Remembering Broadway Composer Charles Strouse

Fresh Air

NPR

Tv & Film, Arts, Society & Culture, Books

4.4 • 34.4K Ratings

🗓️ 23 May 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

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Summary

We remember Broadway composer Charles Strouse, who died May 15 at age 96. He wrote the music for the hit musicals Bye Bye Birdie and Annie, which included such songs as "Put On a Happy Face," "A Lot of Livin' to Do," and "Tomorrow." Jay-Z sampled "Hard Knock Life," from Annie, on a Grammy-award-winning rap recording. Strouse understood why: "I wanted that song to be gritty. I didn't want it to be a fake. I wanted it to show these desperate times and these maltreated girls." Strouse spoke with Terry Gross in 2002.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from Scholastic with the new novel El Niño, an entrancing adventure from
0:05.8	beloved and award-winning author of Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan. Jason Reynolds calls it
0:11.6	a brilliant amalgamation of myth, nature, sport, and loss. I've never read anything like it. El Niño
0:18.3	is available wherever books are sold.
0:26.5	This is Fresh Air. I'm David B. and Cooley. Today, we're remembering Charles Strauss,
0:32.9	the Broadway composer who died last week at age 96. Collaborating with lyricist Lee Adams,
0:39.6	he won Tony Awards for Best Musical for Bye Bye Birdie and Aplause. They also wrote the songs for Golden Boy, a musical starring Sammy Davis Jr. Teaming up with lyricist Martin Charnan,
0:45.5	he wrote the songs for Annie. Even those who seldom see a Broadway show are familiar
0:50.5	with some of the songs written by Strauss.
0:58.1	Music are familiar with some of the songs written by Strauss. Gray skies are going to clear up, put on a happy face.
1:03.7	Brush off the clouds and cheer up, put on a happy face.
1:09.0	Take off the gloomy mask Of tragedy
1:11.4	It's not your style
1:13.4	It's a hard not
1:16.0	Life for us
1:17.6	It's a hard not a life
1:19.7	For us
1:21.0	Instead of treat it
1:22.2	We get tricked
1:24.1	Sted of kisses
1:25.4	We get kicked
1:27.1	It's a hard not glide It's the horn knock live
	...

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