Composer and lyricist Charles Strouse, 96, died on May 15. Strouse wrote the music (frequently with lyrics by Lee Adams) for Bye, Bye, Birdie, Annie, Applause, Golden Boy, and the notorious 1991 flop Nick & Nora, which opened and closed like a camera shutter. His first Broadway credit was 1956’s The Littlest Revue, which featured such upcomers as Joel Grey, Tammy Grimes, Larry Storch, and Charlotte Rae. He also provided music for All in the Family (he wrote the famous opening song), When Things Were Rotten, and All Dogs Go to Heaven. Strouse dabbled in classical music, including the opera Nightingale, and Concerto America. Strouse told the International Songwriters Association, “It’s not inspiration and it’s not craft, although craft has a great deal to do with it. It’s kind of realizing, when your head is empty, that there are a lot of notes, a lot of things to choose from. And after that, I dare say that it’s talent. If you ask, ‘Do I think I have talent?’ I’ve got to say, ‘Yes, I think I have talent.’ But I also find myself half the time doubting that, so I think I’m like everybody else.” He was married to director-choreographer Barbara Siman, who died in 2023.
