Oscar Hammerstein II

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Essential Albums

  • South Pacific (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
    South Pacific (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
    South Pacific (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

    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 sympathizers. 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.

  • Cinderella (Original 1957 TV Cast Recording) [Bonus Tracks Version]
    Cinderella (Original 1957 TV Cast Recording) [Bonus Tracks Version]
    Cinderella (Original 1957 TV Cast Recording) [Bonus Tracks Version]

    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 recognizable 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. 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.

  • Oklahoma! (Expanded Edition) [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
    Oklahoma! (Expanded Edition) [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
    Oklahoma! (Expanded Edition) [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

    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.

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About Oscar Hammerstein II

During the '40s and '50s, lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II and composer Richard Rodgers were the most successful composing team on Broadway, writing several long-running shows that were eventually made into movie musicals. Hammerstein was also the second most prolific lyricist of the 20th century, second only to Irving Berlin. Born into a show business family in N.Y.C. on July 12, 1895, as Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein, he later dropped his middle names and adopted the "II." The grandfather he was named after was a theater builder and opera company director, and the lyricist's father worked as the manager of a historic vaudeville theater in New York. As a young man, Hammerstein attended Columbia University and law school and took part in school plays. He later became stage manager in his uncle Arthur's theater and tried his hand -- unsuccessfully -- at writing screenplays. Hammerstein co-wrote songs for Broadway during the '20s with lyricist Otto Harbach, including Showboat (1928) and Sweet Adeline (1929). He also collaborated with many composers over the years, including George Gershwin and Jerome Kern, but his most prolific and successful period was with composer Richard Rodgers. They teamed up after Rodgers' songwriting partner, Lorenz Hart, became ill and died in 1943. From this time until a year before Hammerstein's passing in 1960, Rodgers & Hammerstein were unmatched creators of smash hit Broadway musicals. Their first big hit was 1943's Oklahoma!, for which they received a Pulitzer Prize. The duo received another Pulitzer for 1949's South Pacific. Rodgers & Hammerstein were also responsible for such wildly successful musicals as The King & I (1951) and The Sound of Music (1959). Some of Hammerstein's best-known songs include "Ol' Man River," "Lover, Come Back to Me" (1928), "Why Was I Born?" (1929), "All the Things You Are" (1939), "People Will Say We're in Love" (1943), "Some Enchanted Evening" (1949), "Getting to Know You," and "My Favorite Things." Hammerstein produced many of the shows that he scored, and on some he didn't, including Annie Get Your Gun. He is also author of the book Lyrics. ~ Joslyn Layne

HOMETOWN
New York, NY, United States
BORN
July 12, 1895
GENRE
Musicals

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