Tom Lehrer, Song Satirist and Mathematician, Dies at 97
Longtime friend David Herder said Lehrer died Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He did not specify a cause of death.
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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Tom Lehrer, Influential Song Satirist With a Cult Following, Dead at 97
Tom Lehrer, the influential song satirist whose darkly comic lyrics gained a cult following decades after he stopped making music, has died at the age of 97. Lehrer died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his longtime friend David Herder told the Associated Press. No cause of death was provided. More from Rolling Stone Hulk Hogan, Wrestling Superstar Turned Right-Wing Hero, Dead at 71 George Kooymans, Guitarist for 'Radar Love' Rockers Golden Earring, Dead at 77 Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath Singer and Heavy Metal Pioneer, Dead at 76 The New York City-born, Harvard-educated Lehrer began making music while studying mathematics in college, applying his humor to song to tackle issues ranging from racism to militarism to religion to nuclear war in the Fifties and early Sixties. Among Lehrer's best-known songs include 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,' 'It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier,' 'The Vatican Rag,' 'The Masochism Tango,' and 'The Old Dope Peddler,' the latter of which was sampled by 2 Chainz decades later. While Lehrer only recorded about three-dozen songs during his musical lifetime — he refocused on teaching mathematics in the Seventies — his work had an enormous impact on future generations, inspiring songwriters like Randy Newman, Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, and 'Weird Al' Yankovic, who heard Lehrer's songs frequently on Dr. Demento's radio show. 'My last living musical hero is still my hero but unfortunately no longer living. RIP to the great, great Mr. Tom Lehrer,' Yankovic wrote on social media Sunday. Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe was also an admirer of Lehrer — 'the cleverest and funniest man of the 20th century, and kind of my hero,' Radcliffe said — and once delivered the satirist's complex 'The Elements' on British late-night television; Radcliffe's impromptu performance of the elemental table was in part responsible for the actor later landing the role of 'Weird Al' in Yankovic's quasi-biopic. 'I used to sing that song in college at coffeehouses,' Yankovic said of 'The Elements' and Radcliffe's performance. 'Singing that song is an extremely nerdy thing to do. It's off-the-charts nerdy. And I thought, 'OK, this guy gets it. This guy's a kindred spirit. He can embody me onscreen.'' In 2020, Lehrer placed his entire catalog in the public domain, ensuring future generations could freely discover and use his music. 'All copyrights to lyrics or music written or composed by me have been permanently and irrevocably relinquished, and therefore such songs are now in the public domain. All of my songs that have never been copyrighted, having been available for free for so long, are now also in the public domain. In other words, I have abandoned, surrendered and disclaimed all right, title and interest in and to my work and have injected any and all copyrights into the public domain,' Lehrer wrote on a still-active website containing all his songs and lyriccs. 'In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don't send me any money.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked Solve the daily Crossword
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Boston Globe
The New England Poetry Club's new summer series is reframing Americana
This Sunday, Aug. 3, lovers of verse will return to Longfellow House for the third installment of the series with a reading from Richard Blanco, the fifth inaugural poet, who was selected by President Obama in 2013, and a performance by Venezuelan trombonist Angel Subero. Ratiner said he had the idea for the series six months ago; it was a response to being 'worried about the health and vitality of our democracy.' 'I wanted a program that would reaffirm the range of voices, backgrounds, histories that come into play in American society and American culture,' Ratiner said. The series began July 6 with Robert Pinsky, a three-time poet laureate and Boston University professor emeritus, accompanied by Berklee associate professor and multi-instrumentalist Stan Strickland. It was followed by July 20 readings by poets Stephanie Burt and Diannely Antigua. Burt is a Harvard professor and Antigua is the 13th poet laureate of Portsmouth, N.H., and the University of New Hampshire's inaugural Nossrat Yassini Poet in Residence. The musical guest was Todd Brunel, a critically acclaimed clarinetist and saxophone player. Advertisement Before Pinsky took the stage, Ratiner introduced the event as a 'celebration of the big encompassing 'We.'' He noted that the Constitution preamble's use of 'We' did not necessarily consider diverse voices. Still, he believed there was an aspiration from the Founding Fathers for a more inclusive 'We' that has slowly developed in America. 'I believe that 'we' has to be the guiding spirit in this country, if we are to continue prospering,' Ratiner said in an interview with the Globe. ''We' makes a place for everyone, all our backgrounds, all our histories, and I believe poetry is very often the spearhead to doing that.' Ratiner said each featured poet had agreed with this sentiment, which showcased to him 'the same sort of urgency to affirm what is really important in American culture.' Blanco said the series' name struck him because it underscores that 'we' means everybody, a through line also seen in his work as a poet. Through Blanco's poetry, he states claim on his 'Americanness as a gay Latino immigrant not only personally but for anyone who has felt marginalized and not fully included in the narrative of this country.' In each reading, the poets relay what 'We' means to them. Pinsky read his work as well as poetry by Allen Ginsberg before inviting Strickland up for an impromptu collaborative freestyle. Several dozen people sat in black folding chairs or on the grass while a second crowd watched the reading's livestream. Each reading will be available for streaming and playback via the Advertisement During the second event, Burt discussed Walter Mondale, Vermont, and Cambridge while reading from her 2022 collection, 'We Are Mermaids,' and forthcoming collection 'Read the Room' — while Antigua explored topics such as mental health and the American dream in her books 'Ugly Music' and 'Good Monster.' Antigua then invited Somerville's poet laureate Lloyd Schwartz to read a poem named 'The Gardner's Song.' This summer's final event will feature award-winning poet and founder of UMass Boston's creative writing MFA program Martha Collins on Aug. 10. The 2026 readers and performers will be announced at a later date. For Blanco's Sunday reading, he said he hopes listeners leave with a sense of faith and cautious optimism for the future. Blanco said he thinks poetry helps us better understand issues that are 'abstracted and distorted by news channels and social media.' 'Poetry gives these issues real stories — real faces, real names. In doing so, poetry grounds those issues in a way that helps us better understand them and deal with them,' Blanco said in an email statement. 'But, besides that, in times like these, it's even more important to gather in community so that we don't feel as alone, frustrated, fearful, but rather more empowered, uplifted, rejuvenated.' WE (TOO) THE PEOPLE Sunday, Aug. 3, 3-4 p.m. Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters, 105 Brattle St., Cambridge. Free. Advertisement
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Wall Street Journal
Tom Lehrer's Lyrics Are Funny and Timeless
I have a soft spot for mathematician-turned-musician Tom Lehrer, whose life and music Faith Bottum wrote about in 'Who's Next? Remembering Tom Lehrer's Wit' (op-ed, July 29). As an undergraduate, I discovered Lehrer's records in an Auburn University library. His sense of humor hooked me. Some of Lehrer's songs evoke the anxieties of the Cold War, the civil-rights struggle and a changing America. 'We Will All Go Together When We Go,' 'National Brotherhood Week' and 'The Masochism Tango' provide humorous and timeless lessons about life. The anxieties of the 1950s and '60s never went away. We are still a nation anxious over nuclear war, race relations and the pain and pleasure of life.
