The song of the day for Sunday, July 12, 2026, is “The Song is You.”
About Today
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was born on July 12, 1895 in Harlem. He is mostly known as a lyricist, but was also a librettist, theatrical producer, and musical theater director. Even though he was born to a prominent theatrical family, his father did not want his son to pursue theatre as a career; thus Hammerstein attended Columbia University to study law. After his father died, he began perform in and write for the school’s Varsity shows. In his early years, he collaborated with songwriters, such as Jerome Kern, with whom he wrote the 1927 musical Show Boat. He is best known for his work with Richard Rodgers, beginning with the revolutionary 1943 musical Oklahoma! (which ran for 2,212 performances, closing in 1948), followed by the 1945 Carousel, which ran for 890 performances. In his work with Richard Rodgers, they won 34 Tony Awards, fifteen Academy Awards, two Pulitzer Prizes (for Oklahoma! and South Pacific), and two Grammy Awards.
Note that Oscar Hammerstein is the only person named Oscar to receive an Oscar from the Academy Awards.
Hammerstein is also known as a mentor to Stephen Sondheim, who was a friend Hammerstein’s son James. Sondheim had written a musical while in high school, called By George! Sondheim asked Hammerstein to critique his show as if Sondheim was a professional. Thus began a years-long mentorship that lasted until Hammerstein’s death in 1960.
If interested, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization is a great place to start and learn more about Oscar Hammerstein.
About This Song
“The Song is You” was written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein for their 1932 musical Music in the Air. Alec Wilder wrote in American Popular Song that the song “attempts too dramatic a statement on too small a stage […] it suggests a grander voice than that usually associated with popular theater music”, but that it nonetheless possesses a “superior quality” as a composition, with a “masterful” release containing “brilliant” harmony and melody.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “The Song is You” for his 2015 album with Bill Charlap, The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern. Bennett was accompanied by Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes on dual pianos for this song.
“The Song is You,” as well as The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern, is available on Apple Music.