| abstract
| - American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician, born on April 9, 1928 in Manhattan, NY. Lehrer's style was greatly influenced by musical theatre, but he often incorporated other musical styles to make a point. Lyrically, his humor was dark and witty, which was unusual for the novelty, comedic, and satirical music produced in the 50s and 60s. Lehrer began to study piano at the age of 7. While he was an undergraduate student, majoring in mathematics at Harvard University in the 1950s, he began to write and perform comic and novelty songs to amuse his friends. In 1953, while teaching mathematics, Lehrer self-produced and released his first album, [r=1661666], on his own label Lehrer Records. He soon gained a cult following and toured the US, Europe (especially England), and Australia. After a brief stint in the army (1955-57), Lehrer returned to Harvard to teach and pursue his doctorate. Musically, %22Songs By...%22 was followed by a live album, [r=2966168], and a studio album, [r=645462], both released in 1959.In the 1960s, he wrote songs for the US version of the British satirical TV news program, %22That Was the Week That Was%22, and his satire took on a more political bend, dealing with topics such as racism, religion, war, nuclear proliferation and pollution. His songs were performed by members of the cast, usually with lyrics altered by the network censors. At Lehrer's insistence, an album of songs from the show was released in 1965, [r=645835] (his first in 6 years and his last complete album of new material), with Lehrer performing the songs with their original lyrics, so that the audience could hear them as they were written. In 1996, %22That Was The Week That Was%22 was certified Gold by the RIAA.Tom Lehrer gave up public performance of his music in the early 1970s except for two performances in 1998 at a London gala show celebrating the career of musical theatre producer [a847204]. In the 1970s, he was approached by his Harvard classmate [a197496], who was the Musical Director for the Children's Television Workshop (Sesame Street, etc.) about contributing some songs to the their new reading education show, %22The Electric Company.%22 He agreed and submitted the classics %22L-Y%22 and %22Silent-E.%22 In the 1980s, Lehrer gave his blessing and support to a successful musical written for the British stage using his songs, %22Tom Foolery%22. Around this time, Lehrer's music received a rebirth in popularity thanks to a California disc jockey named [a400241], better known as [a770571]. He played novelty, comedy, and satirical music on his weekly two hour show.In 1972, after teaching PolySci at MIT for several years, Lehrer accepted a position teaching mathematics and musical theatre at University of California, Santa Cruz. After 29 years, he taught his last mathematics class at UCSC in 2001. Today he is enjoying retirement in the area around the campus in Santa Cruz.
|
| dbo:abstract
| - Thomas Andrew Lehrer (/ˈlɛr.ər/; born April 9, 1928) is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy, humorous songs he recorded in the 1950s and '60s.His work often parodies popular song forms, though he usually creates original melodies when doing so. A notable exception is %22The Elements%22, where he sets the names of the chemical elements to the tune of the %22Major-General's Song%22 from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. Lehrer's early work typically dealt with non-topical subject matter and was noted for its black humor in songs such as %22Poisoning Pigeons in the Park%22. In the 1960s, he produced a number of songs dealing with social and political issues of the day, particularly when he wrote for the U.S. version of the television show That Was the Week That Was. Despite their of-the-moment subject matter and references, the popularity of these songs has endured; Lehrer quoted a friend's explanation: %22Always predict the worst and you'll be hailed as a prophet.%22In the early 1970s, he mostly retired from public performances to devote his time to teaching mathematics and music theatre at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
