![]() The new song was promptly rejected by the producers of “Cheers”, who suggested to the songwriting duo that they let go of what was gone (“People Like Us”) and follow wherever their creative muse might lead them. Check out “People Like Us” by clicking the player below. They had a binding contract and “People Like Us” was not going anywhere. ![]() However, when the producers of “Preppies” heard that the opening number from their Broadway musical was about to be revoked, re-written, and offered up as the theme song to a TV sitcom, all hell broke loose. For Gary, it was a struggling songwriter’s fantasy come-to-life. The new songwriting team was ecstatic over this unlikely turn of events- this “gift” that had fallen into their laps seemingly from out of nowhere. The producer told Gary and Judy that all they needed to do to seal the deal was re-write the words to “People Like Us” and make the new lyrics relate to a bunch of likeable losers who populated a certain bar in Boston. ![]() It seemed that he had heard a tape of “People Like Us” and was calling to tell them that even though they did not know it, they had written the theme song to “Cheers”, a new show that would be debuting on NBC the following fall. Several months later Gary and Judy were contacted by a Hollywood producer. It had a lilting melody and its lyrics poked fun at the lifestyle of decadent old-money WASPs. Working on an upright piano in the bedroom of Judy’s Central Park West apartment, they composed the opening musical number to “Preppies”. (Gary had never written for the theatre before and Judy had never written a song!) They began the project with low expectations (but very high spirits!) One night Judy was out to dinner and found herself seated next to a Broadway producer who was looking for someone to compose the score for his new musical.Īlmost on a whim, Portnoy and Hart decided to take a shot at collaborating on the songs for the musical entitled “Preppies”. Gary was in between songwriting partners and had just been fired as a staff writer for a major music publisher, and Judy had recently enrolled the youngest of her three kids in the first grade. In the fall of 1981, Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart were at a crossroads in their respective lives. All songs referenced in this story are available at iTunes, Spotify and Amazon
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