Richard Rodgers
For other uses of "Richard Rodgers", see Richard Rodgers (disambiguation). |
An autographed photo of Richard Rodgers |
Richard Charles Rodgers (
June 28,
1902 –
December 30,
1979) was one of the great composers of musical
theater, best known for his song writing partnerships with
Lorenz Hart and
Oscar Hammerstein II. He wrote more than 900 published songs, and forty
Broadway musicals. Many of his compositions continue to have a broad appeal and have had a significant impact on the development of popular music.
Born in New York City to a prosperous
Jewish family, Rodgers attended the same public school as
Bennett Cerf. While studying at
Columbia University, he met his writing partner,
Lorenz Hart. After dabbling in amateur composition for the
Varsity Show, a student-run production, Rodgers left Columbia University to seriously pursue music at the Institute of Musical Art, known today as
Juilliard. Faced with great pressure, Rodgers considered quitting "the biz" to sell children's underwear. However, following the success of
The Garrick Gaieties which feature the hit tune "
Manhattan," Rodgers and Hart became a Broadway songwriting force.
Throughout the rest of the decade, the duo wrote several hit shows, including
Dearest Enemy (1925),
The Girl Friend (1926),
Peggy-Ann (1926) and
A Connecticut Yankee (1927). Their 1920s shows produced standards such as "
Here In My Arms," "
Mountain Greenery," "
The Blue Room," "
My Heart Stood Still" and "
You Took Advantage Of Me."
With the
Depression in full swing, the team sought greener pastures in Hollywood during much of the first half of the 1930s. The hardworking Rodgers later regretted these relatively fallow years, but he and Hart did create some classics while out west. In particular, they wrote the score for
Love Me Tonight (1932) (directed by Rouben Mamoulian, who would direct Rodgers'
Oklahoma! on Broadway) which included such hits as "
Lover," "
Mimi" and "
Isn't It Romantic?." Also, after trying several different lyrics that didn't quite work, they put out a song that became one of their most famous, "
Blue Moon."
In 1935 they returned to Broadway with a vengeance, writing an almost unbroken string of hit shows that only stopped when Hart, a troubled alcoholic, died in 1943. Among the most notable are
Jumbo (1935),
On Your Toes (1936),
Babes In Arms (1937),
The Boys From Syracuse (1938),
Pal Joey (1940) and their last original work
By Jupiter (1942). Rodgers also contributed to the book on several of these shows.
Many of the songs from these shows are still being sung today, including "
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World," "
My Romance," "
Little Girl Blue," "
There's A Small Hotel," "
Where Or When," "
My Funny Valentine," "
The Lady Is A Tramp," "
Falling In Love With Love," "
Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered" and "
Wait Till You See Her."
Anticipating the end of a partnership, Rodgers began working with
Oscar Hammerstein II. Their first musical,
Oklahoma! (1943), was groundbreaking, and marked the beginning of the most successful partnership in 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. After
Oklahoma, most creators of musicals felt they had to weave all aspects of a show together to create something unified.
The new duo went on to create four more hits that are among the most popular of all musicals,
Carousel (1945),
South Pacific (1949),
The King And I (1951) and
The Sound Of Music (1959). Other shows include the minor hit,
Flower Drum Song (1958), as well as relative failures
Allegro (1947),
Me And Juliet (1953) and
Pipe Dream (1955). They also wrote the score to the movie
State Fair (1945) and a special TV production of
Cinderella (1957).
Their collaboration produced many well-known songs, including "
Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'," "
People Will Say We're In Love," "
If I Loved You," "
You'll Never Walk Alone," "
It Might As Well Be Spring," "
Some Enchanted Evening," "
Getting To Know You," "
My Favorite Things" and
Climb Ev'ry Mountain."
Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals earned a total of 34
Tony Awards, 15
Academy Awards, two
Pulitzer Prizes, two
Grammy Awards and two
Emmy Awards.
Rodgers worked without a lyricist to provide music for the groundbreaking World War II television documentary "
Victory at Sea" (1952-53). This NBC production (26 half-hour episodes) pioneered the "compilation documentary"and would be eventually syndicated for broadcast in dozens of countries worldwide.
After Hammerstein's death in 1960, Rodgers' wrote both words and music for his first new Broadway project
No Strings (1962). The show was a minor hit and featured perhaps his last great song, "
The Sweetest Sounds." He went on the work with lyricists such as Stephen Sondheim (protege of Hammerstein), Sheldon Harnick and Martin Charnin, with uneven results.
A survivor of cancer of the jaw, a heart attack and a laryngectomy, Richard Rodgers died aged 77 in 1979. In 1990 he was honored posthumously when the 46th Street Theatre was renamed The Richard Rodgers Theatre. In 2002, his centennial was celebrated worldwide.
Rodgers' daughter,
Mary, is the composer of
Once Upon A Mattress and an author of children's books.Rodgers' grandson,
Adam Guettel, also a musical theatre composer, recently won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Score and Best Orchestrations for
The Light in the Piazza.Peter Melnick, another grandson and composer, is currently receiving his world premiere production of
Adrift In Macao, debuting at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. Bobby Lee Rodgers of The Codetalkers, who is a prolific songwriter and master musician and accomplished singer with well over 100 songs in his repertoire, is reported to be Richard Rodgers' direct descendent (Bobby Lee's great aunt claimed direct descent from Richard but this is currently being verified.) http://thecodetalkers.com
The Garrick Gaieties (1925–26) (lyrics by Hart)
Dearest Enemy (1925) (lyrics by Hart)
A Connecticut Yankee (1927) (lyrics by Hart)
On Your Toes (1936) (lyrics by Hart)
Babes in Arms (1937) (lyrics by Hart)
I'd Rather Be Right (1937) (lyrics by Hart)
I Married an Angel (1938) (lyrics by Hart)
The Boys from Syracuse (1938) (lyrics by Hart)
Too Many Girls (1939) (lyrics by Hart)
Higher and Higher (1940) (lyrics by Hart)
Pal Joey (1940–41) (lyrics by Hart)
By Jupiter (1942) (lyrics by Hart)
Oklahoma! (1943) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
Carousel (1945) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
Allegro (1947) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
South Pacific (1949) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
The King and I (1951) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
Me and Juliet (1953) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
Pipe Dream (1955) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
Cinderella (1957) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
Flower Drum Song (1958) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
The Sound of Music (1959) (lyrics by Hammerstein)
No Strings (1962) (lyrics by Rodgers)
Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) (lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim)
Two By Two (1970) (lyrics by
Martin Charnin)
Rex (1976) (lyrics by
Sheldon Harnick)
I Remember Mama (1979) (lyrics by
Martin Charnin)
*In 1960, the waltz "
My Favorite Things" from
The Sound of Music was adopted and transformed into a seminal jazz performance by the
saxophonist John Coltrane (The tune became a regular part of Coltrane's répertoire).
*"
Blue Moon", a song written with lyricist
Lorenz Hart, has become a
pop standard.
*"
You'll Never Walk Alone", originally from
Carousel, is the anthem of
Liverpool F.C. and has become almost synonymous with that
football club.
*"
Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'" from the musical
Oklahoma! is sometimes mistaken for an authentic folk song.
*Equally, "
Edelweiss", the "
Ländler" (Rodgers' version of a traditional Austrian dance-tune) and "
Do-Re-Mi", from
The Sound of Music frequently go unrecognized as Rodgers' work.''
*
List of people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award*
*
The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization*
The Richard Rodgers Collection at the Library of Congress*
Bio @ American Masters on PBS*
Musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein*
TimeLine on Richard Rodgers's Life*
