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"The opening verse of Ariana Grande's new No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 single "7 Rings" is a callback to a familiar show tune: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's "My Favorite Things," from the pair's 1959 musical The Sound of Music and its subsequent 1965 film starring Julie Andrews.
Originally performed by Mary Martin (as Maria von Trapp) and Patricia Neway (as Mother Abbess), "My Favorite Things," with lyrics by Hammerstein, lists various objects of Maria's desire, from "raindrops on roses" to "whiskers on kittens." Grande gives the song a bling-infused 2019 update, shouting out "girls with tattoos who like getting in trouble" and "lashes and diamonds, ATM machines … buy myself all of my favorite things."
The track got us thinking about the discography of Rodgers & Hammerstein, one of the most influential and successful musical theater tandems. The duo is responsible for such Broadway classics as Oklahoma!, South Pacific, Carousel and The King and I, along with The Sound of Music. Among the pair's achievements are 34 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.
Rodgers and Hammerstein's careers predate the birth of the Billboard charts, as they each began in the business around a century ago. They started collaborating in 1942 and broke through as a writing team with Oklahoma! in 1943.
An array of artists have sampled composer Rodgers and lyricist Hammerstein's songs, but "7 Rings" makes chart history, as it earns the duo their first Hot 100 No. 1 together as writers; thanks to its interpolation of "My Favorite Things," each receives official writing credit on "7 Rings."
The twosome earned one prior Hot 100 top 10, also via a sample of a Sound of Music song by a modern-era pop star: Gwen Stefani's No. 6 hit "Wind It Up," from her 2006 LP The Sweet Escape, reworks "The Lonely Goatherd."
Rodgers previously earned one solo Hot 100 No. 1 as a writer: The Marcels' "Blue Moon" in 1961. Rodgers and Lorenz Hart wrote the track in 1935.
One straight-up version of "My Favorite Things" has reached the Hot 100: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass' peaked at No. 45 in January 1969. In fact, nine of the 20 songs below are originally from The Sound of Music, the most of any of their musicals.
Here's a look, ranked by peak position, at every song that has charted on the Hot 100 sporting a Rodgers and Hammerstein songwriting credit, including traditional covers and interpolations (and compiled with the helping hands of Billboard's Alex Vitoulis and Joel Whitburn's Record Research).
Further below, we've also included Rodgers & Hammerstein's songwriting credits apart from each other (for Rodgers, that includes his work with Hart). Below each song, we note the musical in which it was originally featured and the year it was published.
Hot 100 Hits Written by Rodgers & Hammerstein
Ariana Grande, "7 Rings," No. 1 peak (one week to date), Feb. 2, 2019
Interpolates "My Favorite Things," from The Sound of Music, 1959
Gwen Stefani, "Wind It Up," No. 6, Dec. 16, 2006
Interpolates "The Lonely Goatherd," from The Sound of Music, 1959
Jay & The Americans, "Some Enchanted Evening," No. 13, Oct. 9, 1965
From South Pacific, 1949
Chad & Jeremy, "If I Loved You," No. 23, April 10, 1965
From Carousel, 1945
Paul Anka, "Hello Young Lovers," No. 23, Aug. 29, Aug. 29, 1960
From The King and I, 1951
Patti LaBelle and The Blue-Belles, "You'll Never Walk Alone," No. 34, Feb. 8, 1964
From Carousel, 1945
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, "My Favorite Things," No. 45, Jan. 11, 1969
From The Sound of Music, 1959
Gerry & The Pacemakers, "You'll Never Walk Alone," No. 48, July 3, 1965
From Carousel, 1945
Brooklyn Bridge, "You'll Never Walk Alone," No. 51, Oct. 25, 1969
From Carousel, 1945
Johnny Mathis, "You Are Beautiful," No. 60, Jan. 19, 1959
From Flower Drum Song, 1958
Mitch Miller, "Do-Re-Mi," No. 70, Dec. 28, 1959
From The Sound of Music, 1959
Jordan Smith, "Climb Every Mountain," No. 72, Jan. 2, 2016
From The Sound of Music, 1959
Tony Bennett, "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," No. 74, Jan. 11, 1960
From The Sound of Music, 1959
Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen, "March of the Siamese Children," No. 88, April 14, 1962
From The King and I, 1951
The Hesitations, "Climb Every Mountain," No. 90, May 25, 1968
From The Sound of Music, 1959
Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires, "You'll Never Walk Alone," No. 90, April 20, 1968
From Carousel, 1945
Patti Page, "The Sound of Music," No. 90, Jan. 4, 1960
From The Sound of Music, 1959
Jane Oliver, "Some Enchanted Evening," No. 91, Sept. 24, 1977
From South Pacific, 1949
Chad & Jeremy, "I Have Dreamed," No. 91, Nov. 6, 1965
From The King and I, 1951
Anita Bryant, "Do-Re-Mi," No. 94, Dec. 28, 1959
From The Sound of Music, 1959
Hot 100 Hits Written by Rodgers & Lorenz Hart (as duo Rodgers & Hart)
The Marcels, "Blue Moon," No. 1 (three weeks), April 3, 1961
Dion & The Belmonts, "Where or When," No. 3, Feb. 2, 1960
From Babes in Arms, 1937
The Mamas & The Papas, "Glad to Be Unhappy," No. 26, Nov. 25, 1967
From On Your Toes, 1936
The Ventures, "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue," No. 35, Nov. 28, 1964
From On Your Toes, 1936
Herb Lance & The Classics, "Blue Moon," No. 50, March 27, 1961
The Ventures, "Blue Moon," No. 54, Nov. 20, 1961
Glee Cast, "Lady Is a Tramp," No. 81, May 29, 2010
From Babes in Arms, 1937
The Crampton Sisters, "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," No. 92, Feb. 15, 1964
From Too Many Girls, 1939
The Lettermen, "Where or When," No. 98, Jan. 4, 1964
From Babes in Arms, 1937
Hot 100 Hits Written by Hammerstein (with Jerome Kern or Sigmund Romberg)
Linda Scott, "I've Told Every Little Star," No. 3, May 1, 1961
From Music in the Air, 1932 (composed by Jerome Kern)
Ed Townsend, "When I Grow Too Old to Dream," No. 59, Oct. 6, 1958
(composed by Sigmund Romberg, 1934)
Ray Stevens, "Indian Love Call," No. 68, Nov. 8, 1975
From Rose-Marie, 1924
Jimmy Smith, "Ol' Man River," No. 82, Sept. 29, 1962
From Show Boat, 1927 (composed by Jerome Kern)
Barbra Streisand, "Stout-Hearted Men," No. 92, Aug. 26, 1967
From The New Moon (composed by Sigmund Romberg)
The Cleftones, "Lover Come Back to Me," No. 95, Dec. 29, 1962
From The New Moon, 1928 (composed by Sigmund Romberg)
The Excels, "Can't Help Lovin' That Girl of Mine," No. 100, June 5, 1961
(composed by Jerome Kern)." - Billboard.com
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