The Sound of Music (song)
| "The Sound of Music" | |
|---|---|
| Song from The Sound of Music | |
| Published | 1959 |
| Writer | Oscar Hammerstein II |
| Composer | Richard Rodgers |
“The Sound of Music” is the title song from the 1959 musical The Sound of Music. Its music was composed by Richard Rodgers to lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II.
Performances
In 1959, Rodgers and Hammerstein asked singer Patti Page to record the title song of their forthcoming musical, The Sound of Music, hoping for some national attention. Page recorded the song for Mercury Records[1] on the day that the musical opened on Broadway. Since Page's version was recorded a week before the original Broadway cast album, Page was the first artist to record any song from the musical. She featured the song on her national TV variety show sponsored by Oldsmobile, The Patti Page Olds Show.
The song was sung by Mary Martin in the 1959 original Broadway production.
The version of the song which is perhaps the best known was sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film version, with a reprise by the Von Trapp family later in the film. The song introduces the character of Maria, a young novice in an Austrian abbey.
Neely Plumb was the music producer of the film's soundtrack album, which incorporated this version.[2]
Cues
The stage version of the song has a four-line vocal prelude ("My day in the hills has come to an end I know...") followed by the familiar "The hills are alive with the sound of music..." The film soundtrack and the soundtrack album have two different instrumental preludes to "The hills are alive..." both of which contain portions of the original vocal prelude. The cast album to the 1998 Broadway revival contains the four-line prelude as well as the instrumental prelude present in the film version. This version is also the same key as the film version.
Honors and lists
The song was ranked tenth in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest Songs in Movie History.
In popular culture
Italo-American opera/romantic crossover artist Sergio Franchi recorded the song in his 1963 RCA Victor Red Seal album Broadway, I Love You.[3]
In 2007, Grammy-winning and multi-platinum country recording artist Carrie Underwood sang a rendition at the Movies Rock festival; in 2013 Underwood recorded the song for The Sound of Music: Music from the NBC Television Event, and also performed the song acting out the lead role of Maria in The Sound of Music Live!
The song was covered by Hong Kong female singer Kong Ling (江玲), on her LP album Kong Ling with Diamond Records in 1966.
This song is referenced many times in the film Moulin Rouge! The well-known opening line, "the hills are alive with the sound of music," also appears in the movie Yellow Submarine and the TV show Friends in Season 1 Episode 22.
Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue performed the opening lines at the beginning of her KylieFever2002 Tour and in the film Moulin Rouge!
The Julie Andrews recording from the film features in the 1993 film Addams Family Values.
Renée Zellweger performs the song in the 2004 film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.
Per Gessle, of Roxette, played this song as an opening for his European solo tour The Party Crasher.
JLS sample the song on their 2010 single "The Club Is Alive."
A Simpsons comic book has a section in which Sideshow Bob and his brother Cecil sing parodies of musicals. Some of their songs are based on The Sound of Music, with the original lyrics replaced by ones about killing Bart Simpson. One example: "The hills are alive and they ate Bart Simpson." (This is sung as hills in the background literally belch.)
Japanese voice actress Ayahi Takagaki sang her rendition of this song during her 2013 Relation of Colors series of concert tours.
American singer/songwriter Lady Gaga performed the song along with a medley of others from the musical as part of a tribute to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the film at the 87th Academy Awards.
References
- ↑ "Patti Page – 'The Sound Of Music' / 'Little Donkey'", Discogs.com, accessed December 8, 2015. The disc debuted at No. 99 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Hot 100 Ads 16", The Billboard, December 28, 1959, p. 5, accessed December 8, 2015
- ↑ Plumb is credited as music producer on the back cover of the soundtrack album's LP version.
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/sergio-franchi
| ||||||||||||||||||||||