Friday, March 27, 2009

Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer is best known for the funny, satirical songs he wrote and performed in the 1950s and 60s. He was a student of mathematics at Harvard (He earned his BA in 1947 at the age of 18.) where he began writing humorous songs to entertain his friends. His songs were often parodies of popular songs such as in "The Elements", where he sets the names of the chemical elements to the tune of the "Major-General's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance.

It's rumored he invented the J-ello shot during his time in the Army working at the NSA in the mid-1950s. Lehrer taught his last math class at the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2001.

Link to my YouTube Tom Lehrer playlist
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