Melbourne-born Helen Reddy, whose Grammy-winning '70s hit "I Am Woman" became an anthem for the feminist movement, passed away earlier this week at the age of 78. Although she only appeared in one Broadway musical, the late singer had several Broadway connections.
Reddy's first U.S. hit was her 1971 recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "I Don't Know How to Love Him." In fact, the Jesus Christ Superstar ballad launched a decade-long string of hits that also included “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady,” “Delta Dawn,” and “Angie Baby.” Watch the Australian native perform the chart topper below:
Reddy made her aforementioned Broadway bow in 1995 as Mrs. Johnstone, the single pregnant mother struggling to raise a large family, in the international hit Blood Brothers at the Music Box Theatre; she also played that role in the West End and Liverpool production of the Willy Russell musical. Watch Reddy belt out two songs from the Russell score below.
The singer also appeared in productions of Anything Goes, Shirley Valentine, Call Me Madam, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and, in 1998, released an album of show tunes (Helen Reddy—Center Stage) that included "The Party's Over, "You're Just in Love," "Surrender," "The Writing On the Wall," "Blow, Gabriel Blow," and Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Knowing When to Leave." Listen to Reddy perform the latter below.
And, the song that put Reddy in the history books, "I Am Woman" (also the name of the recently released biopic about her life), was featured in Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick's 2016 musical Disaster! Watch Helen Ready perform the anthem, which she co-wrote with Ray Burton, on TV's The Midnight Special.
