"Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" is the opening song from the musical ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'', which premiered on Broadway in 1943. It was written by composer

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 theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

and lyricist/librettist

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

. The leading male character in ''Oklahoma!'', Curly McLain, sings the song at the beginning of the first scene of the musical. The refrain runs: "Oh, what a beautiful mornin'! / Oh, what a beautiful day! / I've got a beautiful feelin' / Ev'rythin's goin' my way." Curly's "brimming optimism is perfectly captured by Rodgers' ebullient music and Hammerstein's buoyant pastoral lyrics."Cummings, Robert
"Richard Rodgers: Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin', song (for the musical ''Oklahoma!'')"
Allmusic.com, May 10, 2014 This was the first song of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

's musical collaboration to be heard by theatre audiences. It has become one of their most famous numbers and "quickly became one of the most popular American songs to emerge from the wartime era, gaining currency away from Broadway first on the radio and recordings, and then later on numerous television variety shows."

Brooks Atkinson Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theater critic. He worked for ''The New York Times'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his ...

, reviewing the original production in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', wrote that the number changed the history of

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

: "After a verse like that, sung to a buoyant melody, the banalities of the old musical stage became intolerable." Gordon, John Steele
''Oklahoma!''
, accessed June 13, 2010

Noteworthy recordings

Noteworthy recordings include the following: *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

and Trudy Erwin recorded the song in 1943 for Decca, as the B-side of a single covering " People Will Say We're In Love". The recording peaked at No. 4 on US charts. *

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

recorded the song as a single in 1943, released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as catalogue number 36682, it reached the No. 12 spot in the charts. The song appears on more than two dozen Frank Sinatra compilations. Sinatra first recorded the song ''

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'': "a musician's strike ... occurred just as Sinatra was set to enter the studio and lay down his first tracks under the Columbia banner, so ... Sinatra went into the studio with a group of vocalists and recorded several songs ... ''a cappella''". *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

recorded the song several times, and one of his live recordings from the 1970s with the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16- to 18-piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 19 ...

is included on his posthumous album '' Ray Sings, Basie Swings'' (2006) *

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order (biology), order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 Family (biology), families, 164 genus, genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the earl ...

included the song on their live album '' Oh What a Beautiful Morning'' (2000). *

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

recorded the song in 2008 and released it as a bonus track on his album '' Covers'' (2008) and also on his album '' Other Covers'' (2009).

In popular culture

Ethan Mordden titled his book about the dawn of the "Golden Age" of musicals ''Beautiful Mornin: The Broadway Musical in the 1940s'' (1999). The song "

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

" by Bobby Bloom ends with an ''a capella'' segment of "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'".

References

External links

"Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'"
Gordon MacRae sings the song in the original film version (1955)
"Great Performances" version

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian and British actor, singer, and producer. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' film franchise and the Marvel Cinem ...

sings the song in the PBS production of ''Oklahoma!'' (2003)
Video

Linda Eder Linda Eder (; born February 3, 1961) is an American singer and actress. She originated the role of Lucy Harris in the Broadway musical '' Jekyll & Hyde'', for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award. Biography Eder was born in Tucso ...

and Mary Chapin Carpenter sing the song together while riding horses. {{Authority control 1943 songs Songs from Oklahoma! Songs with music by Richard Rodgers Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Jan and Dean songs