Dick's Ditties

Happy birthday, Richard Rodgers, perhaps the most talented tunesmith of the 20th century.  He had two collaborations, with Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein, either one of which would have made him one of the greats (and very rich). With Hart he wrote hundreds of smart songs. He got a little more earnest with Hammerstein, and created the modern, integrated musical.

When he started, did he think people would still be singing his songs into the 21st century?  Well, he wasn't that humble, but he wasn't Gershwin either, so probably not.