Charles Strouse

Charles Louis Strouse (June 7, 1928 – May 15, 2025) was an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to the Broadway musicals Bye Bye Birdie, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman, Applause, and Annie.

Charles Louis Strouse, a native of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, was born on June 7, 1928, to Jewish parents, Ethel (née Newman) and Ira Strouse, who worked in the tobacco business. His parents suffered from physical and mental health issues, and the family found respite from their troubles when they would sing songs together at the piano, which his mother played. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied under Arthur Berger, David Diamond, Aaron Copland, and Nadia Boulanger. He had initially aspired to a career in classical music, but Boulanger assured him that his talent for "light music" was valuable, saying "to make someone forget illness and suffering is also a calling.” His rare, happy childhood memories later inspired the credit sequence of “All in the Family,” in which Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton sit at the piano, singing together.

Strouse began a collaboration with Lee Adams in 1952, and they had written songs together for several years by the time their first Broadway musical, Bye Bye Birdie, opened in 1960. For this show, Strouse won his first Tony Award in the category of best musical.

Strouse's next show was All American (1962), with a book by Mel Brooks and lyrics by Adams; it was not a success, closing after 80 performances, but it produced the standard “Once Upon a Time” (recorded by Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Al Martino, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and Bobby Darin, among dozens of others).

Following this was Golden Boy (1964, also with Adams), starring Sammy Davis Jr., which ran for 568 performances. The musical It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman (1966, based on the popular comic strip) closed after 129 performances, but introduced the song "You've Got Possibilities" sung by Linda Lavin. Its theme would also be adopted by Washington, D.C. television station WTOP (now WUSA) for news broadcasts.

In 1970, Applause (starring Lauren Bacall, with book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and lyrics by Adams) won Strouse his second Tony Award for Best Musical. In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage, creating the hit Annie, which included the song "Tomorrow," which quickly became a "monstrous song hit," and garnered him his third Tony Award and two Grammy Awards.

Other Strouse musicals include Charlie and Algernon (1979), Dance a Little Closer (1983, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, which closed after one performance), Rags (1986; which closed after four performances and 18 previews), Nick & Nora (1993, which closed after 9 performances), and An American Tragedy (1995, with lyrics by David Shaber, performed at Muhlenberg College).

Strouse also wrote musical revues, many with Adams, and his songs were included in revues. The revues included Shoestring Revue (with Adams and Michael Stewart) (1955 – Off–Broadway), Medium Rare (with Adams) (1960 – Chicago), By Strouse (1978 – Off–Broadway at The Ballroom), Upstairs At O'Neals (1982 – Nightclub Revue), Can't Stop Dancin (1994 – Marymount Theatre), and A Lot Of Living! (1996 – conceived and directed by Barbara Siman at Rainbow and Stars).