About
"The trick in writing theater lyrics, to me, is getting inside the skin of the character, getting inside that character's head, and trying to come up with a song that that character would sing. It's harder than it looks … If you really get inside that character, the vocabulary becomes his vocabulary. That's what you try to do."
In the fifteen-minute solo portion of his interview, Lee Adams discusses his childhood and early influences, including his education at Ohio State and Columbia. He talks about the musical he wrote as an undergraduate, and meeting Charles Strouse in New York. He discusses his style and process as a lyricist, his favorite lyrics he wrote, and his career achievements and regrets.
In the hour-and-a-half joint portion of their interview, Lee Adams and Charles Strouse discuss their musical collaborations. Strouse and Adams discuss writing music and lyrics for Broadway plays including their hit, Bye Bye Birdie, Golden Boy (starring Sammy Davis, Jr.), and Applause (an adaptation of All About Eve). The pair then talk about their composition of one of the most well-remembered television theme songs of all time, All in the Family's "Those Were the Days." They offer advice to aspiring composers and lyricists, and talk about taking time off from their partnership. They also speak of their Emmy-winning song "Let's Settle Down" which was written for a 1995 television movie version of Bye Bye Birdie, starring Vanessa Williams and Jason Alexander. Karen Herman conducted the interviews on November 10, 2005 in New York, NY.
Highlights
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on writing "Bye Bye Birdie"
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on writing the lyrics to "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the legacy of theme song to All in the Family and of the series itself
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor performing "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams on the favorite lyrics he's written
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his childhood and early influences; on writing a musical as an undergraduate at Ohio State; on meeting partner Charles Strouse; on getting his M.A. at Columbia and working as a magazine editor
On wanting to be a lyricist and on his process; on the favorite lyrics he's written; on how Broadway has changed over the years; on his greatest career achievement - writing "Bye Bye Birdie"
On career regrets
Chapter 2
START OF JOINT INTERVIEW WITH LEE ADAMS AND CHARLES STROUSE: On when and how they met and became partners; on their collaborative process
On writing the play "Bye Bye Birdie;" on the original Broadway version and the television version; on the song "Put on a Happy Face"
On winning a Tony award; on the film and television versions of "Bye Bye Birdie" and the play's sequel
Chapter 3
On how "Bye Bye Birdie" helped their career; on their plays, "The American" and "Golden Boy" (the latter starring Sammy Davis, Jr.); on the play "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman" and what makes a good Broadway play
On writing the title song to All In the Family; on the publishing rights and lyrics to "Those Were the Days"
Chapter 4
On audience response to the theme song to All in the Family; on the legacy of the song and the series; on covers of their songs that they've enjoyed
On other work they did for television; on music for the play "Applause" and walking away from their partnership for a while; on their music for the play "Marty"
On their favorite stories about each other; on how they'd like to be remembered
Shows
All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on writing the theme to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on their idea for "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on writing the lyrics to "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor performing "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the publishing rights to "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor performing "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the success of All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on their process for creating "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the sheet music for "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on what their song "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family - meant to 1970's audiences
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on how their song "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family - softened "Archie Bunker"
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on presenting their song "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family - to Norman Lear
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on audience response to the theme song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the legacy of theme song to All in the Family and of the series itself
Bye Bye Birdie
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the television version of Bye Bye Birdie
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on their involvement with the television version of Bye Bye Birdie
Goldbergs, The
Charles Strouse on playing piano for The Goldbergs and Your Show of Shows
Topics
Characters & Catchphrases
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on how their song "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family - softened "Archie Bunker"
Pop Culture
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on "Bye Bye Birdie" as a commentary on the then-state of Rock 'N Roll
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on how their song "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family - softened "Archie Bunker"
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on writing the theme song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on audience response to the theme song to All in the Family
Rock 'n' Roll on TV (1950s & '60s)
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on "Bye Bye Birdie" as a commentary on the then-state of Rock 'N Roll
TV Theme Songs
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on writing the theme song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on audience response to the theme song to All in the Family
Professions
Composer
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on their collaborative process
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on what makes for the best Broadway musical and how they work together
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on advice to aspiring musical collaborators
Lyricist
Lee Adams on his style and process as a lyricist
Lee Adams on how he works with a composer
Lee Adams on advice to an aspiring lyricist
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on their collaborative process
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on what makes for the best Broadway musical and how they work together
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on advice to aspiring musical collaborators
Music Professionals
Lee Adams on his style and process as a lyricist
Lee Adams on how he works with a composer
Lee Adams on advice to an aspiring lyricist
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on their collaborative process
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on their collaborative process
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on what makes for the best Broadway musical and how they work together
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on what makes for the best Broadway musical and how they work together
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on advice to aspiring musical collaborators
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on advice to aspiring musical collaborators
Genres
Comedy Series
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on writing the theme song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on audience response to the theme song to All in the Family
People
Lauren Bacall
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on casting Lauren Bacall in the play "Applause" - an adaptation of All About Eve
Gertrude Berg
Charles Strouse on meeting the cast of The Goldbergs
Mel Brooks
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the play, "The American" - written with Mel Brooks
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on writing a song for Mel Brooks' "When Things Were Rotten"
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the play "Golden Boy" starring Sammy Davis, Jr.
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on depicting the African-American experience in the play "Golden Boy" starring Sammy Davis, Jr.
Norman Lear
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on writing the theme to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on presenting their song "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family - to Norman Lear
Jack Lemmon
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the cast of the original Broadway run of "Bye Bye Birdie"
Joshua Logan
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the play, "The American" - directed by Joshua Logan
Paul Lynde
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the cast of the original Broadway run of "Bye Bye Birdie"
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on music for the play "Applause"
Carroll O'Connor
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor performing "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor performing "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Elvis Presley
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on "Bye Bye Birdie" as a commentary on the then-state of Rock 'N Roll
Jean Stapleton
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor performing "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor performing "Those Were The Days" - the title song to All in the Family
Charles Strouse
Lee Adams on meeting musical partner Charles Strouse
Dick Van Dyke
Lee Adams and Charles Strouse on the cast of the original Broadway run of "Bye Bye Birdie"