"Maria" is a song from the 1957 Broadway musical play West Side Story. It is sung by the main character, Tony. The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein, and the words were written by Stephen Sondheim. The song was released in 1956. Recordings of the song by Johnny Mathis and Roger Williams appeared on popular music lists in the early 1960s.
InWest Side Story
The song "Maria" is sung by Tony, the male lead, in Act 1 of the musical. He sings it after learning the name of the girl he loves, who is pulled away from him by her brother Bernardo at a dance. The name "Maria" is spoken or sung 30 times in the song. A musical theme linked to "Maria" appears earlier in the dance scene and continues into the balcony scene that follows. The song was originally written in the key of E-flat major, after an 8-bar introduction in B major.
After Tony says the name "Maria" once, the song begins with a recitative, which is a type of singing that sounds like speech. This part has eight bars and repeats the name "Maria" ten times. Then, after a change in key and tempo, an aria begins. The range of the aria slowly rises from the note B to G sharp and reaches a B flat, with an alternative option on G. The song ends with a long, held note on G.
The song is famous for using a musical interval called a tritone in its main theme. This same interval appears in other songs from the musical. The song also uses a musical scale called the Lydian mode, which is similar to the major scale but has an augmented fourth.
Uses
Bernstein used the song "Maria" in his 1992 Concert Suite No. 1 from West Side Story. Lin-Manuel Miranda used a line from its text and that line's melody for the 2017 song "Almost Like Praying" to support relief efforts in Puerto Rico in response to Hurricane Maria.
Johnny Mathis version
Johnny Mathis recorded the song "Maria" on November 6, 1959, with an orchestra led by Glenn Osser. The song was produced by Mitch Miller and released as a single on May 9, 1960. This release happened at the same time as the Broadway revival of West Side Story, which opened on April 27, 1960.
"Maria" first appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the magazine issue dated May 30, 1960. It reached its highest position, number 78, six weeks later in the July 11 issue. The song also reached number 50 on Cash Box magazine's best seller list. After the musical film version of West Side Story was released in October 1961, the Mathis recording was released again. This second release appeared on the Billboard chart in the issue dated December 11, 1961, and reached number 88 during the three weeks it remained on the chart.
In their review column, the editors of Cash Box magazine named "Maria" their Pick of the Week, which they compared to receiving an A grade for both "Maria" and its B-side, "Hey Love." They described "Maria" as "a distinctive reading of the beautiful opus" and noted "a lovely tango setting from the string orchestra." Billboard magazine categorized the single as a "Spotlight Winner," meaning it was one of the best new releases of the week, and described "Maria" as "a pretty ballad." AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine included the song in a list of "heavy-hitters" on Mathis's 1998 compilation album The Ultimate Hits Collection.
Roger Williams version
"Maria" was used as the main song for a 1962 album by pianist Roger Williams. The orchestra was led by Ralph Carmichael. The song reached number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1962 and number 11 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. It also reached number 40 on Cash Box magazine's best seller list.
When the original album was released, Billboard editors called the song "delightful." In their review of his 1967 Golden Hits collection, they described it as "powerful." Cash Box magazine editors called it one of the "better tracks" on the Golden Hits collection.
Notable cover versions
Various versions of the song "Maria" have been praised by editors of Cash Box magazine in reviews of albums and singles where it appears. They called the song "brilliant" in their review of the 1960 album West Side Story by André Previn and his trio. They described the performance by The Dave Brubeck Quartet on the 1960 album Bernstein Plays Brubeck Plays Bernstein as "exemplary." In their review of Presenting Peter Duchin, His Piano and Orchestra in 1961, they wrote, "Sounding a little like his famous father, Peter does credit to the Duchin name" on a list of songs that included "Maria." In reviewing Peter Nero's 1961 single that included the song, they called it "the oft-cut ballad beaut" and praised "Nero's superb keyboard stylings." They also wrote, "Outstanding ork showcase supplied by Marty Gold's outfit." David Whitfield also released a single including the song in 1961, on which they said he gave a "wonderfully rich, big-voiced performance."
Cash Box commented on recordings of "Maria" from several 1962 albums. The editors chose an instrumental version of the song as one of the "highlights" on Percy Faith's Hollywood's Great Themes. Jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson's Maynard '62 album included an instrumental version that they included in a list of songs that qualified as "top-flight free-flowing jazz." They wrote that pianist Junior Mance took "a new approach" to the song for The Soul of Hollywood. They described Perry Como's version on By Request as "superb." In reviewing Bobby Rydell's An Era Reborn, they included the song on a list of those on which he performs "with all of his expected artistry and verve." It was also on their list of songs with "top-flight arrangements" from Si Zentner and His Orchestra Play Desafinado. In the review of Lalo Schifrin's 1963 LP Piano, Strings and Bossa Nova, the rendition is described as a "feelingful performance." Operatic tenor Jan Peerce recorded "a strong big-ballad rendition" for a 1963 single that the editors summarized as "[c]lass warbling." Regarding Adam Wade's 1963 album A Very Good Year for Girls, they wrote, "The songster exhibits a polished style and a silky delivery that serves him well as he essays 'Maria'." They said that Vic Damone gave his 1964 single release a "warm and feelingful delivery" and described the rendition as a "powerful treatment" in reviewing its parent album, On the Street Where You Live.
Billboard also highlighted recordings of "Maria" in various reviews. Regarding the 1960 album Marian McPartland Plays Music of Leonard Bernstein, the editors wrote, "Miss McPartland here puts a selection of these into her own eloquent form of improved expression. The tunes, like … 'Maria' … seem especially suited to this interesting treatment." They described Cal Tjader's version on his 1960 album West Side Story as a "fine example" of the string arrangements by Clare Fischer. In their review of Como's By Request, they called the song a "favorite." They also called it one of "the better offerings" on Richard Maltby's 1962 album Ballads and Blues. George Chakiris recorded the song for a single in 1962, which the editors felt was "done with lots of verve over bright jazz support from Milton Raskin's crew." In their review of Schifrin's Piano, Strings and Bossa Nova, they wrote, "Lalo's jazz work with Gillespie shows through in some freewheeling piano passages in … 'Maria'." They also included it in a list of the "standout songs" on Damone's On the Street Where You Live.
AllMusic critics have commented in retrospective and contemporary reviews on various versions of the song. William Ruhlmann categorized "Maria" as one of the "important" songs in West Side Story in his review of the soundtrack to the 1961 film. He also described the song as "quality material" in his review of Como's By Request. Al Campbell included it on a list of several songs that "hold up exceptionally well" on Faith's 1962 album Hollywood's Great Themes. Scott Yanow found Sarah Vaughan's performance on her 1962 album You're Mine You to be "excessive," noting that "some may find her slightly overblown version of 'Maria' a bit difficult to sit through." Joe Viglione described the medley of "Maria" and "Somewhere" on Bryan Hyland's self-titled 1970 album as "memorable." Jon O'Brien reviewed Paul Potts's 2010 album Cinema Paradiso and commented, "Potts's populist style might not convince classical purists, but it's undoubtedly well suited to these operatic interpretations of classic movie songs including … 'Maria'."