Charlie Smalls
| Charlie Smalls | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
25 October 1943 Queens, New York |
| Died | 27 August 1987 (aged 43) Belgium |
| Occupation | Composer, songwriter, |
| Awards | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics 1974: The Wiz Best Original Score 1975: The Wiz |
Charlie Smalls (October 25, 1943 – August 27, 1987) was an African-American composer and songwriter, best known for writing the music for the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz.
A musical prodigy, Smalls attended the Juilliard School at age eleven in 1954, staying until 1961. He wrote the song "From Me To You" for the Hugh Masekela 1966 album Hugh Masekela's Next Album. In 1968, he appeared on the "Some Like It Lukewarm" episode of The Monkees (episode #56, original airdate March 4, 1968), chatting at a piano with singer Davy Jones. He wrote a song for John Cassavetes's 1968 film Faces called "Never Felt Like This Before".
After graduating from the High School of Performing Arts, Smalls toured as a member of the New York Jazz Repertory Company before beginning work on The Wiz. An African-American retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz was adapted into a feature film, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, by Motown Productions and Universal Pictures in 1978. He also wrote the score for the 1976 film, Drum.
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