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Tom Lehrer, the American musician and satirist renowned for his darkly humorous songs, has died at the age of 97, according to reports in US media.
Lehrer, a Harvard-trained mathematician, gained prominence in the 1950s and 1960s for his politically charged and darkly comic musical compositions.
Influential figures in comedy, such as “Weird Al” Yankovich, have cited Lehrer as a significant inspiration.
His death was confirmed to The New York Times by David Herder, a close friend.
Born in Manhattan in 1928, Lehrer was a classically trained pianist. Despite his success in the music industry, he largely dedicated his life to academia.
He held teaching positions at prestigious institutions including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of California.
According to The New York Times, Lehrer graduated early from the Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut before attending Harvard, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1946 at the age of 18. He also obtained a master’s degree and pursued a PhD at Columbia University, though he did not complete it.
He began writing satirical lyrics during his time at Harvard, initially as a form of entertainment for his friends.
Among Lehrer’s most enduring works is “The Elements,” a lyrical listing of chemical elements set to the tune of “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera, *The Pirates of Penzance*.
Other popular songs include “The Masochism Tango,” in which the singer expresses his appreciation for his lover’s violent tendencies with the lines, “I ache for the touch of your lips, dear / But much more for the touch of your whips, dear…”
He was celebrated for his darkly comic ballads, including “I Hold Your Hand in Mine,” a song with necrophiliac themes; “I Got It From Agnes,” addressing the transmission of venereal disease; and “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” which detailed the birds’ apparent fondness for “peanuts coated with cyanide.”
In 1953, Lehrer self-released “Songs by Tom Lehrer,” an album sold via mail order. It achieved unexpected success through word-of-mouth, selling an estimated half a million copies. The BBC subsequently banned most of the songs from airplay the following year.
Following the album’s success, Lehrer began performing in nightclubs in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, as well as at events for anti-war and left-wing groups.
He contributed songs to the US edition of the satirical British television show “That Was the Week That Was,” which were later compiled into an album in 1965.
Among the controversial songs he penned was “The Vatican Rag,” a ragtime-style Catholic hymn that satirized the Church, alongside songs condemning nuclear weapons.
The most notable of these was “We Will All Go Together When We Go,” featuring the memorable lyrics: “Oh, we will all fry together when we fry / We’ll be French-fried potatoes by-and-by / There will be no more misery / When the world is our rotisserie / Yes, we all will fry together when we fry.”
He also contributed to the 1970s educational children’s show, “The Electric Company.” In 1980, his songs experienced a resurgence in popularity when theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh staged the musical revue “Tomfoolery,” showcasing his work.
According to The New York Times, Lehrer taught mathematics and musical theatre courses at the University of California from 1972 to 2001.
In 2020, Lehrer placed his songwriting copyrights in the public domain, granting anyone the freedom to perform, record, or interpret his work without charge. He also relinquished all rights to his recordings.
In a statement on his website at the time, he wrote: “In short, I no longer retain any rights to any of my songs. So help yourselves, and don’t send me any money.”
He also cautioned that the website would be “shut down at some date in the not too distant future.” The website remained active at the time of this writing.
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