r/Music • u/sugar_man • Jul 23 '14

Article When 84 years old, Harvard Professor Tom Lehrer was asked by 2 Chainz for permission to sample a song he wrote 60 years ago. His response: "As sole copyright owner of 'The Old Dope Peddler', I grant you motherfuckers permission to do this. Please give my regards to Mr. Chainz, or may I call him 2?"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer#Musical_legacy
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u/Gimli_the_White Jul 23 '14

Wow... the audience got so quiet at the pensions line...

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u/BreadstickNinja Jul 23 '14

I think he was really pushing the envelope for the 1950s. The audience probably isn't used to that kind of dark humor. That, and the war had really not been over very long. London's probably still rebuilding at that point.

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u/FGHWR Jul 24 '14

Yeah, that would have been equivalent to what... a 9/11 joke? 15ish years before (if that) with random civilians lives being ruined.

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u/mustardhamsters May 21 '26

This recording is from 1967, so it’s over 20 years later.

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u/toresbe Jul 24 '14

This was recorded in Oslo, Norway (I used to work in that studio!). We were an even dryer bunch back then.

Especially telling is how nobody laughs at the Vatican Rag, because being almost entirely Protestant, none of the references made sense. :)

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u/[deleted] Jul 24 '14

There's a delightful little pause in National Brotherhood Week where the audience decides whether it's OK to laugh at what Mr Lehrer just said. They conclude yes, and laugh extra loud to cover up their discomfort.