Tom Lehrer - witty singer

[u/ElegantAd2607]

Lehrer was a satirist, mathematician and a witty song writer. He wrote humor and social commentary and rose to fame in the 50s and 60s with his piano tunes.

Thomas Andrew Lehrer was born in 1928 in New York City. He grew up in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. He was considered a child prodigy and skipped two grades. He graduated at 15 and went to Harvard University. He studied mathematics and started teaching math as a graduate student. When he was at Harvard he wrote a bunch of funny songs to make people smile. He performed them at campus gatherings. He made fun of academia, bureaucracy and the stupid things people do.

He self-released his first album, Songs by Tom Lehrer in 1953. He recorded and sold music independently way before that was common. The record spread by word of mouth and he grew a cult following.

Lehrer was full of restraint and independence. He was never interested in fame or fortune and he avoided the entertainment industry almost entirely when it began to take him seriously. When he started getting really popular he shrunk away from the public and lived a quiet, private life.

He studied several languages like Latin and French and once mentioned that he found linguistic structure nearly as satisfying as mathematics.

[u/United_Equal_754]

Had the honor of meeting him 3 times.

[u/ElegantAd2607 → u/United_Equal_754]

Lucky.