Editing Sherman Edwards (section)

==Early music career==
After a few years as a band leader and arranger for artist [[Mindy Carson]], Edwards started writing pop songs at the [[Brill Building]] with writers including [[Hal David]], [[Burt Bacharach]], [[Sid Wayne]], Earl Shuman and others.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} He turned out numerous hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. As [[Rock n' Roll]] caught on, he found himself still at the Brill Building writing songs for [[Elvis Presley]], including the Presley number ''Flaming Star''. However, working with Presley's manager [[Colonel Tom Parker|"The Colonel"]] proved to be Edwards' impetus to leave pop and rock songwriting; Presley's songwriters were forced to make huge monetary concessions in order to have their songs recorded by Presley.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

According to collaborator Earl Shuman, one day while collaborating with Edwards in the Brill building, where publishers provided music rooms for the songwriters, Edwards left mid-song saying something to the effect that he "wasn't into the rock songs any more" and that he had an idea for a show and was going home to write it.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} This began the evolution of ''1776''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

Prior to ''[[1776 (musical)|1776]]'', Edwards had written the incidental music for the stage comedy ''A Mighty Man is He'', which opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the [[James Earl Jones Theatre|Cort Theatre]] on January 6, 1960, and closed January 9 after five performances.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=2875|title=A Mighty Man Is He – Broadway Play – Original|website=IBDb.com|access-date=July 1, 2023}}</ref>

Edwards also wrote the score for a children’s musical “Who’s Afraid of Mother Goose?” With lyrics by Ruth Batchelor, this one-hour show was broadcast on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC-TV]] on October 13, 1967. It starred [[Maureen O'Hara]] and featured [[Peter Gennaro]], [[Frankie Avalon]], [[Nancy Sinatra]], [[Margaret Hamilton (actress)|Margaret Hamilton]], [[Dick Shawn]], [[Dan Rowan]], and [[Dick Martin (comedian)|Dick Martin]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicals101.com/tv4.htm|title=Musicals on Television: 1966-1969|website=Musicals101.com|access-date=July 1, 2023}}</ref>