STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The composer of the musicals "Bye Bye Birdie," "Applause" and "Annie" has died. Charles Strouse spent his last hours at home in New York. He was 96. If you did not know his name, you may well know the music that we will hear from reporter Jeff Lunden.
JEFF LUNDEN: Charles Strouse was a musical chameleon, says theater historian Laurence Maslon.
LAURENCE MASLON: Strouse was a great craftsperson. He adopted and adapted his vocabulary to whatever the needs of the particular genre were.
LUNDEN: He could write songs in the style of early rock 'n' roll...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ONE LAST KISS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character, singing) Oh, one last kiss. Oh, give me one last kiss.
LUNDEN: ...Or Depression-era New York...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU'RE NEVER FULLY DRESSED WITHOUT A SMILE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, singing) Hey, hobo man. Hey, Dapper Dan. You've both got your style, but brother, you're never fully dressed without a smile.
LUNDEN: ...Or ultra-groovy 1970s New York.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLES STROUSE SONG, "BUT ALIVE")
LUNDEN: Strouse was classically trained at the Eastman School of Music and worked with American composer Aaron Copland. He was making a living playing rehearsal piano for Broadway shows when a stage manager, who wanted to be a producer, approached him, he told me in 2008.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHARLES STROUSE: He said to me, I hear you write music. And I said, yes, I do. He said, I have an idea for a show about teenagers. Would I be interested? I said, would I?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE TELEPHONE HOUR")
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (As characters, singing) Did they really get pinned? Going steady.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (As characters, singing) She saw him.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (As characters, singing) I was hoping they would. Going steady.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (As characters, singing) She loved him.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (As characters, singing) Now they're living at last. Going steady.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (As characters, singing) She never.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #1: (As characters, singing) Going steady for good.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP #2: (As characters, singing) If you got to go, that's the way to go.
LUNDEN: The show was "Bye Bye Birdie." It opened in 1960, and even though The New York Times gave it a pan - calling it neither fish nor fowl nor musical comedy - it became an enormous hit, winning the Tony for best musical. And since then, it's been one of the most performed shows in community theaters and high schools.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STROUSE: It's a wonderful feeling. And I am modest, though not humble in any way, but I'm a very lucky man.
LUNDEN: And he became a very rich man. Though he suffered a string of flops afterwards, Strouse had another Tony Award-winning smash with "Applause," a musical version of "All About Eve" in 1970.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "APPLAUSE")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character, singing) 'Cause you've had a taste of the sound that says love - applause, applause, applause.
LUNDEN: Strouse heard even more applause and won a Tony Award for best score with "Annie," based on the comic strip, "Little Orphan Annie" in 1977. He said the best-known song from that score, "Tomorrow," was written in rehearsal to cover a set change.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STROUSE: She found the dog, and she had to, in 12 seconds, let's say, get back to the orphanage. So we needed a song there.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TOMORROW")
ANDREA MCARDLE: (As Annie, singing) The sun will come out tomorrow. So you got to hang on till tomorrow, come what may. Tomorrow, tomorrow. I love you. Tomorrow. You're always a day away.
LUNDEN: Andrea McArdle was 12 years old when she starred in "Annie."
MCARDLE: My favorite thing was to listen to him play his songs. Not every composer is as charming as Charles Strouse is when he plays his music.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STROUSE: (Singing) Gray skies are going to clear up. Put on a happy face.
(APPLAUSE)
STROUSE: (Singing) Brush off the clouds and cheer up. Put on a happy face.
LUNDEN: That's Charles Strouse singing probably his most famous song, "Put On A Happy Face" from "Bye Bye Birdie." The composer kept working into his 80s on new projects at a time when most creators would have been happy resting on their accomplishments.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
STROUSE: I love composing. I love it, you know. And if I'm not composing, if I don't have a new project or something, I'm rather at a loss of what to do.
LUNDEN: For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SMASHING N.Y. TIMES")
STROUSE: (Singing) Terrific daily news. We do our shows, and what does it all mean?
INSKEEP: We're listening to a song there where Strouse sings himself about lousy theater reviews, if I understand it correctly.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
(Laughter) I thought that was you for a second there, Steve. You sound exactly like him.
INSKEEP: (Laughter) No, no. His compositions also include a super famous TV theme to "All In The Family." (Singing) Those were the days.
MARTÍNEZ: See, I think I could do the Jean Stapleton part of it. It's...
INSKEEP: Go ahead. Go ahead. You got a few seconds. Hit the high note.
MARTÍNEZ: Edith - I can't do it. I can't. No, no, I won't even try. I won't even disrespect their legacy by trying.
INSKEEP: (Vocalizing).
It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Our theme music was inspired by BJ Leiderman. I'm Steve Inskeep.
MARTÍNEZ: And I'm A Martínez.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SMASHING N.Y. TIMES")
STROUSE: (Singing) Just lovely. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
