Bette Midler, Elton John, Cyndi Lauper and John Legend
Designed by Lyanne Natividad; Photos: Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions; JIMI CELESTE/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images; Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions; Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Of the four award shows that comprise the EGOT, The Tony Awards are sometimes thought to be the least connected to the contemporary pop music scene. But there have been many exceptions to that stereotypical view over the years, including these 16 artists who have both received Tony Awards (either competitive or honorary awards) and made the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Tonys have been presented annually since 1947 and have aired on national television every year since 1967. This year’s Tonys are set for Sunday June 16. The program, always one of the best and most entertaining awards shows, will air live on both coasts from 8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/5:00-8:00 p.m. PT on CBS. Ariana DeBose is hosting for the third year in a row.
Here’s a little Broadway lore to get you in the mood for this year’s show. Three recordings of songs from Broadway musicals have topped the Billboard Hot 100 – Louis Armstrong’s rendition of the rousing title song from Hello, Dolly!, The 5th Dimension’s sleek coupling of a pair of hippie anthems, “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” from Hair and Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings,” which interpolates Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music.
“Hello, Dolly!” is also one of three songs from Broadway musicals to win the Grammy for song of the year, along with “What Kind of Fool Am I” from Stop the World – I Want to Get Off and “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music.
Here’s another indication of the potency of Broadway musicals: The cast album from Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s masterwork Hamilton: An American Musical has been a fixture on the Billboard 200 for 455 weeks. It’s closing in on the record long held by Lerner & Loewe’s splendid My Fair Lady (480 weeks) as the longest-charting cast album in history.
Here’s a list of 16 Tony winners who have also landed top 10 hits on the Hot 100. Artists who have won Tonys in competitive categories are listed first, followed by those who have won honorary awards.
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Marvin Hamlisch
Won Tony for: Best original musical score for A Chorus Line (1976)
Top 10 hit: “The Entertainer” from The Sting (No. 3 in 1974)
Notes: Hamlisch shared the award for best score with lyricist Edward Kleban. A Chorus Line won nine Tonys, including best musical. On Sept. 29, 1983, A Chorus Line pulled ahead of Grease to become the longest-running Broadway show to that point. Cats took the lead in June 1997. The Phantom of the Opera set a new record in January 2006 – which still stands. In 1995, Hamlisch became the sixth individual to complete the EGOT. He is the first of three EGOT recipients on this list.
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Roger Miller
Won Tony for: Best original musical score for Big River (1985)
Top 10 hits: Five, from “Dang Me” (No. 7 in 1964) to “England Swings” (No. 8 in 1965)
Notes: Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was based on Mark Twain’s classic 1884 novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The show won seven Tonys, including best musical. In keeping with the setting of the novel, the music is bluegrass and country. Miller won 11 Grammys in the space of two years in 1965-66, including five for the sublime “King of the Road.”
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Rupert Holmes
Won Tonys for: Best original musical score and best book of a musical for The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1986)
Top 10 hits: Two: “Escape (The Pina Colada Song) (No. 1 in 1979) and “Him” (No. 6 in 1980)
Notes: The Mystery of Edwin Drood won five Tonys, including best musical. “Escape” was the final No. 1 hit of the 1970s.
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Pete Townshend
Image Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Won Tony for: Best original musical score for The Who’s Tommy (1993)
Top 10 hit: “Let My Love Open the Door” (No. 9 in 1980)
Notes: Townshend was also nominated that year for book of a musical alongside Des McAnuff. The Who’s Tommy – which is based on the band’s classic 1969 album – won five Tonys, though Kiss of the Spider Woman beat it out for best musical. A revival of the show is competing this year for best revival of a musical.
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Herb Alpert
Won Tonys for: Best play for Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (1993) and Angels in America: Perestroika (1994)
Top 10 hits: Five, from “The Lonely Bull” (credited to the Tijuana Brass featuring Herb Alpert, No. 6 in 1962) to “Diamonds” (with Janet Jackson, No. 5 in 1987)
Notes: Alpert won his Tonys as a producer of these critically lauded Tony Kushner plays, which won a combined total of seven Tonys.
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Elton John
Won Tony for: Best original musical score for Aida (2000)
Top 10 hits: 29, from “Your Song” (No. 8 in 1971) to “Hold Me Closer” (collab with Britney Spears, No. 6 in 2022)
Notes: John collaborated on the score to Aida with fellow EGOT Tim Rice. The show won four Tonys, though it wasn’t even nominated for best musical. The biggest hit from the show was “Written in the Stars,” an Elton/LeAnn Rimes collab which reached No. 29 on the Hot 100.
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Billy Joel
Image Credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images Won Tony for: Best original musical score for Kinky Boots (2013)
Top 10 hits: 8, from “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (No. 2 in 1984) to “I Drove All Night” (No. 6 in 1989)
Notes: Kinky Boots won six Tonys, including best musical. Lauper was the first woman to win best score without a collaborator.
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Bette Midler
Won Tony for: Lead actress in a musical as Dolly Gallagher Levi in a revival of Hello, Dolly! (2017)
Top 10 hits: Four, from a remake of The Andrews Sisters’ 1941 hit “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (No. 8 in 1973) to “From a Distance” (No. 2 in 1990).
Notes: Carol Channing won a Tony for originating the role of Dolly Levi in the original 1964 production of Hello, Dolly! This revival won four Tonys, including best revival of a musical. In 1975, Midler won a special Tony Award “for adding luster to the Broadway season” for her Clams on the Half Shell Revue, which ran for 80 performances at the Minskoff Theatre.
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John Legend
Won Tony for: Best revival of a play for August Wilson’s Jitney (2017)
Top 10 hit: “All of Me” (No. 1 in 2014)
Notes: Legend won his Tony as one of eight producers of this revival. Fifteen months later, he became the second-youngest EGOT winner when he completed the awards sweep at 39 years and eight months. (Robert Lopez was even younger, just 39, when he achieved the feat.)
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Barbra Streisand (honorary Tony)
Received Tony for: “Star of the Decade” (1970)
Top 10 hits: 12, from “People” from Funny Girl (No. 5 in 1964) to “I Finally Found Someone” (from The Mirror Has Two Faces) (collab with Bryan Adams, No. 8 in 1996).
Notes: Streisand has yet to win a Tony in competition, which is why she’s not officially an EGOT winner — though if anyone deserves to be one, it’s her. By 1970, Streisand had won four Grammys, a Primetime Emmy and an Oscar. She had been nominated for both of her Broadway shows, I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962) and Funny Girl (1964), but lost both times. In an attempt to make it up to her, the Tonys gave her an honorary award, Star of the Decade.
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Barry Manilow (honorary Tony)
Received Tony for: His one-man Broadway show (1977)
Top 10 hits: 11, from “Mandy” (No. 1 in 1975) to “I Made It Through the Rain” (No. 10 in 1981)
Notes: Barry Manilow on Broadway ran at the Uris Theater for 12 performances in December 1976 and January 1977. The show was recorded and released under the title Barry Manilow/Live. The double-live album topped the Billboard 200 in July 1977, interrupting a long run at No. 1 by Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.
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Diana Ross (honorary Tony)
Received Tony for: Her one-woman Broadway show (1977)
Top 10 solo hits: 12, from a remake of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (No. 1 in 1970) to “Missing You” (No. 10 in 1985)
Notes: An Evening with Diana Ross ran for 16 performances at the Palace Theater in June and July 1976. Ross took the show on the road, including a stint at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles in December 1976, at which the double album An Evening With Diana Ross was recorded. That album reached No. 29 on the Billboard 200.
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Bruce Springsteen (honorary Tony)
Image Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images Received Tony for: Springsteen on Broadway (2018)
Top 10 hits: 12, from “Hungry Heart” (No. 5 in 1980) to “Streets of Philadelphia” (No. 9 in 1994)
Notes: Springsteen on Broadway ran for 229 performances at the Walter Kerr Theatre in 2017-18. A revival of the show ran for 30 performances at the St. James Theatre in 2021. A live album, recorded at the Kerr, reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200.
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David Byrne (honorary Tony)
Received Tony for: David Byrne’s American Utopia (2020)
Top 10 hit: Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” (No. 9 in 1983)
Notes: David Byrne’s American Utopia evolved from Byrne’s 2018 studio album, American Utopia, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The show ran for 106 performances at the Hudson Theatre in 2019-2020. A return engagement at the St. James Theatre in 2021-22 ran even longer – 134 performances. A recording of the show received a Grammy nod for best musical theater album.