According to US media reports, American musician and satirist Tom Lehrer passed away at the age of 97. He was a Harvard-trained mathematician who became an influential musical satirist in the 1950s and 1960s.
Lehrer wrote darkly humorous songs with his barbed view of American social and political life. Lehrer had a great influence on various modern comedians, as agreed by some of them, such as Weird Al Yankovic.
His death was confirmed to the media by his friend, David Herder, on Saturday. However, he didn’t mention the exact cause of the death.
Tom Lehrer was born in 1928 in Manhattan, and he was a classically trained pianist. Despite his musical success, he spent most of his lifetime pursuing academia.
He graduated early from Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut, and later he went to Harvard. In Harvard, he majored in mathematics and achieved his bachelor’s degree in 1946. He completed his master’s there and also pursued a PhD at Columbia University.
While at Harvard, he started writing lyrics to entertain his friends.
Some of his most enduring songs include The Elements, So Long Mom, I Hold Your Hand in Mine, My Home Town, and more. Some other fan favourites include I ache for the touch of your lips, The masochism tango, Bright College Days, and so many.
During his late 70s. Lehrer remained on the math faculty at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Later, he even turned away his own copyright, allowing the public permission to use his lyrics in any format without any cost in 2020.
Despite his vast fandom, Lehrer always saw himself as a mathematician.
He was well-known for managing taboo topics such as war, drug use, and religion. His songs, like The Masochism Tango and The Vatican Ra,g pushed the boundaries during the Eisenhower era. His album That was the Year That Was became a hit, no 18 on the US charts.
Lehrer didn’t like the modern folk songs and modern jazz music. Lehrer laughed at the threat of nuclear annihilation, and he criticized discrimination.
He composed songs for the US edition of the satirical British show That Was The Week That Was. He wrote for the educational children’s show, The Electric Company, in the 1970s.
Lehrer never married and spent his life without children. He lived in Cambridge, balancing his academic profession with musical legend. As fans mourn, Lehrer’s intellectual spark continues to resonate. He had left a timeless mark on satire and scholarship.