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Metro
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
American musician and satirist Tom Lehrer dies aged 97
Tom Lehrer, best known for his satirical songs in the 1950s and 60s, has died at the age of 97. The singer died on Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as confirmed by his friend, David Herder to The New York Times. The singer was a popular satirist in his early career and the inspiration behind other satirists, including Weird Al Yankovic. Lehrer was a Harvard-trained mathematician and had teaching posts at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of California. He had success in the music industry but spent much of his life pursuing a life in academia, never quitting his original role as a mathematician and just taking sabbaticals when needed. In 1960, he stopped performing, before returning in 1965, and then leaving the industry for good in 1967. In 2000, he spoke to the New York Times about his enduring success: 'When I made that first record, it was just to sell around Harvard. 'It never dawned on me that all these years later, well, I wrote 'Fight Fiercely, Harvard' in 1945 and the band plays it at half-times now, 55 years later.' He added that despite his success, he was never interested in fame. 'I don't feel the need for anonymous affection,' he said. 'If they buy my records, I love that. But I don't think I need people in the dark applauding. It's nice to be reassured once in a while, but a real performer has to do it over and over again. I can't understand the Yul Brynner phenomenon, 'The King and I' night after night.' 'I'm not interested in promoting myself, or revealing to total strangers anything about me. That's not my job. More Trending 'I read some of these things with people who will tell you all about their abortions, and their affairs and their divorces and their nervous breakdowns and their parents, and why are they doing that? And I'm sure if you asked them how much money they made last year, they'd tell you it's none of your business.' The singer was best known for his songs The Masochism Tango, Send the Marines, and The Hunting Song. In Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, he detailed the birds' appetite for 'peanuts coated with cyanide' and in I Hold Your Hand in Mine, he sang about necrophilia, and in I Got It From Agnes, he spoke about catching a venereal disease. His tune, The Elements, was a list of the chemical elements set to the tune of I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General from The Pirates of Penzance and popularised in The Big Bang Theory. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Dame Cleo Laine, first lady of British jazz, dies aged 97 MORE: Hulk Hogan 'lost a lot of weight in final weeks before death' MORE: 70s jazz musician Chuck Mangione dies aged 84
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tom Lehrer's iconic songs: ‘The Elements', ‘The Masochism Tango' and more gems from satirical genius
Tom Lehrer, the musician and satirist known for his razor-sharp wit and dark humour, has passed away at the age of 97. A Harvard-trained mathematician, Lehrer rose to fame in the 1950s and 1960s with his clever songs that blended comedy with biting political and social commentary. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now His unique style influenced generations of comedians. Lehrer's passing was confirmed by his friend David Herder to the New York Times. With his brilliant mix of intellect and irreverence, he left a lasting mark on the world of music and satire. Tom Lehrer's iconic songs 'The Elements': This clever tune lists all the chemical elements, set to the melody of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General'. It became a hit among science buffs and comedy fans alike. ' The Masochism Tango ': In this fiery number, Lehrer mixes romance and pain, dancing through twisted desires with lyrics like, 'I ache for the touch of your lips, dear / But much more for the touch of your whips, dear…' 'I Hold Your Hand in Mine': Possibly his darkest love song, this ballad tells the creepy tale of a man holding onto his lover's severed hand, both literally and lovingly. 'I Got It From Agnes': With brilliant wordplay, Lehrer traces the spread of a venereal disease through a social circle, keeping the tone cheeky rather than crude. 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park': Spring in the city turns deadly in this comical song about lacing bird food with cyanide. It's disturbingly delightful. 'It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier': This marching tune pokes fun at army life and military clichés, gently teasing everything from training routines to uniform pride. 'The Vatican Rag': A bouncy ragtime tune that mocks Catholic traditions with lines urging worshippers to 'genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!' 'Fight Fiercely, Harvard': Lehrer lovingly ridicules Ivy League manners, imagining a football game where players encourage each other with refined politeness. 'The Old Dope Peddler': Told with a wink, this tune follows a local drug dealer who's 'giving the kids free samples' in the hopes of creating lifelong customers. 'Bright College Days': Looking back at university life, Lehrer gives the usual nostalgic college song a twist filled with sarcasm and schoolboy humour. 'Lobachevsky': In this faux-Russian piece, Lehrer praises plagiarism in academia. The key lesson? 'Plagiarise! Plagiarise! Let no one else's work evade your eyes!' 'My Home Town': What starts like a sentimental tribute to small-town life quickly turns into a list of shady characters and back-alley dealings. 'We Will All Go Together When We Go': A cheerful take on nuclear apocalypse, this crowd-pleaser reminds us that at least we'll all be fried together. 'Be Prepared': A twisted version of the Boy Scout motto, the song offers dodgy advice under the guise of helpful readiness. 'The Wild West Is Where I Want to Be': This one celebrates the American West with humour, radioactivity, and military-industrial references. 'I Wanna Go Back to Dixie': Lehrer mocks Southern nostalgia by highlighting the region's history of racism and inequality through upbeat melody and biting irony. 'The Irish Ballad': Don't be fooled by the folky sound. This grim tale tells of a girl committing murder after murder in the sweetest voice imaginable. 'The Hunting Song': A gentle tune disguises the chaos of a hunting trip that goes hilariously and violently wrong. 'When You Are Old and Gray': Romance fades fast in this brutally honest love song, where the singer says his affection will end as soon as his partner's beauty does. 'The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz': Here, food and romance mix in a whimsical tale of love, lust, and Austrian cuisine. 'A Christmas Carol': Christmas commercialism is the real target in this song, with the melody hiding a critique of holiday consumerism. 'Oedipus Rex': Lehrer gives the classic Greek tragedy a cheeky twist, adding mother jokes and academic flair to a bizarrely chipper tune. 'In Old Mexico': An unlucky traveller visits Mexico and finds misfortune at every turn, all told with exaggerated characters and satirical flair. 'Clementine': This parody of the classic folk song takes listeners through increasingly ridiculous musical styles, from operatic to cowboy country. 'She's My Girl': Love and hate collide in this tune, where the singer complains bitterly about his partner, but still insists he's in love. Free music for the world In a rare and generous move, Tom Lehrer announced in 2020 that he had given away all rights to his songs. He placed them into the public domain, meaning anyone could use, perform, record, or rewrite them freely. He even gave up the rights to his own recordings. 'In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don't send me any money,' he wrote on his website. He also warned that the website would be 'shut down at some date in the not too distant future' although it was still live at the time of his passing
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Tom Lehrer, musical satirist, dies at 97
Tom Lehrer, an acerbic songwriter and Harvard-trained mathematician who rose to fame in the 1950s and '60s by pillorying the sensibilities of the day, has died at age 97. Lehrer died at his home in Cambridge, Mass., on Saturday. His death was confirmed by friends on Facebook. No cause of death was given. The bespectacled Lehrer began performing on college campuses and clubs across the country in the 1950s, playing the piano and singing darkly comedic numbers that he penned on topics such as racial conflict, the Catholic Church and militarism, earning him the sobriquet of 'musical nerd god.' In 'National Brotherhood Week,' which lampooned the brief interlude of imposed tolerance celebrated annually from the 1930s through the early 2000s he wrote: Oh, the white folks hate the black folksand the black folks hate the white folks,to hate all but the right folks is an old established rule …But during National Brotherhood Week (National Brotherhood Week),Lena Horne and Sheriff Clark are dancing cheek to fun to eulogizeThe people you despise,As long as you don't let 'em into your school. Lehrer's songs also took aim at then-taboo subjects such as sexuality, pornography and addiction. In 1953, his self-released album 'Songs of Tom Lehrer' became an underground hit. Produced for $40 and promoted by word of mouth, the cover image was of Lehrer in hell playing piano as the devil. It eventually sold an estimated 500,000 copies and sparked demand for concert performances around the world. During the mid-1960s, Lehrer contributed several songs to the satirical NBC news show 'That Was the Week That Was,' hosted by David Frost. The show inspired Lehrer's third album, 'That Was the Year That Was.' Released in 1965, it reached the 18th spot on American music charts. On the occasion of his 90th birthday in 2018, Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote that Lehrer's lyrics were written 'with the facility of William S. Gilbert and tunes that evoked the felicity of Sir Arthur Sullivan. Lehrer's work bounced the absurdities and paranoias of that period back at us, in rhymed couplets and a bouncy piano beat.' Thomas Andrew Lehrer was born in New York City on April 9, 1928, to a middle-class family. His father James Lehrer was a successful necktie manufacturer. As a child he took piano lessons but preferred Broadway show tunes — with a particular affection for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan — to the classics. After entering Harvard University at age 15, his penchant for sardonic humor surfaced in his parody song 'Fight Fiercely Harvard,' which challenged the football team's reputation for toughness and earned him a measure of renown on campus. For a time he followed a dual track, music and academia, though he never completed the PhD thesis he began while pursuing doctoral studies at Harvard and Columbia University. After a two-year break between 1955 and 1957 when he served in the Army, Lehrer once again performed concerts across the U.S., Canada and Europe. In a 1959 Time article, the magazine described Lehrer and fellow comedians Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl as the symbols of a new 'sick' comedy. 'What the sickniks dispense is partly social criticism liberally laced with cyanide, partly a Charles Addams kind of jolly ghoulishness, and partly a personal and highly disturbing hostility toward all the world.' Lehrer's work opened the door for generations of musical satirists including Randy Newman and 'Weird Al' Yankovic and exerted an influence on everything from the musical skits of 'Saturday Night Live' to the mockumentary 'This Is Spinal Tap.' 'He set the bar for me — and provided an example of how a nerdy kid with a weird sense of humor could find his way in the world,' Yankovic once said of Lehrer. 'Done right, social criticism set to a catchy tune always makes politics easier to digest,' Lizz Winstead, co-creator of 'The Daily Show,' told Buzzfeed in an article examining Lehrer's influence on modern satirical comedy. But Lehrer was first and foremost an academic, over the course of his career teaching math and musical theater at Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UC Santa Cruz and working for a time at the Atomic Energy Commission. He viewed entertainment largely as a sideline, and by the late 1960s had grown weary of life in the public eye. After several pauses to focus on his academic pursuits, he stepped off the stage in 1967 following a concert in Copenhagen. In 1971, he wrote songs for the PBS children's series 'The Electric Company.' His last turn in the spotlight was a year later. After performing at a presidential campaign rally for the Democratic nominee, South Dakota Sen. George S. McGovern, he gave up performing for good. Lehrer explained his retreat from the stage by saying that 'political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.' In an interview with the New York Times, he elaborated: 'The Vietnam War is what changed it. Everybody got earnest. My purpose was to make people laugh and not applaud. If the audience applauds, they're just showing they agree with me.' But audiences were not through with Lehrer. After nearly a decade in self-imposed exile, Lehrer became a hit once again in the early 1980s when Cameron Mackintosh, the British theatrical producer, created 'Tomfoolery,' a revue of Lehrer's songs that opened in London's West End before going to to play New York, Washington, Dublin and other cities. Despite the public acclaim, Lehrer maintained a fiercely private life. He never married nor did he have children. In 2020, Lehrer announced through his website that he was making all of the lyrics he wrote available to download for free without further permission, whether or not they were published or retained a copyright. Two years later he went further in relinquishing his rights, saying: 'In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don't send me any money.'
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Tom Lehrer, satirical songwriter and Harvard mathematician, dies at 97
Tom Lehrer, the mathematician-turned-musical satirist whose darkly witty songs earned him cult status in the 1950s and '60s, died Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was 97. Lehrer, best known for songs like Poisoning Pigeons in the Park and The Vatican Rag, blended sardonic lyrics with cheerful melodies. A Harvard-trained mathematician, he juggled a brief but memorable music career with academia, teaching at Harvard, MIT, and UC Santa Cruz. His songwriting career began in college, where his parody pieces quickly gained attention. His 1953 debut album, Songs by Tom Lehrer, became a mail-order sensation, selling over 500,000 copies. His work was often controversial, tackling taboo subjects like religion, war, and vice with biting humor. Lehrer's output included politically charged songs for NBC's That Was the Week That Was and educational tunes for PBS's The Electric Company. Despite his popularity, he ended his performance career in 1967, saying he preferred writing over public applause. In a surprising move, Lehrer relinquished all rights to his music in 2020, allowing the public free use of his lyrics and melodies. He never married or had children and leaves no immediate survivors. Lehrer's influence lives on through generations of comedians and musicians who followed his unapologetic style of satire. His legacy, though rooted in humor, was one of sharp intellect, cultural critique, and enduring originality.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Harvard doctor says these 10 breakfast foods are great for your gut. Are you eating them yet?
If you're tired of wondering what to eat for breakfast that's both delicious and good for your gut, Harvard-trained gastroenterologist Dr Saurabh Sethi has you covered. Known for breaking down complex health tips into everyday habits, Dr Sethi recently shared a list of gut-friendly breakfast ideas that are packed with fibre, probiotics, and plant-based goodness. Whether you're someone who loves sweet bowls or savoury plates, there's something on his list for everyone. Bonus? These ideas are simple to make and come with a big stamp of approval from your what made the cut—plus a quick way to whip them up:- Overnight oats with chia and berriesSoak rolled oats and chia seeds in almond milk overnight; top with fresh berries in the morning.- Plain yoghurt with pomegranateScoop plain probiotic-rich yoghurt into a bowl and sprinkle generously with pomegranate seeds.- Chia pudding with almond milkMix chia seeds with almond milk, let it sit overnight, then top with fruit or nuts.- Lentil dosa with coconut chutneyPour fermented moong dal batter on a hot pan, crisp it up, and serve with fresh coconut chutney.- Sprouted moong saladToss sprouted green gram with chopped cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, and a dash of salt.- Avocado on sourdoughSmash ripe avocado on toasted sourdough, season with salt, pepper, and chili flakes.- Banana and peanut butter on whole grain breadSpread peanut butter on toasted whole grain bread and top with banana slices.- Berry and kefir smoothieBlend mixed berries with kefir (a fermented milk drink) and a touch of honey for a tangy, gut-friendly smoothie.- Tofu scramble with spinachCrumble tofu into a pan with olive oil, turmeric, and sautéed spinach—quick and protein-packed.- Warm oats with flax seeds, walnuts, and cinnamonCook oats in milk or water, stir in flax seeds, crushed walnuts, and a pinch of if you want to level it up, Dr Sethi recommends adding eggs with avocado toast and yoghurt as another excellent, balanced breakfast option for gut meals aren't just trendy—they're loaded with prebiotics, probiotics, fibre, and healthy fats that support a healthy microbiome and improve digestion from the first bite of the day.
