Adler and Ross

Adler and Ross, songwriting team. Richard Adler (b. 1921) was born in New York, the son of Clarence Adler, a concert pianist and music teacher. Rejecting his father's interest in classical music, he studied at the University of North Carolina with the intention of becoming a writer. An interest in songwriting soon surfaced, but Adler had little success until he met up with Jerry Ross [né Jerrold Rosenberg] (1926–55), another composer‐lyricist who was born in the Bronx and had appeared in Yiddish theatre productions as a child. Their work impressed Frank Loesser, who signed them to an exclusive contract, and, after providing songs for John Murray Anderson's Almanac (1953), the team had two hits in a row with The Pajama Game (1954) and Damn Yankees (1955). The collaboration was unusual in that Adler and Ross each wrote both music and lyrics, and their songs were melodic, adventurous, and witty. After Ross's premature death, Adler's luck turned sour, although his songs for the flops Kwamina (1961) and Music Is (1976) were highly praised. In 1973 Adler co‐produced a commendable but unsuccessful revival of The Pajama Game and three years later produced Richard Rodgers's failed Rex, but much of his later career was in television and writing concert pieces. Autobiography: (Adler): You Gotta Have Heart, 1990.