(For the old people here) Tom Lehrer has died

[georgina]

A lot of his stuff is very political as well as very funny, here is a less political song -

 

[lynxstch]

I'm old, and I have no idea who that is. But it's sad when anyone passes away. RIP

 

[Meriweather]

I'm old, and I have no idea who that is. But it's sad when anyone passes away. RIP

Me either.....no idea

 

[Wayland10]

My dad loved his music- I know it well! RIP.

 

[Kitty 34]

I have no clue who this is??? But may he RIP.

 

[NYCgrrl]

He was big when I was a child but had no idea he was still with us.
Thanks for making me think, Mr. Lehrer.

 

[georgina]

I'm old, and I have no idea who that is. But it's sad when anyone passes away. RIP

That's OK! There are a lot of people mentioned here I don't know - the woman chef who was recently talked about comes to mind. He was a mathematician who wrote funny/satirical songs mostly in the 50's and 60's. He was 97 so not too sad. He wrote a song listing all the names of the elements to the tune of Modern Major General, I saw Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame sing it once on a late night British show.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm old, and I have no idea who that is. But it's sad when anyone passes away. RIP

Me too. RIP

 

[CAPSLOCK]

97 is not too shabby. I know several of his songs.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I recall seeing him a few times in TV. He reminded me of Mark Russell, similar presentations. I saw him more often.

 

[tvguy]

As a fan of Spike Jones, Weird Al, Mark Russell, and Victor Borge......... who worked on NPR quirky music shows, I am surprised I have not heard of this gentleman or his work. RIP

 

[QueenIsabella]

So sad! Our whole family are huge fans. Although to be fair, my kids don't "get" the political songs (mostly from his stint on "This Was the Week That Was,", 1964).

Edited to correct the year.

 

[Genie+]

My 23yo son mentioned his passing to me. Not the other way around lol.

 

[BayTower2010]

He was an original. His songs were full of political commentary and very funny. National Brotherhood Week is as relevant today as it was some 60 years ago. One of the verses goes.

Oh the Protestants hate the Catholics
And the Catholics hate the Protestants
And the Hindus hate the Muslims

and everyone hates the Jews". The more things change, the more they stay the same. As a Catholic, I still crack up every time I hear the Vatican Rag. He wrote in an era where the country was not so politically correct, and his song skewered just about everybody. I highly recommend getting a hold of a his songs and give them a listen, but be forewarned that his lyrics are very cutting.

 

[NotUrsula]

There are a lot of Tom Lehrer bits on YouTube. He skewered pretty much everyone, from the Boy Scouts to the President, and a fair amount of his stuff has aged rather well.

Like a lot of comics in the 1960s and early 70s, he made his fame on comedy albums. They were popular because they allowed blue humor at a time when broadcast radio and TV could not allow cursing or any kind of even slightly dirty joke, and Lehrer told a lot of dirty jokes, though they were not overtly so -- nowhere near the likes of Lenny Bruce, for instance. Lehrer was a master of the double-entendre. (Comedy albums largely sold by word of mouth; someone would tell you one joke, and you'd go buy the album so you could hear the rest of the act. I can remember swiping our parents' comedy albums to play (quietly!) at slumber parties when I was a kid. ROTFL usually gave us away.)

If you like the Smothers Brothers, you'll probably like Tom Lehrer. (Personally I like Lehrer better, because I always lost patience with Tommy Smothers' schtick of pretending to be stupid. He was VERY far from it, and wrote most of their material.)

RIP, Tom. So sad to lose another legend of American comedy's Golden Age.

 

[irlandaise]

You don't even need to search YouTube for his songs: a few years ago, he put them all in the public domain, and they're available on his website:

https://tomlehrersongs.com/

Granted, those are only lyrics and audio files; you will have to look elsewhere for video versions of his performances.

There certainly can't be many Harvard professors who've had side jobs as satirists. Lehrer's songs were outstanding, and will long be remembered for their humor and incisiveness.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I recommend purchasing the CD collection, "The Remains of Tom Lehrer", put out in 2000. It has all of his work, including some songs from Electric Company (I think? Some kids' show). There are even several orchestral pieces, including "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and "We Will All Go Together When We Go".

My personal favorite is, "When You Are Old and Gray", which I sing to my husband now and then. That, and "I Hold Your Hand In Mine".

 

[NYCgrrl]

It has all of his work, including some songs from Electric Company (I think?

Yes, he wrote for the Electric Company.

 

[irlandaise]

Yes, he wrote for the Electric Company.

Including the classic songs "LY" (about adverbs) and "Silent E." Delightful stuff. I suspect there may be some folks on this thread who are familiar with those songs but never knew who wrote them.

 

[goofyernmost]

I saw him on TV only once years and years ago when I was a teen. I thought he was funny and I was really surprised about the intensity of his humor because he was always dressed like what we referred to in those days as a nerd. Suit and Tie and only a whisper away from having a pocket protector. Usually a comic like that was dressed way more casually.

However, I can truthfully say that I never thought about him again until this thread.