Given how long I've been blogging Sunday Song Lyrics, it seems odd I've never posted anything by namesake, Richard Adler. We're not related (as far as I know), but I can't think of any other famous songwriters with my name. Working with Jerry Ross, Adler wrote "The Pajama Game" and "Damn Yankees" (for which he won Tonys), and classic songs like "You Gotta Have Heart," and "Whatever Lola Wants."

Something interesting I learned reading his entry in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, is that he was a "White House Consultant for the Arts" during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. He also did work for the Kennedy Center.

One of Adler's most famous songs, written with Ross and popularized by Tony Bennett, is "Rags to Riches." Here's how it begins:

I know I'd go from rags to riches
If you would only say you care
And though my pocket may be empty
I'd be a millionaire.

My clothes may still be torn and tattered
But in my heart I'd be a king
Your love is all that ever mattered
It's everything.