David Bianculli

Even those who seldom see a Broadway show are familiar with some of the songs written by Strauss.

some of the songs written by Charles Strauss. He started playing the piano at age 10 and graduated from Rochester's Eastman School of Music. He studied classical music with Aaron Copland and Nadia Boulanger, then met Lee Adams and started writing a more popular style of music. But before hitting it big in 1960 with Bye Bye Birdie, Strauss had a string of very odd jobs.

some of the songs written by Charles Strauss. He started playing the piano at age 10 and graduated from Rochester's Eastman School of Music. He studied classical music with Aaron Copland and Nadia Boulanger, then met Lee Adams and started writing a more popular style of music. But before hitting it big in 1960 with Bye Bye Birdie, Strauss had a string of very odd jobs.

some of the songs written by Charles Strauss. He started playing the piano at age 10 and graduated from Rochester's Eastman School of Music. He studied classical music with Aaron Copland and Nadia Boulanger, then met Lee Adams and started writing a more popular style of music. But before hitting it big in 1960 with Bye Bye Birdie, Strauss had a string of very odd jobs.

He played piano for dance rehearsals and in strip clubs, and even wrote background music for Fox movie-tone newsreels. He wrote the music for the movies Bonnie and Clyde and The Night They Raided Minsky's.

He played piano for dance rehearsals and in strip clubs, and even wrote background music for Fox movie-tone newsreels. He wrote the music for the movies Bonnie and Clyde and The Night They Raided Minsky's.

He played piano for dance rehearsals and in strip clubs, and even wrote background music for Fox movie-tone newsreels. He wrote the music for the movies Bonnie and Clyde and The Night They Raided Minsky's.

And on the opening credits of the hit 1970s TV series All in the Family, when Jean Stapleton's Edith was seen playing the piano as she and Carol O'Connor's Archie Bunker sang the Those Were the Days theme song, it actually was Charles Strauss who played the piano heard on the soundtrack. And he also wrote the music, while his Bye Bye Birdie partner, Lee Adams, wrote the nostalgic lyrics.

And on the opening credits of the hit 1970s TV series All in the Family, when Jean Stapleton's Edith was seen playing the piano as she and Carol O'Connor's Archie Bunker sang the Those Were the Days theme song, it actually was Charles Strauss who played the piano heard on the soundtrack. And he also wrote the music, while his Bye Bye Birdie partner, Lee Adams, wrote the nostalgic lyrics.

And on the opening credits of the hit 1970s TV series All in the Family, when Jean Stapleton's Edith was seen playing the piano as she and Carol O'Connor's Archie Bunker sang the Those Were the Days theme song, it actually was Charles Strauss who played the piano heard on the soundtrack. And he also wrote the music, while his Bye Bye Birdie partner, Lee Adams, wrote the nostalgic lyrics.

We're going to listen back to two different conversations Terry Gross had with Charles Strauss. She first spoke with him in 1994.

We're going to listen back to two different conversations Terry Gross had with Charles Strauss. She first spoke with him in 1994.

We're going to listen back to two different conversations Terry Gross had with Charles Strauss. She first spoke with him in 1994.

That's the telephone song from the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strauss.

That's the telephone song from the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strauss.

That's the telephone song from the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strauss.

On The Indicator from Planet Money podcast, we're here to help you make sense of the economic news from Trump's tariffs. It's called in game theory a trigger strategy or sometimes called grim trigger, which sort of has a cowboy-esque ring to it. To what exactly a sovereign wealth fund is. For insight every weekday, listen to NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money.

On The Indicator from Planet Money podcast, we're here to help you make sense of the economic news from Trump's tariffs. It's called in game theory a trigger strategy or sometimes called grim trigger, which sort of has a cowboy-esque ring to it. To what exactly a sovereign wealth fund is. For insight every weekday, listen to NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money.

On The Indicator from Planet Money podcast, we're here to help you make sense of the economic news from Trump's tariffs. It's called in game theory a trigger strategy or sometimes called grim trigger, which sort of has a cowboy-esque ring to it. To what exactly a sovereign wealth fund is. For insight every weekday, listen to NPR's The Indicator from Planet Money.

We're remembering composer Charles Strauss, who died last week at the age of 96. He wrote the music and won Tony Awards for the Broadway hits Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, and Applause. One of his lesser-known works is the 1964 musical Golden Boy. It was based on the 1937 play of the same name by Clifford Odets, who also wrote the musical adaptation. The 1964 musical starred Sammy Davis Jr.