Charles Strouse
Three-time Tony-award-winning songwriter (Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, Annie) Charles Strouse can remember attending shows at an early age with his parents and being awestruck with all the glamour. The composer of "Put on a Happy Face" (from Bye Bye Birdie), "A Lot of Living to Do," and "Once Upon a Time" has enjoyed success on both the stage and screen. He co-wrote the opening theme for Norman Lear's '70s TV sitcom All in the Family titled "Those Were the Days." Some of his collaborators included Lee Adams, Alan Jay Lerner, Martin Charnin, and Sammy Cahn.
He received a degree in composition from the Eastman School of Music and studied with Aaron Copland and Nadia Boulanger. He started his professional music career as a piano player for dance bands. Later he became a pianist for theatre rehearsals.
Bye Bye Birdie, his first and probably most-known success, was responsible for winning him his first Tony Award. The London production of the show won the London Critics' Best Foreign Musical Award. Strouse also co-wrote the 1966 musical It's a Bird, a Plane, It's Superman and Golden Boy starring Sammy Davis Jr. In 1970, Strouse won another Tony for Applause starring Lauren Bacall.
Two of the musicals were made into major motion pictures: Bye Bye Birdie, starring Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, and Ann-Margret (Columbia, 1963), and Annie (Columbia, 1982). The soundtrack to Annie went gold -- extremely rare for a show tunes album -- mainly off of the ballad "Tomorrow." The song has been covered by numerous artists including Johnny Mathis and Cissy Houston. The LP has the distinction of winning both a Tony and two Grammy awards. Bye Bye Birdie was also a 1995 ABC-TV movie starring Jason Alexander of Seinfeld. The song "Let's Settle Down" won a 1996 Primetime Emmy Award.
Strouse contributed scores and or songs to the following movies: Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), There Was a Crooked Man (1970), Just Tell Me What You Want (1980), Ishtar (1987), and All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989).
Other musicals Strouse has contributed to include Broadway Musical, Charlie and Algernon, All American written with Mel Brooks and Lee Adams, Mayor, Dance a Little Closer, Nick and Nora, Annie Warbucks, Rags, and Nightingale. By Strouse, a musical consisting of songs from Strouse's catalog, tours frequently, while Strouse himself is an active guest lecturer.
© Ed Hogan /TiVo
Similar artists
Discography
10 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Rags: The Musical (Original London Cast Recording)
Stephen Schwartz, Charles Strouse
Originele soundtracks - Released by Ghostlight Records on 15 mei 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nick and Nora (Original Broadway Cast)
Charles Strouse, Richard Maltby, Jr.
Originele soundtracks - Released by Jay Records on 1 okt. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Musicality of Strouse
Originele soundtracks - Released by Jay Records on 13 sep. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Charles Sings Strouse
Vocale muziek (wereldlijk en religieus) - Released by PS Classics on 1 sep. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nightingale (Original London Cast)
Charles Strouse, Sarah Brightman
Originele soundtracks - Released by Jay Records on 10 jan. 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Annie (Original Studio Cast)
Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin
Originele soundtracks - Released by Jay Records on 1 jan. 1977
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Children of the Wind
Carolyn Maitland, Stephen Schwartz, Charles Strouse
Originele soundtracks - Released by Ghostlight Records on 1 mei 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I and Albert (Original London Cast)
Originele soundtracks - Released by Jay Records on 1 jan. 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Three American Pieces
Klassiek - Released by Hoot - Wisdom Recordings LLC on 2 dec. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
One Last Kiss (From "Bye Bye Birdie")
Jesse Pearson, Lee Adams, Charles Strouse
Pop - Released by JB Production on 17 feb. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo