You'll Get a Kick Out of Cole
by Frank McGilly

The complete Cole Porter song book includes over 900 titles. Dozens of these, from Let's Do It (1928) to True Love (1956), are perennial favourites. Dozens of others, not well known, are of virtually equal merit. Other composers of his day -- George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen - may have rivaled his musical output; other gifted lyricists, like Oscar Hammerstein, may have penned as many choruses. Porter, however, is in the top rank of both composers AND lyricists. His only double-barreled rival is Irving Berlin. He admired Berlin's work, but Porter's compositions are more complex, his lyrics much more sophisticated.

Porter's lyrics stand out for their wit, their rhyming virtuosity and, notoriously, their frequent sly double-entendres. For example, let's look at some of the more innocent lines from Let's Not Talk About Love: "Let's question the synonymy of freedom and autonomy/ Let's delve into astronomy, political economy,/Or if you're feeling biblical, the book of Deuteronomy,/But let's not talk about love."

But such fireworks, extended over chorus after chorus, with catchy tunes to match, display only one side of Porter's genius. He was equally convincing with heartfelt outpourings carried along by irresistible, sweeping melodies, as in his hugely popular ballads -- Night and Day, In the Still of the Night, Begin the Beguine etc.

In the 1920s and 1930s, American musical theatre was evolving from 'revues', consisting of unrelated song and dance numbers, contributed by many songwriters, towards genuine musical plays, with real, if sometimes fanciful, stories. The songs and dances advanced the plots and helped to delineate the characters; one composer and one lyricist provided a unified creative impulse. There were precedents - Viennese operetta, Gilbert & Sullivan - but the American musical comedy, brash, loud, funny yet sentimental, was distinctly American. Porter contributed enormously to this evolution, notably with Anything Goes.

Cole Porter was born into wealth in 1901 in Peru, Indiana, thanks to his maternal grandfather's fortune. Extraordinarily talented, he composed pieces while still in school, one of which his fond mama had privately published.

He went to college at Yale. There he wrote, among other things, words and music for six full-length student shows. One wonders how he found time to pass his courses. None of this impressed his hard-nosed grandfather, who controlled the purse. In 1915, At Grandpa's insistence, Cole reluctantly enrolled in the Harvard Law School. A perceptive professor soon advised him to switch to music, which he did, but without proceeding to a degree.

His family wealth enabled Cole to live high, in New York, Paris, Venice and afloat. In 1919, aged 28, he married Linda Lee Thomas, a wealthy divorcee, older than himself, who shared his taste for high society. They continued to indulge this taste until her death in 1954.

While his 1920s work expressed the giddy ambiance of the times, his 1930s shows did NOT reflect the grimness of the depression years. The only miseries his songs bemoaned were those of disappointed lovers. But victims of the depression needed no songs to remind them of their troubles, and escapist relief was clearly appreciated.

One must admire the creative urge that drove this rich hedonist, who never had to worry about where the next magnum of champagne was coming from, to work incessantly at hundreds of songs, and to flourish in the sharp-elbowed environments of Broadway and Hollywood. More admirable yet is Porter's incredible resilience after breaking both legs in a riding accident in 1937. Refusing the recommended double amputation, he underwent some thirty operations. He needed a cane and braces to walk. For the rest of his life he did not know a day without pain. Yet, amazingly, most of his best work came after 1937: shows like 'Mexican Hayride', the triumphant 'Kiss Me Kate', 'Can-Can', and several films.

Eventually, one leg was amputated. He had no more songs in him after that. In his last years, Cole Porter withdrew into seclusion. He died in 1964. His music lives on!