Lee Richard Adams (born August 14, 1924) is an American lyricist best known for his

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

collaboration with

Charles Strouse Charles Louis Strouse (June 7, 1928 – May 15, 2025) was an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to the Broadway musicals ''Bye Bye Birdie'', ''Applause (musical), Applause'', and ''Annie (musical), Annie''. Backgrou ...

Biography

Lee Adams was born in

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 47,534 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located approximately from Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Columbus via Interstate 71, it i ...

, on August 14, 1924. He is the son of Dr. Leopold Adams, originally of

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, and Florence Ellis (originally Elishack) Adams, originally of

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

. His family is Jewish. He is a graduate of Mansfield Senior High School. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

and a

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. While attending Ohio State, he was a brother of the Nu chapter of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. He worked as a journalist for newspaper and magazines. He met Charles Strouse in 1949, and they initially wrote for summer-time revues. Adams won

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

s in 1961 for '' Bye Bye Birdie'', the first Broadway musical he wrote with Strouse, and in 1970 for '' Applause'' and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1965 for '' Golden Boy''."Lee Adams Broadway"
Playbill, retrieved January 31, 2019 In addition, he wrote the lyrics for '' All American'', '' It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman'', ''

Bring Back Birdie ''Bring Back Birdie'' is a 1981 musical theatre, musical with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams, and a book by Michael Stewart (playwright), Michael Stewart. It is a sequel to the 1960 musical ''Bye Bye Birdie (musical), Bye Bye Birdi ...

'', and '' A Broadway Musical'', and the book and lyrics for ''Ain't Broadway Grand''. Additionally, Strouse and Adams co-wrote "Those Were the Days", the opening theme to the TV

situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

''. Adams was inducted into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work represent and maintain the heri ...

in 1989. Adams and his wife, Dr. Kelly Wood Adams, have lived in Briarcliff Manor, New York since 2007. He has two daughters and three grandchildren. He turned 100 in August 2024.

Nonmusical writing

In addition to his work with lyrics, Adams "had a lifelong fascination with words," which led to his being an editor for the Sunday newspaper magazine supplement This Week and a member of the staff of Pageant magazine.

Works

* ''A Pound in Your Pocket (1958) * '' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1960) * '' All American'' (1962) * '' Golden Boy'' (1964) * '' It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman'' (1966) * '' Applause'' (1970) * '' I and Albert'' (1972) * ''

'' (1980) * '' A Broadway Musical'' (1982), contributed the song ''Dancing'' * ''Ain't Broadway Grand!'' (1993)

References

Sources

External links