In the mid-1950s no one on Broadway was hotter than the team of Adler and Ross.
Composer Richard Adler and lyricist Jerry Ross produced back to back Broadway hits The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees, featuring songs that would remain popular for decades.
Their songs helped make other artists popular, too, like Tony Bennett and Rosemary Clooney.
But in 1955, the same year Damn Yankees was becoming a hit, Jerry Ross died at age 29 from complications of chronic lung disease.
The loss was both a professional and personal tragedy for Richard Adler.
He continued his work, teaming with other collaborators from time to time, and adapting to changing times.
In 1990, Adler wrote his autobiography, which he called You Gotta Have Heart. And that’s when I met him. So here now, from 1990, Richard Adler.
Richard Adler died in 2012. He was 90.
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