At the age of 97, legendary 60s singer and humorist Tom Lehrer passes away

Washington, DC: It is 1967. A scholar in his late 30s with impeccable attire and spectacles is seen on the black-and-white TV screen. His fingertips glide over a baby grand piano’s ivory keys.

“When you attend a funeral” is the first thing he says. Sung with the proper pomp and ceremony, the following is a well-known story about loss that makes you think of your own family members crying for you during your funeral. Then… a change occurs.

The singer deliberately grins at his audience, saying, “Don’t worry.” “Because there won’t be anyone left to mourn if the bomb that falls on you also kills your friends and neighbors.” As he joyfully continues to sing about the possibility of imminent nuclear catastrophe, the song “We Will All Go Together When We Go” begins to play. Due to the fact that the guy on TV is not your typical performer, the crowd is openly delighted.

According to Variety, he is really the renowned humorist Tom Lehrer, who died on Saturday at the age of 97 at his Cambridge, Massachusetts, home.

The math whiz Lehrer was born into a Jewish household in Manhattan in 1928 and enrolled at Harvard at the age of 15. The Harvard-educated math professor, who was well-known for his razor-sharp wit and darkly humorous, politically astute lyrics, made an unexpected foray into entertainment and had an even more unexpectedly brief career there.

Lehrer spoke about what first inspired him to make sarcastic songs in an interview with Elijah Wald in 1997. Despite his innate stage presence, he had neither a genuine love of performing nor a desire for stardom. The difficulty is that they already have individuals who can compose songs “as good as that,” so why do they need another one? Instead, “I would listen to the radio and think, ‘I can write a song as good as that.'” Someone who can compose something unique is what’s needed.

Lehrer was undoubtedly different from all of his predecessors, and future generations of artists would be inspired by his own brand of musical comedy. Following his passing, his admirers, even the well-known ones, poured into social media to offer condolences.

The 65-year-old Alfred “Weird Al” Yankovic said on Instagram, “My last living musical hero is still my hero but unfortunately no longer alive.” “To the mighty Mr. Tom Lehrer, may you rest in peace.” There were many condolences and “RIP”s in the comments section from fans. “I will always miss him,” one upset admirer commented.

According to the BBC, Lehrer self-released a few albums in the early 1950s while still working as a professor. He had taught at Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of California.

Lehrer deadpanned to a live audience while talking about his academic background, saying, “I don’t like people to get the idea that I have to do this for a living.” “Teaching alone could earn me, oh, $3,000 a year.”

Lehrer joked to Wald that when his first album came out, “the word spread like herpes,” explaining how his self-released CD became viral in the traditional sense and sold an astounding 10,000 copies, according to Variety. Lehrer quickly began filming live performances for television and touring in nightclubs and concert halls. His subsequent album peaked at number 18 on the US charts.

With his trademark lighthearted melodies and unapologetically honest lyrics, Lehrer tackled socially taboo topics in his songs. Lehrer tackled sexuality in “The Masochism Tango” and “Smut,” racism in “National Brotherhood Week,” and addiction in “The Old Dope Peddler,” in addition to delving into nuclear wars in the previously mentioned “We Will All Go Together When We Go.” In his personal dedication to the season, “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” he also had time for some lighter topics, such as parodying traditional spring melodies.

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Lehrer unexpectedly abandoned the entertainment business in the 1960s and 1970s, when his career was at its peak. Instead of pursuing stardom, he chose to live a tranquil life as a math teacher for a quarter of the year and be a “cheerful layabout” for the remaining time. In the 1997 interview with Wald, he said, “I discovered 25 years ago that shoveling snow wasn’t necessary.” “It was a huge revelation to me that you didn’t even need to see snow.”

After he withdrew from the public glare, Lehrer’s well-known satire made a comeback in 1980 when it was included in the musical revue “Tomfoolery.” Now, if the voluminous comments section of Weird Al’s Instagram post is any indicator, Lehrer’s songs and his trademark humor will endure forever despite his loss.

In the remark, “The pigeons are safe, BUT AT WHAT COST,” a fan referenced Lehrer’s song “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,” precisely emulating his trademark sense of humor. In relation to Lehrer’s previously noted song about loss, “We Will All Go Together When We Go,” another admirer sent a remark. The admirer added, “I thought we’d all go together,” and included a sobbing emoji.