PROFILE LEE ADAMS : Hello Again : The team of Adams and Charles Strouse has left a legacy of hit musicals. The duo’s work is seeing revival now.

Lee Adams and Charles Strouse were, by their own admission, an unlikely pair to write the first rock ‘n’ roll Broadway musical three decades ago.

“I got my master’s at the Columbia School of Journalism and was going to be a newspaperman,” recalled lyricist Adams. “Strouse was a rehearsal pianist, whom I met at a party in New York.”

Neither had any particular affinity for a then-emerging style of music, which later would be known as rock ‘n’ roll. The duo’s first collaborative effort was on nightclub material for performers such as Dick Shawn and Kaye Ballard.

Then, in the mid-1950s, the pair got a chance to work at a summer resort for young people called Green Mountains in the Adirondacks.

“Don Adams worked there, Carol Burnett . . . important people,” Adams recalled, adding that he and his partner returned two more summers to write and produce weekly original revues.

Also at Green Mountains was writer Michael Stewart, who, with Adams and Strouse, was commissioned by producer Edward Padula to create what Padula called a “teen-age musical.”

“We came up with the Elvis Presley type,” Adams said, “whom we called Conrad Birdie.”

Adams denies that the name was a parody of another young rock star of the era, who later would turn to country music: “I wouldn’t have known Conway Twitty then if I tripped over a stack of his records.”

Adams and Strouse weren’t the only ones finding their way in a new genre. For many involved in the original 1960 New York theater production of “Bye Bye Birdie”--including director Gower Champion and comedian Dick Van Dyke--involvement in a musical was a new experience.

“The only well-known performer was Chita Rivera, who played Van Dyke’s secretary and girlfriend, Rosie. She had just co-starred as Anita in ‘West Side Story,’ ” Adams said.

But “Birdie” ended up being a star-maker. In addition to launching the career of Van Dyke, the production also introduced to a large audience comedian Paul Lynde, as Kim’s father, and Dick Gautier, who played the title role.

Other talents introduced in “Birdie” include Susan Watson (as Kim), who continues to be a popular musical-comedy performer; actor Michael J. Pollard, who went on to play the pug-faced young companion of Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in “Bonnie and Clyde,” and Charles Nelson Reilly, who had a small part as a reporter and understudied Van Dyke. Kenny Burrell, now a prominent jazz guitarist, was Birdie’s onstage accompanist.

But musicals, of course, are typically best known for their songs. And “Birdie” delivered those as well. “Put On a Happy Face” and “I’ve Got a Lot of Living to Do” became nightclub standards. Bobby Vee, among others, recorded a straight version of “One Last Kiss,” intended by its writers as a rock ‘n’ roll parody. Joanie Sommers recorded a hit single of “One Boy,” which originally was written as a duet for Kim and her boyfriend, Hugo, but was changed when circumstances warranted it.

Pollard, playing Hugo, “couldn’t sing a note,” Adams said. “It was Gower Champion who said, ‘Keep him--his face is worth it.’ We revamped the song for Susan to sing solo.”

Probably the least likely hit from the musical was “We Love You, Conrad,” sung by adoring members of Birdie’s fan club. Over the years, the tune has been adapted in a number of songs, including “We Love You, Beatles,” a 1964 hit by a British group called the Carefrees.

Today, Adams’ and Strouse’s work is enjoying a revival. Tommy Tune is now directing and starring in a touring version of “Birdie,” and Connecticut’s Goodspeed Opera House is on the verge of producing a new version of their 1966 “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s SUPERMAN.” Their mid-1960s musical “Golden Boy” is being restaged by director Jeff Moss, into what Adams characterizes as “a black street-opera,” circa 1930. “Applause,” written in 1970, also is an international staple.

The team of Adams and Strouse is now dissolved. Adams, however, is still at it. His new musical, “Ain’t Broadway Grand,” written with composer Mitch Leigh (“Man of La Mancha”), will open soon in Connecticut.

“It’s based on the life of Mike Todd during his years as a Broadway producer,” Adams said. “It’s a lot of fun.”