"The Sound of Music" is the title song from the 1959 musical of the same name. It was composed by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

with lyrics written by

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. He won eight Ton ...

. The song introduces the character of Maria, a young novice in an Austrian abbey.

Performances

In 1959, Rodgers and Hammerstein asked singer

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

to record the title song of their forthcoming musical, '' The Sound of Music'', hoping for some national attention. A week before the opening of the Broadway production, she recorded the song for Mercury Records. The disc debuted at No. 99 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the day that the musical opened on Broadway. 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 and by

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

in the 1965 film version, with a reprise by the Von Trapp family later in the film. The song was ranked tenth in the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

's list of the 100 Greatest Songs in Movie History.

Cues

The stage version of the song has a four-line verse ("My day in the hills has come to an end I know...") followed by the familiar chorus "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 music of the original verse. The cast album to the 1998 Broadway revival contains the four-line verse as well as the instrumental prelude present in the film version. This version is in the same key as the film version.

In popular culture

The opening line, "the hills are alive with the sound of music" appears in the 1968

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

movie '' Yellow Submarine'' and the TV show ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

in Season 1 Episode 22'' (1995). The song is referenced many times in the film '' Moulin Rouge!'' (2001). The

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''. A ''

Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, a ...

'' comic book has a section in which

Sideshow Bob Robert Underdunk Terwilliger Jr., PhD, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared in the episode " The Telltale Head". Bob is a se ...

and his brother Cecil sing parodies of musicals. Some of the songs are based on ''The Sound of Music'', with the original lyrics replaced by ones about killing

Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' ...

. One example: "The hills are alive and they ate Bart Simpson." In 2013,

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

performed this song while portraying Maria in the television broadcast '' The Sound of Music Live!'', which was seen live by more than 18 million viewers.

JLS JLS (an initialism of Jack the Lad Swing) are an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company Ne ...

sampled the song on their 2010 single "

The Club Is Alive "The Club Is Alive" is a song by British boyband JLS. It was released in the United Kingdom on 2 July 2010 as the lead single from their second studio album, ''Outta This World''. It was also included in the American EP version of their JLS (alb ...

". The single debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number one.

References

External links

Original recording of the song by Patti Page
re-released on ''Patti Page: The Complete Us Hits 1948-62'', Vol. 2
Original cast album
sung by Mary Martin {{DEFAULTSORT:Sound Of Music, The 1959 songs Songs with music by Richard Rodgers Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Songs from The Sound of Music Mary Martin songs Julie Andrews songs