The Hills Are Alive! Behind The Scenes With The Sound of Music

The Reason The Story Was Told

The Sound of Music was loosely based on Maria von Trapp’s memoir, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. The book was published by J.B. Lippincott Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1949. Although she claimed that she only wrote her story to prove that she had no writing skills, Maria’s story quickly became a bestseller.

After the book gained success, Maria sold the film rights to German producers, unknowingly signing away her own rights to her own story. It is for this reason that neither Maria or any of the von Trapps received any profits from the musical or the film that made their story famous.