OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II
Oscar Hammerstein II (July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for vocalists and jazz musicians. He co-wrote 850 songs. Hammerstein was the lyricist and playwright in his partnerships; his collaborators wrote the music. Hammerstein collaborated with numerous composers, such as Jerome Kern (with whom he wrote Show Boat), Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml, Richard A. Whiting, and Sigmund Romberg; but he is best known for his collaborations with Richard Rodgers, as the duo Rodgers and Hammerstein, which include Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. (More from Wikipedia)
In my last post, I was mostly talking about solo songwriters like Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, but writing songs is primarily a collaborative profession. In many cases, the music and the lyrics would be written separately. Richard Rodgers was a towering figure in writing music for Broadway shows and other productions; he primarily worked with two different lyricists over the years, Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II.
(April 2015/1)
