The Sound of Music
Soundtrack album by
Rodgers and Hammerstein
ReleasedMarch 2, 1965
GenreShow tunes
Length44:28
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerNeely Plumb

The soundtrack of the film The Sound of Music, music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, was released in 1965 by RCA Victor and is one of the most successful soundtrack albums in history, having sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.[1][2] The soundtrack has been issued in German, Italian, Spanish and French.[3]

The soundtrack spent two weeks in the number one position on the Billboard 200 in 1965 and remained in the top ten for 109 weeks, from May 1, 1965 to July 16, 1967, the most of any soundtrack in the chart's history.[3] It remained on the Billboard 200 for a total of 238 weeks.[4] In 2015, Billboard named the original soundtrack album the second-best charting album of all time.[5][6] It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 1965, 1966 and 1968 and the second-best-selling of the decade, spending a total of 70 weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart.[7] The album also stayed for 73 weeks on the Norwegian charts, and as of December 2017 it is the tenth-best-charting album of all time in that country.[8]

RCA first reissued the soundtrack album on compact disc in 1985; the album has been reissued several times subsequently, including anniversary editions in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015, and in 2023 as a 5-disc Super Deluxe Edition.[3] These CD editions incorporate musical material from the film that would not fit on the original LP, with the 2023 release presenting the score in its entirety and including 40 unreleased tracks, such as alternate takes and other material removed from the final film version.[3][9]

Three songs from the original Broadway production, "An Ordinary Couple", "How Can Love Survive?", and "No Way to Stop It" were replaced, in the film, with two new songs, "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good". For the original Broadway show, the music was written by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; both the lyrics and music for the new songs were written by Rodgers, as Hammerstein died in 1960.[10] All songs were arranged and conducted for the soundtrack by Irwin Kostal.[10]

In 2018, the soundtrack was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."[11]

Reception

The Sound of Music soundtrack sold 500,000 copies in its first two weeks in the United States. Elsewhere, the album achieved large sales in the UK, Japan, Canada and Australia, becoming one of the best selling records of the 1960s.[12] It became the first album to sell over 10,000 units in Finland.[13] The record peaked at number one in Australia, the UK and the US.[citation needed]

Track list

External audio
audio icon Listen on Archive.org

All music written by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and arranged and conducted by Irwin Kostal. Track lengths are per the liner notes to the original US release.

Side one
No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."Prelude" / "The Sound of Music"Julie Andrews2:33
2."Overture and Preludium"Orchestra and Nuns Chorus3:12
3."Morning Hymn and Alleluia"Nuns Chorus2:00
4."Maria"Nuns Chorus3:15
5."I Have Confidence"Andrews3:21
6."Sixteen Going on Seventeen"Daniel Truhitte and Charmian Carr3:13
7."My Favorite Things"Andrews2:16
8."Climb Ev'ry Mountain"Peggy Wood2:13
Total length:22:03
Side two
No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."The Lonely Goatherd"Andrews and the Children3:08
2."The Sound of Music (Reprise)"The Children and Bill Lee2:09
3."Do-Re-Mi"Andrews and the Children5:30
4."Something Good"Andrews and Lee3:15
5."Processional and Maria (Reprise)"Organ, Orchestra and Nuns Chorus2:25
6."Edelweiss"Lee, Andrews, the Children and Chorus1:48
7."So Long, Farewell"The Children2:52
8."Climb Ev'ry Mountain (Reprise)"Chorus and Orchestra1:18
Total length:22:25

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina — 40,000[28]
Australia (ARIA)[29] Gold  
Canada (Music Canada)[31] 5× Platinum 1,000,000[30]
Finland — 11,000[32]
Israel — 45,000[33]
Netherlands — 50,000[34]
New Zealand — 100,000[35]
Norway (IFPI Norway)[36] Gold 50,000[36]
South Africa (RISA)[37] Gold 200,000[38]
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] 8× Platinum 2,438,695[39]
United States (RIAA)[43] Gold 6,887,311[41][42]
Summaries
Worldwide — 20,000,000[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Eyman, Scott. "The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Money", The Wall Street Journal, February 27, 2015, accessed December 30, 2017
  2. ^ Hischak, p. 44
  3. ^ a b c d Caulfield, Keith. "The Sound of Music Soundtrack Due for Deluxe Expanded Reissue", Billboard, September 27, 2023
  4. ^ "Soundtrack". Billboard.
  5. ^ Caulfield, Keith (November 12, 2015). "200 Albums & Artists of All Time: Adele's '21' & The Beatles Are Tops". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  6. ^ Serjeant, Jill (November 13, 2015). "Adele's '21' deemed Billboard's greatest album of all time". Reuters. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  7. ^ Atkinson, Emma (September 19, 2016). "Why fans are still singing along to the Sound of Music". BBC News. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  8. ^ "VG-lista – Best of All Time: Albums". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  9. ^ "The Sound of Music Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Releases", Allmusic.com, accessed December 6, 2023
  10. ^ a b The Sound of Music (40th Anniversary Edition) (CD booklet). RCA Victor/Legacy. 2005. 82876746342.
  11. ^ "National Recording Registry Reaches 500". Library of Congress. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  12. ^ Moore-Gilbert, Bart (2003). Cultural Revolution?. Taylor & Francis. p. 191. ISBN 9781134898985. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  13. ^ "From the Music Capitals of the World". Billboard. September 8, 1973. p. 50. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  14. ^ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book (1940–1969). Turramurra, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  15. ^ "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 6, No. 21" (PHP). RPM. January 21, 1967. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  16. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack / Julie Andrews – The Sound of Music" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  17. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack / Julie Andrews – The Sound of Music". Hung Medien.
  18. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  19. ^ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  20. ^ Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1965". Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007.
  21. ^ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200: 1965". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  22. ^ Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1966". Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007.
  23. ^ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200: 1966". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  24. ^ Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1967". Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007.
  25. ^ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200: 1967". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  26. ^ Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1968". Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007.
  27. ^ a b Mawer, Sharon. "Album Chart History: 1969". Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 17 December 2007.
  28. ^ "Cash box - Argentina" (PDF). Cash Box. July 9, 1966. p. 63. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  29. ^ "The Sound Of Music" (PDF). Billboard. 26 November 1966. p. 43. Retrieved 16 March 2020 – via American Radio History.
  30. ^ Farrell, David (April 22, 1978). "Million Unit Goal Approached By 3" (PDF). Billboard. p. 79. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  31. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Various Artists – The Sound of Music". Music Canada.
  32. ^ "From the Music Capitals of the World - Helsinki" (PDF). Billboard. December 13, 1969. p. 74. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  33. ^ Freedland, Nat (December 13, 1969). "Veteran Israeli Record Man Bids For International Mart" (PDF). Billboard. p. 4. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  34. ^ "From the Music Capitals of the World - Amsterdam". Billboard. November 26, 1966. p. 34. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  35. ^ "Gold All Over" (PDF). Cash Box. September 17, 1966. p. 67. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  36. ^ a b "From The Music Capitols of the World - Oslo" (PDF). Billboard. September 30, 1967. p. 62. Retrieved March 16, 2020 – via American Radio History.
  37. ^ "Another "Sound" Triumph" (PDF). Cash Box. October 22, 1966. p. 115 – via American Radio History.
  38. ^ Goldstuck, Arthur (July 2, 1966). "So. Africa - The Past Twelve Months" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 348. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  39. ^ Harris, Bill (November 17, 2006). "Queen rules – in album sales". Jam!. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2023.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  40. ^ "British album certifications – Original Soundtrack – The Sound of Music". British Phonographic Industry.
  41. ^ "RCA Freshens Up 'Sound Of Music' For Pic Revival" (PDF). Cash Box. March 24, 1973. p. 9. Retrieved March 16, 2020. Based on having sold more than six million copies of the album in this country alone...
  42. ^ "Soundscan data week 01 2013". Docstoc. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  43. ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – The Sound of Music". Recording Industry Association of America.

Sources

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