Musical-parody genius Tom Lehrer, 97, died on July 26. To those of us brought up on Tom Lehrer and Allan Sherman records (and can still sing every song from memory), Lehrer was the Gilbert and Sullivan of his day (with a little Cole Porter thrown in). The Harvard grad taught math at MIT, Harvard, and Wellesley, and even looked like the stereotypical Ivy League math nerd. But in the mid-50s, his wickedly funny side broke out and he began performing in clubs—he released several records in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, which became hits in the intelligentsia set (being played on Dr. Demento’s show earned him additional fans). Lehrer’s songs ranged from pure silliness (“The Elements,” “New Math,” “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” “The Vatican Rag”) to politics and current events (“We Will All Go Together When We Go,” “National Brotherhood Week,” “Wernher von Braun”), and his twisty lyrics ranged from dopey puns to pitch-black humor. Lehrer dropped out of sight in the mid-60s, but maintained his fan base. Lehrer told Elijah Wald of The Boston Globe, "I wanted to write songs that were funny in themselves, as opposed to being sung in a funny voice by a funny person. I didn't think of myself as a comedian, or even a performer; I thought of myself as a demonstrator of songs. I wanted the audiences to go home thinking 'Weren't those songs funny,' rather than, 'Wasn't he funny.' ''
National Brotherhood Week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUwbZ9AlSPI&list=RDdUwbZ9AlSPI&start_radio=1
