Rodgers and Marvin Hamlisch are the only persons to have won an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Tony Award, and Pulitzer Prize.
Life and career
Born into a prosperous Jewish family, Richard Rodgers was the son of Mortimer Rodgers, a prominent physician who had changed the family name from Rojazinsky, and Mamie Levy. Richard began playing the piano at age six. He attended P.S. 10, Townsend Harris Hall and DeWitt Clinton High School. Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and Rodgers’s later collaborator Oscar Hammerstein II all attended Columbia University. In 1921, Rodgers shifted his studies to the Institute of Musical Art (now Juilliard).[1] Rodgers was influenced by composers like Victor Herbert and Jerome Kern, as well as by the operettas his parents took him to see on Broadway when he was a child.
Work with Hart
In 1919, Richard met Lorenz Hart, thanks to Phillip Leavitt, a friend of Richard’s older brother. Rodgers and 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 premier until 1924.
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 Guild, called The Garrick Gaieties, 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.” 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 Enemy (1925), The Girl Friend (1926), Peggy-Ann (1926), A Connecticut Yankee (1927), and Present Arms (1928). Their 1920s shows produced standards such as “Here In My Arms”, “Mountain Greenery”, “Blue Room”, “My Heart Stood Still” and “You Took Advantage of Me.”
With the Depression 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 Tonight (1932) (directed by Rouben Mamoulian, who would later direct Rodgers’ Oklahoma! on Broadway) which introduced three standards: “Lover”, “Mimi”, and “Isn’t It Romantic?.” Rodgers also wrote a melody for which Hart wrote three consecutive lyrics that did not fly. The fourth lyric resulted in one of their most famous songs, “Blue Moon.” Other film work includes the scores to The Phantom President (1932), starring George M. Cohan, Hallelujah, I’m a Bum (1933), starring Al Jolson, and, in a quick return after having left Hollywood, Mississippi (1935), starring Bing Crosby 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 Jumbo (1935), On Your Toes (1936, which included the ballet “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue”, choreographed by George Balanchine), Babes In Arms (1937), I Married an Angel (1938), 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 sung and remembered, 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.”
Work with Hammerstein
His partnership with Hart coming to an end because of the latter’s declining health, Rodgers began working with Oscar Hammerstein II, with whom he had previously written a number of songs (before ever working with Lorenz Hart). Their first musical, the groundbreaking hit, Oklahoma! (1943), 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.
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, Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949, a Pulitzer Prize winner), 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”, “The Sound of Music”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”, “Do-Re-Mi”, and “Edelweiss”, Hammerstein’s last song.
Much of Rodgers’s work with both Hart and Hammerstein was orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett. Rodgers composed twelve themes which Bennett scored for the 26-episode World War II television documentary “Victory at Sea” (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 Hammerstein received The Hundred Year Association of New York’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 Records.
Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals earned a total of 35 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, 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 Strings (1962, which earned two Tony Awards). The show was a minor hit and featured perhaps his last great song, “The Sweetest Sounds.” He went on to work with lyricists Stephen Sondheim (protege of Hammerstein), Sheldon Harnick, and Martin Charnin, with uneven results.
At its 1978 commencement ceremonies, Barnard College awarded Rodgers its highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction.
Richard Rodgers died in 1979 at age 77 after surviving cancer of the jaw, a heart attack, and a laryngectomy.
My Favourite Things
Richard Rodgers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver-white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I′m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad
The lyrics of Richard Rodgers’s song ‘My Favourite Things’ are a tribute to the joy and comfort that small, everyday things can bring in one’s life. The opening lines mention how raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens create a pleasant and calming effect. Similarly, the sight of bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens can bring a sense of comfort and warmth to someone on a cold day. The image of brown paper packages tied up with strings is a symbol of simplicity and innocence that is often associated with childhood memories.
The second verse of the song mentions other things that the singer finds comforting, such as cream-colored ponies, crisp apple strudels, doorbells, and sleigh bells. These are symbols of the Christmas season when people come together to celebrate and spend time with their loved ones. The image of wild geese flying with the moon on their wings creates an image of nature in its glory, and how it can provide a sense of freedom and escape from the stresses of daily life.
The final verse of the song mentions girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on the singer’s nose and eyelashes, and the transformation of winter into spring. These lines evoke a sense of beauty and elegance that the singer finds comforting. The last few lines of the song explain that when life gets difficult, the singer simply remembers these favourite things, and they help him or her feel better.
Line by Line Meaning
Raindrops on roses
I find comfort in nature, especially in the delicate beauty of raindrops on roses.
And whiskers on kittens
I adore the cuteness of small animals, particularly the soft whiskers on kittens.
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
I appreciate the warmth and coziness of home and find solace in everyday items like copper kettles and woolen mittens.
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
I enjoy the simplicity and nostalgia of receiving a package tied up with string.
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
I appreciate the beauty of animals, such as cream-colored ponies, and the deliciousness of homemade foods like apple strudels.
Doorbells and sleigh bells
I find comfort in the sounds of everyday life, like doorbells, and the festive sounds of sleigh bells.
And schnitzel with noodles
I enjoy the comfort of homemade meals and the warmth they provide, like the Bavarian favorite of schnitzel and noodles.
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
I appreciate the beauty of the natural world, with its magnificent creatures, such as wild geese, soaring under the light of the moon.
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
I find joy in elegant beauty, such as in the graceful attire of girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes.
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
I appreciate the delicate beauty of winter, like the softness of snowflakes that rest on my nose and eyelashes.
Silver-white winters that melt into springs
I look forward to the transition of seasons, with the icy beauty of silver-white winters giving way to the fresh start of spring.
When the dog bites
When life gets tough and I feel hurt or frustrated, such as when a dog bites me,
When the bee stings
Or when I experience physical pain, like the sting of a bee,
When I'm feeling sad
Or when I feel low emotionally,
I simply remember my favorite things
I take a moment to focus on the things that bring me joy and peace, the ones listed above,
And then I don't feel so bad
And this simple act of reflecting on my favorite things can help lift my spirits and make me feel better.
Contributed by Miles V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.