Tom Lehrer- Your favorite song? What's he doing?

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: TheSnail
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 06:39 AM

Jim Carroll

Is it true that Tom Lehrer retired because he claimed that the government of the day (Regan's) had made satire redundant?

I'd heard it was when Henry Kissiger got the Nobel Peace Prize. Satire couldn't compete with that.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: alanabit
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 06:53 AM

It was a typically wry comment of his. He later remarked that it had been taken too literally. In fact he always was essentially an amateur singer songwriter (albeit a brilliant one). His real profession was mathematics. He was also a distinguished academic, which was his first career. He only ever made three albums.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 10:27 AM

There are productions scheduled for the Tom Lehrer revue TOMFOOLERY for June, 2008 in Edwardsville, Il and Nutley, NJ.   The Nutley production (near the Lincoln Tunnel) is currently looking for a musical director who can supply their own keyboard and sing a few of the songs. There is a salary. If interested, contact [e-mail]. Auditions for this production are scheduled for April 13-14.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 01:13 PM

I used to have a lot of fun with "Rickety-Tickety-Tin." The last I heard, Lehrer was still teaching math and had never gone back to performing. It is amazing to see that people who weren't even born when these songs first came out are performing and enjoying them today. He created a niche that pretty well stands alone.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 02:46 PM

Snail,
You're right - I remembered it wrong - thanks.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 03:56 PM

Lehrer retired from teaching math about 2 years ago.   I was priviliged to be able to visit with him in Santa Cruz last June.   If you send a birthday card for his "big 8 - O" coming up in April, he would prefer that his age be referred to as 26 Celsius.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 04:10 PM

Although Lehrer banged on the piano for 'emphasis', I can't really see how "chords" for guitar would be relevant to this...it is basically just chanted.

Why not just sing it? (I know two people who can do it, and they do it with NO instruments)

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: autolycus
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 04:24 PM

I read somewhere that someone (helpful post this, I'm sure you'll agree) said satire became redundant when some twat said in the Viet war that a village "had to be destroyed to be saved."

Ivor

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 04:43 PM

BTW a 1998 performance of Tom Lehrer performing his Poisoning Pigeons song can be seen in the retail (non-PBS versions, which are shorter) videotape / DVD of the Cameron Macintosh tribute HEY, MR. PRODUCER!. His original performance that night also included an updated version of Who's Next? (India and Pakistan were both doing nuclear testing at the time), but this did not make it to the videotape / DVD).

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Rowan
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 05:07 PM

The good oil on;
why he stopped performing,
the relative worth of satire,
etc
has already been well covered in this thread at

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: YorkshireYankee - PM
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 08:04 PM

Cheers, Rowan
who learned Lobachevsky at high school in 1957-8, sang The hunting song and The Irish ballad very early in his repertoire and whose daughters are now converted fans; it was Poisoning pigeons in the park that got them.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Joe_F
Date: 05 Mar 08 - 10:43 PM

The first of his songs that I heard was the Irish Ballad, without attribution, by a girl in the back of a truck, in 1954. It amazed us all. What a breath of fresh air, in the Stuffy Fifties! Later that year, my mother heard the record somewhere, and gave it to me for highschool graduation.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Mar 08 - 12:48 AM

Tom Lehrer was a feature in my childhood as far back as I can remember, and my father sang several of his songs. My daughter can sing "The Elements" unaccompanied (singing along with Lehrer, basically).

When I introduced my children to the works of Tom Lehrer it started us down a path of finding the source music for his songs. Consequently, I have children who adore Gilbert and Sullivan.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 06 Mar 08 - 06:35 AM

ABC Radio Aust conducted a few interviews with him - one a few years ago. May find them on a Radio National website.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Fred Maslan
Date: 06 Mar 08 - 10:01 PM

One thing about his songs, how he perfectly matched the words to the music. I can hear George M Cohan singin "so long mom, I'm off to drop the bomb". And a visitor from the Caribean singing "when you go to american city" etc.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: danensis
Date: 07 Mar 08 - 02:53 PM

So if we want to wish him "Happy Birthday" is there an email address?

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 07 Mar 08 - 02:59 PM

Who's Next I don't know how old this clip is, but I suspect at least 40 years old, and NOTHING has changed!
It makes me despair.

Giok

[and the song makes me laugh]

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 07 Mar 08 - 05:10 PM

So if we want to wish him "Happy Birthday" is there an email address?

He is in the phone books for both Santa Cruz, Ca and Cambridge, MA, searchable online by tools sutch as switchboard.com.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST,rheingoldi
Date: 28 Apr 08 - 01:07 AM

He said because things weren't funny anymore.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Amergin
Date: 28 Apr 08 - 01:18 AM

There were a couple of songs that I whenever I hear him sing them, they bothered me for many years, because I knew I heard them before...but could not remember where....

Then here in this thread there is link for people who have covered his songs...and one of those was a show I watched as a kid called Electric Company. Sure enough Silent E and L-Y were ones they covered...now that mystery is finally solved...and I can sleep silently....

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Mr Red
Date: 28 Apr 08 - 02:48 AM

Favaourite? Favourite?

Gordon Bennet mate how can you choose one?

Although "the Elements" song does evoke admiration for the songwriting skills.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 12:56 AM

Heck, not just song writing but song performing! Keeping up with "The Elements" is almost impossible for most people.

SRS

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 03:54 PM

Definition of an oxymoron:

Weird Al trying to cover any Tom Lehrer song

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST,lamarca'sOM
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 04:20 PM

I knew Mary and I were destined for each other when she sang "The Elements" at a FSGW open sing. (I subsequently, or consequently, learned and sang Steve Goodman's "The Dying Cub Fan's Last Request".)

My first exposure to (inocculation with?) Tom Lehrer's song's was circa 1957 via a 10" issue of "An Evening Wasted with...", bought by my brother at the Harvard COOP.

George

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: ClaireBear
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 05:03 PM

Ah, memories!

Because I grew up not too far from Santa Cruz, Tom Lehrer came to my high school to speak and sing at a rally for the first Earth Day. Remember his song "Pollution, Pollution" -- The breakfast garbage you throw into the bay/They eat for lunch in San Jose? That was us (well, OK, we were in Saratoga, but still).

Last Christmas Eve, I hung out with the rector of my church between services, and we did a dynamite duet of "The Masochism Tango" to the amusement and/or befuddlement of those present. You all shoulda been there.

Claire

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 Apr 08 - 05:10 PM

Anyone know the tune to ths SAC song?


"The Sac Song"
Tom wrote this song for the 1963 Universal-International film "A Gathering Of
Eagles". It is used about an hour and fifteen minutes into that film. It is
sung by the character Hollis Farr (played by Rod Taylor, Rock Hudson's
co-star in the film), who accompanies himself on the piano. About 45 seconds
are used in the film, though about a minute and a half was written. This is
the part used in the film.
An officer named Jackson at Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, CA (where the
film was done) made a recording of Tom singing the full version of the song,
but these lyrics have not yet surfaced. One known expurgated couplet is:

Every time we hear that Klaxon,
We say a few words in Anglo-Saxon.
This refers to cursing whenever the alarm bell would sound.
The song is best understood in the context of the film. An O.R.I. is a
no-notice Operational Readiness Inspection. S.A.C. is the Strategic Air
Command.

Here at S.A.C. we're filled with pride.
There's just one thing we can't decide:
Which we'd rather get clobbered by,
An enemy attack or an O.R.I.

Our wing commander's got a racket,
Though sometimes it's hard to hack it.
Whenever he gets his wife alone,
Ding-a-ling-a-ling goes the little red phone.

Oh, we love the seven-day alert.
For a week we will not see a skirt.
But we know it's part of S.A.C.'s main goal:
To test our positive control.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Whatever became of the wild blue yonder?
How we wish the good ol' days were back
In S.A.C.!

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST, lamarca'sOM
Date: 30 Apr 08 - 12:03 AM

Sorry, the 10" was "Songs By Tom Lehrer" -- 1953.

George

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 30 Apr 08 - 01:10 AM

beardedbruce, I was going to refer you to http://dmdb.org/lyrics/lehrer.misc.html but now that I've been there I see it's unnecessary as your post here is just a wholesale cut-and-paste from what's at that page. But maybe you're the person who put that page together in the first place, so you didn't have any need to cite it.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Midchuck
Date: 30 May 09 - 03:17 PM

SPAM!

Peter.

Subject: RE: Tom Lehrer
From: Stringsinger
Date: 31 May 09 - 07:12 AM

"Anyone who surfs the net deserves all the misinformation they get"......T. Lehrer