Rodgers & Hammerstein

Composer Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein, Ii (1895-1960) both had extensive careers in Broadway theater music before they scored their first hit together with Oklahoma! in 1943. Rodgers, first teamed with Lorenz Hart (1895-1943), with whom he scored a series of Broadway successes that began when the team's song "Manhattan" was interpolated into The Garrick Gaities of 1925. Rodgers and Hart's show included Present Arms (1928), On Your Toes (1936), Babes in Arms (1937) and Pal Joey (1940), among others, and they are responsible for a slew of song standards including "You Took Advantage of Me," "Dancing on the Ceiling," "There's a Small Hotel," "Where or When," "The Lady Is a Tramp," "My Funny Valentine," "I Wish I Were in Love Again," "Isn't It Romantic," and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered." But Hart's health declined, and Rodgers had sought out Hammerstein prior to his partner's death from pneumonia.



Read More