The 19th December 2025 would have been Robert B. Sherman’s 100th birthday. Robert worked with his brother Richard M. Sherman, and together they wrote more song scores for motion picture than any other songwriting teams: over 200 songs for 27 films and 24 television productions. Their songs remain popular today, and two of them (‘Colonel Hathi Elephant March’ from The Jungle Book and ‘Hushabye Mountain’ from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) are listed in the Model Music Curriculum’s recommended listening.
Robert B. Sherman’s early life
Robert Bernard Sherman was born on 19th December 1925 in New York. He was the son of Al Sherman, who was a songwriter on Manhattan’s Tin Pan Alley. In 1928, Robert was joined by a younger brother, Richard, and the duo were encouraged in their songwriting by their father.
As a young boy, Robert explored playing the violin and piano as well as painting and poetry. The family eventually settled in Beverly Hills, California, and at Beverly Hills High School, Robert won acclaim for the radio and stage programmes he wrote and produced. When he was 16, he wrote the play Armistice and Dedication Day, which explored how the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour impacted American life. The play raised thousands of dollars for war bonds and received a special citation from the US War Department.
In 1943, Robert joined the army, aged just 17. After being shot in the knee in April 1945, he was awarded the Purple Heart medal, the first of many recognitions of his service. Later in April 1945, Robert was one of the first solders at the Dachau concentration camp.
Due to his knee injury, Robert spent time in Taunton and Bournemouth, UK, to recuperate. He credited this time in England with the ignition of his interest in English culture.
Richard M. Sherman’s early life
Richard Morton Sherman was born on 12th June 1928 in New York. Like his older brother, he learned piano at school, but also played flute and piccolo. When he graduated in 1946, he performed on flute at the ceremony with classmate André Previn accompanying him.
Richard was drafted into the U.S Army in 1953 and, as a musician, was assigned to the Army Band and Glee club. He served as musical conductor for both groups between 1953 and 1955 when he had an honourable discharge.
He began writing songs while at Bard College where he majored in Music.
The Sherman Brothers - a songwriting duo
The Sherman brothers began writing songs as a result of a challenge from their father – to see if they could match his talent. Their first US hit was ‘Tall Paul’ in 1958, sung by Annette Funicello. The song was noticed by Walt Disney, and he invited the brothers to become staff songwriters for him.
The duo also wrote ‘You’re Sixteen’, sung by Johnny Burnette, which reached number 8 on the US Billboard 100 in December 1960 and number 3 in the UK charts in 1961. It was later covered by Ringo Starr in 1973, finally reaching number 1 in the US Billboard chart.
Songwriting for Disney
Robert and Richard’s first song for Disney was ‘Strummin’ Song’, written in 1961, which was used in the film The Horsemasters. The Shermans’ first major score for Disney was The Parent Trap, released in 1961, and this was followed by The Sword in the Stone – their first feature animation – in 1963.
For the 1964 New York World Fair, the Sherman brothers’ song ‘It’s a Small World (After All)’ was used for an installation. It went on to become possibly the song most performed in public in history, due to its use at the Disney theme parks.
The following year the duo won two Academy awards – Best Original Score for Mary Poppins and Best Original Song for Dick Van Dyck’s song from the film, ‘Chim Chim Cheree’.
One of the famous songs from the film is ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ which was inspired by Robert observing his son having the polio vaccine. Richard shared his memory of the breakthrough moment:
“Bob came in the next day, and he said, ‘What do you think of it, ‘A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down?’ The minute I sat down to play it, I knew that was it. We were both jumping around like a couple of freaks!”
In 1965, the duo wrote seven songs for The Jungle Book including ‘Trust in Me’, ‘I Wan’na Be Like You’ and ‘Colonel Hathi Elephant March’ (which is recommended listening for Year 1 in the Model Music Curriculum for England).
This film was the last project produced by Walt Disney, who died on 15th December 1966, before the film’s release in 1967.
After Disney’s death, the Sherman brothers left the company and worked freelance on a wide range of projects including films, television shows, theme park exhibits and stage musicals.
The Shermans as freelancers
Robert and Richard’s first non-Disney project was for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 1968. This led to their third Academy Award nomination. They later added new songs when the film became a stage musical in 2002 at the London Palladium. The lullaby ‘Hushabye Mountain’ is recommended listening in the Model Music Curriculum for Year 5 (note the song starts at 0:59 in the video below).
Despite moving to freelance work, the Sherman brothers continued their connection with Disney, writing songs for The Aristocats (1970) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).
The duo wrote both the screenplay and the songs for Tom Sawyer, adapted from Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. They were nominated for Best Original Score at the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and / or Adaption. The film also won them first prize at the Moscow Film Festival in 1973 – when they became the only Americans ever to win the award.
The following year the Sherman brothers wrote the score to Over Here!, which was nominated for a Tony Award. It became the highest-grossing original Broadway musical of 1974.
In 1976, they wrote the songs, score and screenplay for The Slipper and the Rose, an adaptation of Cinderella. It was chosen to be the Royal Command Performance of the year and was attended by Queen Elizabeth II.
1976 was also the year that the brothers received a star on the famous Hollywood “Walk of Fame”.
They continued to work on films for the rest of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
In the 21st Century, the brothers returned to their two biggest hits, turning Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and then Mary Poppins into stage musicals, which went on to tour internationally.
Robert relocated to London in 2002. He died on 6th March 2012.
Robert’s other interests
Alongside his musical abilities, Robert was also a visual artist. Having studied painting at Bard College, graduating with a double degree in Painting and English Literature, he continued with art throughout his life. His main focus was oil painting, but he also worked in clay, metal sculpture and later acrylics. The first public exhibition of Robert’s paintings was in 2002 at the Thompson’s Gallery, Marylebone High Street in London.
Robert established an annual scholarship in his name to support excellence in musical comedy songwriting with an emphasis on lyric writing. This was set up in 2005 and is administered by the BMI Foundation.
The Shermans’ Achievements and awards
The brothers’ achievements were acknowledged through many awards.
Robert received the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge, two Battle Stars for his European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, an American Campaign Medal, a World War II Victory Medal and a Good Conduct Medal, along with his Purple Heart.
The duo collected two awards from BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated), the Pioneer Award in 1977 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.
The Sherman brothers’s work for Disney was acknowledged in 1990 with a Disney Legends award and in 2010, Main Street at Disneyland California featured a window to honour the brothers’ work.
In 2003 the Sherman brothers were given the Winsor McCay Award for lifetime achievement and contribution to animation.
The Chitty Chitty Bang Bang stage musical was nominated for the 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best New Musical, and the show also led to the brothers receiving the Musical Theatre Award from the Variety Club of Great Britain. In 2005 the musical moved to Broadway and was nominated for nine Tony Awards.
In 2004 Mary Poppins was adapted for the stage, and it was nominated for nine Olivier Awards in 2005.
The duo’s lifetime contribution to songwriting was acknowledged by their induction to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005. Their work was also recognised in 2008 when they were awarded the National Medal of Arts at the White House by President George W. Bush.
For a full list of Sherman’s works and achievements visit:
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