Famous singing satirist Tom Lehrer dead at 97

A man who heavily influenced the music world in the 1950s and 1960s has passed away.

This is a man who impacted many lives but was often behind the scenes rather than in the limelight.

I am speaking of Tom Lehrer, who just passed away at the age of 97.

He’s gone

Lehrer reportedly passed at his home in Cambridge, MA.

While his death was announced by a close friend, a cause of death for Lehrer has not yet been revealed.

By trade, Lehrer was a mathematician and an educator, and his music was more or less just a bump in the road in terms of his overall professional career.

His satirical songs were very popular for their time, but Lehrer himself was not looking for false adulation or anything, really.

While musicians today see a million downloads nearly as soon as their albums are released, during his entire career, Lehrer sold only a few hundred thousand copies, and most of them were via mail order.

He once told the New York Times, “I don’t feel the need for anonymous affection. If they buy my records, I love that. But I don’t think I need people in the dark applauding.”

There was no institution safe from his comedic attack, including the Catholic Church, which was the subject of “The Vatican Rag.” He was critical of the church’s push to become more “commercial.”

The song starts:

First you get down on your knees,

Fiddle with your rosaries,

Bow your head with great respect

And genuflect! Genuflect! Genuflect!

Needless to say, church officials did not find him very amusing. After the song was played over the airwaves, the station responsible received a deluge of complaint calls and letters, not to mention vocal complaints from clergy and school administrators.

While Lehrer quit performing in the 1970s, his songs lived on, experiencing a bit of a revival at the turn of the century.

Lehrer surprised everyone in October 2020 by giving blanket permission to anyone to use his songs and lyrics any way they saw fit, with the exception of those who used his words with some else’s music.

Basically, he gave up the rights to his entire catalogue without compensation.

Lehrer was never married and had no children, so his songs and his teaching legacy are all he leaves behind.

He has taught mathematics at Harvard, M.I.T., and the University of California, adding musical theater instruction at the latter institution.

While he may not have had the distribution numbers of modern-day entertainers, he did influence many upcoming artists, and if you listen just enough and are familiar with his songs, you will be surprised just how many superstars show just a hint of Lehrer in their music.

Rest in peace, sir.