Latest Release
- Songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein - EP · 2023
- Songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein - EP · 2023
- Songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein - EP · 2023
- Songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein - EP · 2023
- Overture - Single · 2014
- Flower Drum Song (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · 2010
- Flower Drum Song (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) · 2010
- Allegro (First Complete Recording) · 2009
- Allegro (First Complete Recording) · 2009
- Allegro (First Complete Recording) · 2009
Essential Albums
- Like South Pacific a handful of years earlier, the 1965 film adaptation of The Sound of Music helped slake what was proving to be an inexhaustible thirst for stories about World War II—in this case, of a cheerful young governess caring for the children of an Austrian Naval officer at the dawn of the Nazi occupation. Played by Julie Andrews—who’d broken through in America in part because of her work with Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II in 1957’s Cinderella—Maria von Trapp became an avatar for a kind of bootstrap optimism that resonated especially powerfully with an American audience rebounding from war into the suburban, baby-booming era in which the movie came out. The film would become a generation-defining smash, with songs that became vertebrae in the spine of American culture—tunes that were reborn and reinterpreted in numerous forms, from jazz standards (“My Favorite Things”) to grade-school mnemonics (“Do-Re-Mi”). Decades later, The Sound of Music sing-alongs would keep millions of filmgoers humming along to what might be Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most beloved show. Sadly, Hammerstein didn’t live to see it, having died from cancer in 1960. Commenting on the music’s optimism just a few months before his death, he said it was important to acknowledge the bad in the world—but at least as important to acknowledge the good.
- When South Pacific was turned into a film in 1958, the US was only about a decade out from World War II. In the intervening years, the anti-Communist sentiment that had helped validate the war had turned inward in the form of McCarthyism, a period during which a broad swath of Americans—particularly people in the arts—were cast as Communist sympathisers. Though nowhere near as outspoken as some of their creative peers, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were nevertheless allied with liberal causes—a fact that South Pacific made clear. Not only did the movie venture to soften stereotypes of Southeast Asian people, it dealt head-on with questions of race and prejudice in quietly daring ways. “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”—an explanation of inherited racism sung by Marine Lieutenant Joe Cable—was the most overt example. But there’s also the arc of Nellie Forbush, the American nurse who manages to look past her prejudice against mixed-race people and embrace her feelings for the French planter Emile de Becque, who has several children with a Polynesian woman (“I’m In Love With a Wonderful Guy”). Or “Happy Talk”, a song by the jovial island woman Bloody Mary, who tries to help Lieutenant Cable shake his fear of marrying a nonwhite woman. Of course, such good messages won’t spread far if the songs aren’t catchy. But the melodies on South Pacific were strong enough to endure for decades after its release.
- Released in 1957, the soundtrack for Cinderella marked a new kind of project for Rodgers & Hammerstein: Not only was it the first time they’d written expressly for television—rather than adapting a show from the stage—it was the first time Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were working with such well-known source material. The novelty provided a challenge: The duo needed the story to remain recognisable for kids, while also offering enough depth for parents to be interested. And, in certain ways, the two Broadway legends were more conscious of the immediacy of their music than ever before: After all, a show might get a season to prove itself—but a TV special only runs once. The show was conceived in part as a spotlight for the young British actress Julie Andrews, who had recently made her name in the US acting opposite Rex Harrison in the hit Broadway musical My Fair Lady</I>. Andrews’ famously sunny disposition imbued Cinderella with a sense of persistence and almost transcendent optimism in the face of steep odds (“In My Own Little Corner”, “Impossible; It’s Possible”). The broadcast was reportedly seen by 107 million people—at the time, an astonishing 60% of the US population. Rodgers & Hammerstein later noted the same audience for a stage production would’ve meant selling out eight nights a week for 140 years—a tough prospect, even for a Fairy Godmother.
- With its sterling reviews, big box-office numbers and five Academy Awards—including Best Original Score—the 1956 film version of The King and I was, by some measures, the most successful screen adaptation of a Rodgers & Hammerstein musical until The Sound of Music came along nearly a decade later. A big part of the film’s success was thanks to Yul Brynner, who won a Best Actor trophy for his performance, and who’d end up playing the role of King Mongkut more than 4,500 times over the course of his career. (Incidentally, it wasn’t Brynner’s only big role in 1956: He also played Rameses II in The Ten Commandments, the year’s top-grossing movie, four spots ahead of The King and I.) The film soundtrack featured some of the most indelible performances of some of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most enduring songs, including “Getting To Know You”, “I Whistle a Happy Tune” and “I Have Dreamed” (the latter of which has become a beloved standard). It also marked Rodgers & Hammerstein’s tentative exploration of Asian music, or at least the textures and sounds that might scan as “Asian” to Western audiences—a well-intentioned experiment that paralleled their attempts to humanely portray Asian characters in South Pacific. The soundtrack went to No. 1 on the album charts in October 1956—just seven months after Oklahoma! had vacated the top spot.
- When Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were approached about turning Broadway’s Oklahoma! into a movie, they were reticent. After all, the stage show had been a revolutionary success, and this was at a time—1955—when musicals were often butchered on their way to the screen. That the end product stayed faithful to their vision was due in part to the control Rodgers & Hammerstein were able to leverage over production. But the Oklahoma! soundtrack also reinforced what had made the show so great in the first place: While musicals until that point were more or less plays interrupted by the occasional song, Oklahoma! envisioned musicals in which the songs themselves were instruments of plot and character development—a shift that brought the form closer to something like American opera than light entertainment. So when Gordon MacRae’s Curly McLain sings “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’” and “The Surrey With the Fringe On Top”, they aren’t just good melodies—they’re expressions of his cowboy charm and his budding crush on Laurey (Shirley Jones). And when the cast joins Curly for the title song near the end, it’s after a couple of hours of us getting to know the sweet-wheat-smelling, plains-wind-swept frontier where the story took place. The soundtrack held the top spot on the UK Albums Chart for a stretch in 1956, eventually becoming the first album certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. That spring, Elvis came along, ushering in a demand for all things rock ’n’ roll. But the Oklahoma! soundtrack would retain its power, and appeal, for generations.
Artist Playlists
- Together they turn show tunes into solid gold.
Live Albums
Appears On
- Keith Lockhart & Boston Pops Orchestra
- Bryn Terfel, English Northern Philharmonia & Paul Daniel
- Hollywood Bowl Orchestra & John Mauceri
About Rodgers & Hammerstein
Indelible contributors to the Great American Songbook, composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II were one of the most popular and influential songwriting teams in Broadway history. They each had high-profile careers with other writing partners before teaming up for the groundbreaking, Pulitzer Prize-winning stage musical Oklahoma!, which opened on Broadway in 1943. Following the example of 1927's Showboat (which featured lyrics by Hammerstein), it helped to define the "book musical" by placing character-driven songs in the context of a dramatic, high-stakes plot. In poignant contrast to the prior era's operettas, musical revues, and light musical comedies, they addressed serious social issues such as racism, classism, and sexism in much of their work, including such stage classics as South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), and The Sound of Music (1959). Along with Rodgers' sweeping, memorable melodies and Hammerstein's natural yet highly structured lyrics (Rodgers would write music to Hammerstein's words), these and other hit Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals were turned into blockbuster Hollywood films. Some of their best-known songs include "My Favorite Things," "Getting to Know You," Some Enchanted Evening," "You'll Never Walk Alone," and "Edelweiss." Before joining forces with Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers spent over 20 years as half of Rodgers & Hart with Lorenz Hart. Their many Broadway musicals included such classics as A Connecticut Yankee (1927), Babes in Arms (1937), and Pal Joey (1940). "Blue Moon" and "My Funny Valentine" were among their dozens of hit songs. In the meantime, Hammerstein produced hits with composers including Jerome Kern, a stated influence of Rodgers. With contributions from co-lyricist P.G. Wodehouse, Kern and Hammerstein's biggest hit together was 1927's Show Boat, based on the Edna Ferber novel. Two film adaptations of Show Boat followed within the next ten years, and the songwriting team won an Academy Award in 1941 for "The Last Time I Saw Paris" from the movie Lady Be Good. Due to Hart's declining health in the early '40s, Rodgers partnered with fellow New York City native Hammerstein for the musical Oklahoma! The two had previously collaborated during their days as students at Columbia University, including on the 1920 Varsity Show Fly with Me. Oklahoma! opened at Broadway's St. James Theatre on March 31, 1943. The show ran for over five years and 2,000 performances (a record at the time), winning a special Pulitzer Prize in 1944. During that time Rodgers & Hammerstein followed up with another Broadway hit, Carousel, and the musical film State Fair, both in 1945. State Fair, the only musical Rodgers & Hammerstein ever wrote for film, included "It Might as Well Be Spring," which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Like many of their songs, it was a Top Ten hit that year, this time charting with recordings by Dick Haymes, Sammy Kaye, and Paul Weston with Margaret Whiting. In contrast to the box-office success of their first two Broadway shows, their lesser-known third stage musical, Allegro, opened in October 1947 and closed the following July. In June of 1948, Rodgers & Hammerstein were guests on the first episode of Ed Sullivan's long-running variety show (then called Toast of the Town), alongside Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. In 1949, the songwriting team returned to Broadway with South Pacific. Based on James Michener's novel Tales of the South Pacific, it confronted racial prejudice, most notably with the song "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught." Their first musical to be eligible for Tony Awards (established in 1947), the production won Best Musical, Best Score, Best Libretto, and all four acting categories. Rodgers & Hammerstein shared the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama with South Pacific co-writer Joshua Logan. Candidly exploring racism as well as sexism, The King and I, an adaptation of Margaret Landon's novel Anna and the King of Siam, followed in 1951. It took home five Tonys, including Best Musical and Best Featured Actor for Yul Brynner. They followed it with the less successful Broadway musicals Me and Juliet in 1953 and Pipe Dream in 1955. After Oklahoma! was adapted for the big screen in 1955, the 1956 CinemaScope film version of The King and I saw Brynner reprising his role in an Oscar-winning performance. A film adaptation of Carousel also saw release in 1956. The only musical they wrote specifically for television, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella aired on CBS on March 31, 1957, the 14th anniversary of Oklahoma! It starred Julie Andrews, who was nominated for an Emmy for her performance on the TV special, as was Richard Rodgers' score. Back on Broadway, Rodgers & Hammerstein premiered Flower Drum Song, a musical featuring an Asian cast, in 1958. It marked Gene Kelly's stage directing debut. That year, South Pacific was made into a Hollywood film starring Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor. Arguably Rodgers & Hammerstein's most beloved musical, The Sound of Music would prove to be their final collaboration. Set against a backdrop the Austrian Anschluss of 1938, it opened on Broadway in 1959 and went on to win five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. "Edelweiss" became the last song the team wrote together when Oscar Hammerstein died of stomach cancer in August 1960. A film adaptation of Flower Drum Song saw release in 1961 before the film of version of The Sound of Music arrived in theaters in March 1965. Starring Julie Andrews as Maria, it was the highest-grossing film of the year and won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Richard Rodgers continued to compose songs after 1960, producing musicals with Stephen Sondheim (1965's Do I Hear a Waltz?) and Martin Charnin (1970's Two by Two), among others, until his death in 1979. Rodgers & Hammerstein were honored with a U.S. postage stamp in 1999, and their songs endure as oft-performed American standards. Their legacy in theater can be illustrated with Broadway revivals of, among several other productions, The Sound of Music in 1998, South Pacific in 2008, The King and I in 2015, and Oklahoma! in 2019. ~ Marcy Donelson
- FROM
- New York, NY, United States
- FORMED
- 1943
- GENRE
- Musicals