes the hit musical numbers If I Loved You, June Is Bustin' Out All Over,...
(1945),
South PacificSouth Pacific is a 1949 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning, 1948 novel, Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of...
(1949, a Pulitzer Prize winner),
The King and IThe King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II based on the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. The plot comes from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s...
(1951), and
The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
(1959). Other shows include the minor hit,
Flower Drum SongFlower Drum Song is a musical written by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein, based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Chinese American author C. Y. Lee. The Broadway production opened in 1958 featuring, for the first time in Broadway history, a mostly Asian cast...
(1958), as well as relative failures
AllegroAllegro is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II , their fourth collaboration together.-Production history:...
(1947),
Me and JulietMe and Juliet is a musical comedy written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . Along with Allegro and Pipe Dream, it comprises the second of their three least commercially successful collaborations...
(1953) and
Pipe DreamPipe Dream is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II. Its conception is tied up with unrealized plans by other collaborators to make a stage musical based upon John Steinbeck's best-selling novel Cannery Row...
(1955). They also wrote the score to the film
State FairState Fair is a 1945 film directed by Walter Lang. The film is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name. This version has original music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The film starred Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Fay Bainter and Charles Winninger. This was the only...
(1945) (which was remade in 1962 with
Pat BooneCharles Eugene Boone , known professionally as Pat Boone, is an American singer, actor and writer who was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold over 45 million albums, had 38 Top 40 hits and starred in more than 12 Hollywood movies...
), and a special TV musical of
CinderellaRodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical written for television, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly Cendrillon, ou la Petite Pantoufle de Vair, by Charles Perrault...
(1957).
Their collaboration produced many well-known songs, including "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'", "
People Will Say We're in Love"People Will Say We're In Love" is a show tune from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! . In the original Broadway production, the song was introduced by Alfred Drake and Joan Roberts.-Plot context:...
", "
If I Loved You"If I Loved You" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.The song was introduced by John Raitt and Jan Clayton...
", "
You'll Never Walk Alone"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel.In the musical, in the second act, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the...
", "
It Might as Well Be Spring"It Might as Well Be Spring" is a song from the 1945 film State Fair. With music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year. State Fair was the only original film score by Rodgers and Hammerstein. In the film the song was...
", "
Some Enchanted Evening"Some Enchanted Evening" is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific.In the show, it is sung as a solo by Emile de Becque, the French plantation owner, who falls in love with the American navy nurse Nellie Forbush...
", "
Getting to Know You"Getting to Know You" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I. It was first sung by Gertrude Lawrence in the original Broadway production and later by Marni Nixon who dubbed for Deborah Kerr in the 1956 film adaptation....
", "
My Favorite Things"My Favorite Things" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.- The Sound of Music version :The song was first introduced by Mary Martin in the original Broadway production, and sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film adaptation.In the musical the lyrics to the...
", "
The Sound of Music"The Sound of Music" is the title song from The Sound of Music, composed by Richard Rodgers to lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally sung by Mary Martin in the 1959 stage musical of the same name. It was sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film, with a reprise by the Von Trapp family...
", "
Sixteen Going on Seventeen"Sixteen Going on Seventeen" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.The lyrics of the song state that Liesl is a young girl at the beginning of her womanhood, and having men approach her, and that she can depend on Rolf for guidance, because he's a good year...
", "
Climb Ev'ry Mountain"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Here it is sung at the close of the first act by the Mother Abbess...
", "
Do-Re-Mi"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Within the story, it is used by Maria to teach the notes of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children who learn to sing for the first time, even though their father has disallowed frivolity after...
", and "
Edelweiss"Edelweiss" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is named after the edelweiss, a white flower found high in the Alpine hills. The song is sung by Captain Georg Ludwig von Trapp as he rediscovers music and a love for his children...
", Hammerstein's last song.
Much of Rodgers's work with both Hart and Hammerstein was orchestrated by
Robert Russell BennettRobert Russell Bennett was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards...
. Rodgers composed twelve themes, which Bennett scored for the 26-episode
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
television documentary
Victory at SeaVictory at Sea was a documentary TV series about naval warfare during World War II that was originally aired by NBC in the USA in 26 half-hour segments on Sunday afternoons, starting October 26, 1952 and ending May 3, 1953. The series, which won an Emmy in 1954 as best public affairs program,...
(1952-53). This NBC production pioneered the "compilation documentary"--programming based on pre-existing footage—and was eventually broadcast in dozens of countries. Rodgers won an Emmy for the theme music for the ABC documentary
Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years, scored by Eddie Sauter and Robert Emmett Dolan.
In 1950,
Rodgers and HammersteinRichard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
received
The Hundred Year Association of New YorkThe Hundred Year Association of New York, founded in 1927, is a non-profit organization in New York City aimed at recognizing and rewarding dedication and service to the City of New York by businesses and organizations that have been in operation in the city for a century or more and by individuals...
's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York."
In 1954, Rodgers conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in excerpts from
Victory at Sea,
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and the
Carousel Waltz for a special LP released by
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers,...
.
Rodgers and HammersteinRichard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musicals earned a total of 35 Tony Awards, 15
Academy AwardsThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
, two Pulitzer Prizes, two Grammy Awards, and two Emmy Awards.
After Hammerstein
After Hammerstein's death in 1960, Rodgers wrote both words and music for his first new Broadway project
No StringsNo Strings is a musical drama with a book by Samuel A. Taylor and words and music by Richard Rodgers, his only score written without a collaborator. The musical opened on Broadway in 1962 and ran for 580 performances...
(1962, which earned two Tony Awards). The show was a minor hit and featured perhaps his last great song, "
The Sweetest Sounds"The Sweetest Sounds" is a popular song, written by Richard Rodgers for the musical No Strings, in 1962....
." He went on to work with lyricists
Stephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre , multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize...
(protege of Hammerstein),
Sheldon HarnickSheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
, and
Martin CharninMartin Charnin is an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director.Born in Washington Heights in New York City, He attended Music & Art High School and graduated from Cooper Union. Charnin began his theatrical career as a performer, appearing as one of the Jets in the original production of West...
, with uneven results.
At its 1978 commencement ceremonies,
Barnard CollegeBarnard College is a women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1902...
awarded Rodgers its highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction.
Rodgers died in 1979 at age 77 after surviving cancer of the jaw, a heart attack, and a laryngectomy. He was
crematedCremation is the process of reducing human remains to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high temperatures and vaporization....
and his ashes were scattered at sea. In 1990, the 46th Street Theatre was renamed "The Richard Rodgers Theatre" in his memory. In 1999, Rodgers and Hart were each commemorated on United States postage stamps. 2002 was the centennial year of Rodgers's birth, celebrated worldwide with books, retrospectives, performances, new recordings of his music, and a Broadway revival of
Oklahoma!. The BBC Proms that year devoted an entire evening to Rodgers' music including a concert performance of
Oklahoma!
Several American schools are
named after Richard RodgersRichard Rodgers School refers to several schools named after the American composer Richard Rodgers, including these two in New York City:* PS 96 Richard Rodgers School, the Bronx* PS 166 Richard Rodgers School of Arts & Technology, Manhattan...
.
Alec WilderAlec Wilder was an American composer.-Biography:...
wrote the following about Rodgers:
In April 2009, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama met Queen Elizabeth II, for the first time at Buckingham Palace. The Obamas gave the queen a gift of an iPod and a rare songbook signed by Richard Rodgers.
Personal life
In 1930, Rodgers married Dorothy Belle Feiner. Their daughter,
MaryMary Rodgers is an American composer of musicals, an author of children's books, and the daughter of Broadway composer Richard Rodgers....
, is the composer of
Once Upon a MattressOnce Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy that opened off-Broadway on May 11, 1959, and then moved to Broadway. The play was written as an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Princess and the Pea...
and an author of children's books. The Rodgers later lost a daughter at birth, but another daughter, Linda, was born in the 1930s.
Rodgers' grandson,
Adam GuettelAdam Guettel is an American musical theater composer and lyricist best known for 2005's The Light in the Piazza, for which he won two Tony Awards and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations.-Early years:...
, also a musical theatre composer, won Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations for
The Light in the PiazzaThe Light in the Piazza is a musical with a book by Craig Lucas and music and lyrics by Adam Guettel. Based on a novella by Elizabeth Spencer, it is set in Florence and Rome in the summer of 1953. A young American tourist, Clara Johnson, meets and falls for young Italian Fabrizio Naccarelli...
in 2005.
Peter Melnick, another grandson, is the composer of
Adrift In Macao, which debuted at the Philadelphia Theatre Company in 2005 and was produced Off Broadway in 2007.
Hart as lyricist
- One Minute Please
- Fly with Me (1920)
- Poor Little Ritz Girl (1920)
- The Melody Man (1924)
- The Garrick Gaieties
The Garrick Gaieties is a revue with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, the first of many musicals by this songwriting team....
(1925–26)
- Dearest Enemy
Dearest Enemy is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. This was the first of eight book musicals written by the songwriting team of Rodgers and Hart and writer Herbert Field...
(1925)
- The Girl Friend
The Girl Friend is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields. This was the longest running show to date for the trio.-Production:...
(1926)
- Peggy-Ann
Peggy-Ann is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields, based on the 1910 musical Tillie’s Nightmare by Edgar Smith.-Production:...
(1926)
- Betsy (1926)
- A Connecticut Yankee (1927)
- She's My Baby (1928)
- Present Arms
Present Arms is a Broadway musical comedy that opened April 26, 1928, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields. It was produced by Lew Fields with musical numbers stage by Busby Berkeley. It ran for 155 performances at the Lew Fields' Mansfield Theatre.The...
(1928)
- Chee-Chee (1928)
- Spring Is Here (1929)
- Heads Up! (1929)
- Ever Green (1930)
- Simple Simon
Simple Simon was a Broadway musical with book by Guy Bolton, and Ed Wynn, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, music by Richard Rodgers, produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, and starring Ed Wynn....
(1930)
- America's Sweetheart
America’s Sweetheart is a Broadway musical comedy that opened February 10, 1931, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields. It was produced by Laurence Schwab and Frank Mandel. It ran for 135 performances at the Broadhurst Theatre.The show starred Jack...
(1931)
- Love Me Tonight
Love Me Tonight is a 1932 musical comedy film which tells the story of a penniless nobleman who moves a tailor to whom he owes money into his chateau and passes him off as nobility. It stars Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Charles Ruggles, Charles Butterworth and Myrna Loy. It was directed...
(1932)
- Jumbo
Jumbo is a musical produced by Billy Rose, with music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and book by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur.-Production:...
(1935)
- On Your Toes
On Your Toes is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart.While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Donal III tries to persuade Sergei Alexandrovich, the director of the Russian Ballet, to stage the jazz...
(1936)
- Babes in Arms
Babes in Arms is a 1937 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a teen-age boy who puts on a show with his friends to avoid being sent to a work farm.- Production history:...
(1937)
- I'd Rather Be Right
I'd Rather Be Right is a musical with a book by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. The story is a Depression-era political satire set in New York City, about Washington politics and political figures, such as President Franklin Roosevelt...
(1937)
- I Married an Angel
I Married An Angel is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It is based on a Hungarian play by Johann Vaszary. Rodgers and Hart wrote a number of songs for an unproduced film musical based on the same play in 1933.-1938 Broadway...
(1938)
- The Boys from Syracuse
The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporary rhythms of the 1930s...
(1938)
- Too Many Girls
Too Many Girls may refer to:*Too Many Girls , a 1939 Broadway musical comedy and a 1940 film version*Two Many Girls , 1967 episode of TV show The Monkees...
(1939)
- Higher and Higher
Higher and Higher is a Broadway musical comedy that opened April 4, 1940, with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Gladys Hurlbut and Joshua Logan. It was produced by Dwight Deere Wiman...
(1940)
- Pal Joey (1940–41)
- By Jupiter
By Jupiter is a musical with a book by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart.Based on the play The Warrior's Husband by Julian F. Thompson, it's set in the land of the Amazons, where the women rule and do battle while the men stay at home, mind the children, and buy...
(1942)
- Rodgers & Hart (1975), Rodgers and Hart revue musical
Hammerstein as lyricist
- Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
(1943)
- Carousel
Carousel is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II that was adapted from Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting the Budapest setting of Molnar's play to a New England fishing village. The show includes the hit musical numbers If I Loved You, June Is Bustin' Out All Over,...
(1945)
- State Fair
State Fair is a 1945 film directed by Walter Lang. The film is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name. This version has original music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The film starred Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Fay Bainter and Charles Winninger. This was the only...
(1945) (film)
- Allegro
Allegro is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II , their fourth collaboration together.-Production history:...
(1947)
- South Pacific
South Pacific is a 1949 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning, 1948 novel, Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of...
(1949)
- The King and I
The King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II based on the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. The plot comes from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s...
(1951)
- Me and Juliet
Me and Juliet is a musical comedy written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . Along with Allegro and Pipe Dream, it comprises the second of their three least commercially successful collaborations...
(1953)
- Pipe Dream
Pipe Dream is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II. Its conception is tied up with unrealized plans by other collaborators to make a stage musical based upon John Steinbeck's best-selling novel Cannery Row...
(1955)
- Cinderella
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella is a musical written for television, with music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based upon the fairy tale Cinderella, particularly Cendrillon, ou la Petite Pantoufle de Vair, by Charles Perrault...
(1957)
- Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song is a musical written by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein, based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Chinese American author C. Y. Lee. The Broadway production opened in 1958 featuring, for the first time in Broadway history, a mostly Asian cast...
(1958)
- The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
(1959)
- A Grand Night for Singing
A Grand Night for Singing is a musical revue showcasing the music of Richard Rodgers and the lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II.Featuring songs from such lesser-known works as Allegro, Flower Drum Song, State Fair, and Pipe Dream and hits like Carousel, Oklahoma!, The King and I, South Pacific, and The...
(1993), Rodgers and Hammerstein revue musical
- State Fair
State Fair is a musical with a book by Tom Briggs and Louis Mattioli, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and music by Richard Rodgers.Rodgers and Hammerstein originally adapted the Phil Stong novel of the same name for a 1945 movie musical, which was remade in 1962...
(1996) (musical)
Other lyricists and solo works
- Victory at Sea
Victory at Sea was a documentary TV series about naval warfare during World War II that was originally aired by NBC in the USA in 26 half-hour segments on Sunday afternoons, starting October 26, 1952 and ending May 3, 1953. The series, which won an Emmy in 1954 as best public affairs program,...
(1952) (Robert Russell BennettRobert Russell Bennett was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards...
)
- No Strings
No Strings is a musical drama with a book by Samuel A. Taylor and words and music by Richard Rodgers, his only score written without a collaborator. The musical opened on Broadway in 1962 and ran for 580 performances...
(1962) (lyrics by Rodgers)
- Do I Hear a Waltz?
Do I Hear A Waltz? is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Richard Rodgers, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was adapted from Laurents' 1952 play The Time of the Cuckoo, which was the basis for the 1955 film Summertime starring Katharine Hepburn.-Background:Laurents originally...
(1965) (Stephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre , multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize...
)
- Two by Two
Two By Two is a Broadway musical with a book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and music by Richard Rodgers.Based on Clifford Odets's play The Flowering Peach, it tells the story of Noah's preparations for the Great Flood and its aftermath....
(1970) (Martin CharninMartin Charnin is an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director.Born in Washington Heights in New York City, He attended Music & Art High School and graduated from Cooper Union. Charnin began his theatrical career as a performer, appearing as one of the Jets in the original production of West...
)
- Rex
Rex is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and libretto by Sherman Yellen, based on the life of King Henry VIII. It opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 25, 1976 and closed June 5, 1976, having had 14 performances in previews and 48 total performances...
(1976) (Sheldon HarnickSheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
)
- I Remember Mama
I Remember Mama is a musical with a book by Thomas Meehan, lyrics by Martin Charnin and Raymond Jessel, and music by Richard Rodgers.I Remember Mama originated as a memoir by Kathryn Forbes entitled Mama's Bank Account. It was adapted for the stage by John Van Druten in 1944, filmed in 1948, and...
(1979) (Martin CharninMartin Charnin is an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director.Born in Washington Heights in New York City, He attended Music & Art High School and graduated from Cooper Union. Charnin began his theatrical career as a performer, appearing as one of the Jets in the original production of West...
/Raymond Jessel)
Wider influence
- The Internet Movie Database lists 276 film and TV soundtracks using songs by Rodgers, as well as 46 films and TV events that credit him as the composer.
- In 1960, the saxophonist John Coltrane
John William "Trane" Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer.Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
recorded a jazz version of "My Favorite Things"My Favorite Things" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.- The Sound of Music version :The song was first introduced by Mary Martin in the original Broadway production, and sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film adaptation.In the musical the lyrics to the...
" from The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
whose rich modalMode is a term from Western music theory having three definitions :# the rhythmic relationship between long and short values in the late medieval period;...
improvisations proved seminal. The tune became a regular part of his repertoire.
- The entry "Blue Moon
"Blue Moon" is a classic popular song. It was written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934, and has become a standard ballad.-Lyrics:The lyrics presumably refer to an English idiomatic expression: "once in a blue moon" means very rarely...
" discusses in detail the extraordinary origins, subsequent history, and enduring popularity of the song. It is the only hit song by Rodgers not taken from a show or movie. The 1961 doo-wopDoo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music, which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. An African-American vocal style known as doo-wop emerged from the streets of northeastern and industrial midwest...
arrangement by The MarcelsThe Marcels were a doo-wop group known for turning American classical pop songs into rock and roll. The group formed in 1959 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with lead Cornelius Harp, bass Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, Ron Mundy, and Richard Knauss. The group was named by Fred Johnson's younger sister...
so incensed Rodgers that he wanted to litigate. Hammerstein talked him out of it, arguing that the recording would ultimately increase royalties, which turned out to be the case.
- The entry "You'll Never Walk Alone
"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel.In the musical, in the second act, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the...
" (from CarouselCarousel is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II that was adapted from Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting the Budapest setting of Molnar's play to a New England fishing village. The show includes the hit musical numbers If I Loved You, June Is Bustin' Out All Over,...
) discusses in detail the many cover versions of this song, and its extraordinary popularity with professional soccer teams and their fans.
- Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, film producer, writer, film director, singer and humanitarian. He is best-known for his slapstick humor in stage, screen, television, radio, recording and is also known for his charity fund-raising telethons and position as national chairman for the...
ends his Labor DayLabor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September .The holiday originated in Canada out of labor disputes first in Hamilton, then in Toronto, Canada in the 1870s, which resulted in a Trade Union Act which legalized and protected union activity in 1872 in Canada...
telethon by singing "You'll Never Walk Alone"You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel.In the musical, in the second act, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the female protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and encourage Julie when her husband, Billy Bigelow, the...
."
- "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" from Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
is sometimes mistaken for a traditional folk song.
- "Edelweiss
"Edelweiss" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is named after the edelweiss, a white flower found high in the Alpine hills. The song is sung by Captain Georg Ludwig von Trapp as he rediscovers music and a love for his children...
", "LändlerThe ländler is a folk dance in 3/4 time which was popular in Austria, south Germany and German Switzerland at the end of the 18th century.It is a dance for couples which strongly features hopping and stamping...
" (Rodgers' s adaption of a traditional Austrian folk dance tune), and "Do-Re-Mi"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Within the story, it is used by Maria to teach the notes of the major musical scale to the Von Trapp children who learn to sing for the first time, even though their father has disallowed frivolity after...
", all from The Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
, frequently go unrecognized as Rodgers tunes.
- "Happy Talk" is covered by Daniel Johnston and Jad Fair. Captain Sensible did a jaunty rendition in the 1980s, complete with burlesque organ. The British rapper Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper, songwriter and record producer of Ghanaian and Nigerian descent. His music is a blend of garage MCing, conventional rap, grime, ragga, and electronic music, with extremely eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
uses the chorus of this song.
- Several professional awards in musical theater
Several awards are known as the Richard Rodgers Award:* The ASCAP Richard Rodgers Award* The ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award* The Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater--presented by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and established in 1988* Richard Rodgers Awards for...
are named for Rodgers.
External links