"My Favorite Things" is a

show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Th ...

from the 1959

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 ...

musical ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

.'' In the original Broadway production, the song was introduced by

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific (musica ...

playing Maria and Patricia Neway playing Mother Abbess.

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

, who had first performed the song in a 1961 Christmas special for ''

The Garry Moore Show ''The Garry Moore Show'' is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic tale ...

'', reprised ''My Favorite Things'' in 1965 when she starred as Maria in the film version of the musical. The list of favorite things mentions many

holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

and

winter time Wintertime is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate zones. Wintertime or winter time may also refer to: * Standard time, the time without the offset for daylight saving time which is also known as summer time * Winter time (clock l ...

imagery including kettles, warm mittens, packages, sleigh bells, kittens, snowflakes, and silver white winters. The song has become a holiday staple on radio and in advertising. In 2004, the movie version of the song placed at number 64 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

Other notable versions

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

played a 14-minute version in E minor as the title track of an album recorded in October 1960 and released in March 1961. It became a signature song for Coltrane in concert, also appearing on '' Newport '63'' in 1963. Coltrane's recording turned the song into a jazz standard that was included in the ''

Real Book ''The Real Book'' is a compilation of lead sheets for jazz standards. It was created in the mid-1970s by two students at the Berklee College of Music. In its original form, it was an illegal publication made at local copy shops. It quickly bec ...

''. In 1961 jazz vocalist Mark Murphy recorded the song on his 1962

Riverside Records Riverside Records was an American jazz record company and label. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer, Jr, under his firm Bill Grauer Productions in 1953, the label played an important role in the jazz record industry for a decade. Riversid ...

album '' Rah'' track 8 In 1964, Jack Jones became the first of many artists to include the song on a

Christmas album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of Je ...

. In 1965, a popular version of the song performed by

Diana Ross and The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

was included in the group's album release ''

Merry Christmas The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...

''. Their version was featured in the 2018 Christmas film of '' The Grinch soundtrack.'' Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass released a version in 1969 as a single from their 1968 album, ''

Christmas Album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of Je ...

''. It reached number 45 on the ''Billboard'' 100.

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

recorded a version which appeared on his first holiday album titled "Christmas" in 1981.

Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. ...

's version appeared in 1994 and again in 1999 at number 64 and number 69, respectively, on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart after she recorded it for her 1993 album, '' Merry Christmas from London''. UK R&B group Big Brovaz released a version in 2003 titled " Favourite Things" with reworked lyrics about expensive and glamorous objects.

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

dropped a Latin beat onto their 2011 version featured on their album, '' Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three''. It reached the Top 10 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. In her 2019 song " 7 Rings",

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

interpolates the melody of "My Favorite Things". The song topped the charts in 15 countries.

Charts

The Supremes version

Glee Cast version

References

External links

Notes, lyrics, mp3s, different versions compared

"My Favorite Things at 60,"
public radio documentary on the 60th anniversary of John Coltrane's rendition of "My Favorite Things." {{authority control 1959 songs List songs American Christmas songs Jazz compositions in E minor Songs from The Sound of Music Mary Martin songs Julie Andrews songs Me First and the Gimme Gimmes songs Real Book Song Songs with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II Songs with music by Richard Rodgers