Cole Porter

Cole Porter 1891-1964, American composer and lyricist, b. Peru, Ind., grad. Yale, 1913. Porter's witty, sophisticated lyrics and his affecting melodies place him high in the ranks of American composers of popular music. He was an elegant and debonair man, in spite of a riding accident (1937) that left him crippled. He studied music at Harvard and with D'Indy at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. After one early failure, most of his musicals were vastly successful. They include Greenwich Village Follies (1924); Gay Divorce (1932); Anything Goes (1934); Jubilee (1935); Red, Hot and Blue (1936); Du Barry Was a Lady (1939); Panama Hattie (1940); Something for the Boys (1943); Kiss Me, Kate (1948); Can-Can (1953); and Silk Stockings (1955). Among Porter's film scores are Born to Dance (1936) and High Society (1956). His most popular songs include "Night and Day," "Begin the Beguine," "Let's Do It," and "In the Still of the Night."

Bibliography: See The Cole Porter Song Book (1959); R. Kimball, ed., The Complete Lyrics of Cole Porter (1983) and Cole Porter: Selected Lyrics (2006); biography by W. McBrien (1998); R. Kimball, ed., Cole (1971, repr. 2000).

Porter, Cole (1891–1964) US composer and lyricist. The majority of his many musicals for stage and film were vastly successful. They include Gay Divorcee (1932), Anything Goes (1934), Kiss me Kate (1948), and High Society (1956). Among his most popular songs are “Night and Day”, “Let's Do It”, “Begin the Beguine”, and “In the Still of the Night”.

Porter, Cole (1892–1964), wrote both music and lyrics of his works. Author of many “standards,” Porter composed for Broadway musicals and for movies. Born to wealth in Peru, Ind., he went from Yale to Harvard Law, but switched to the School of Music and later studied at Schola Cantorum, Paris. His lyrics, nearly always highly sophisticated, can speak of sorrow (Love for Sale), or even “country” (Don't Fence Me In). Many of his intricately linked melodies and lyrics are haunting (Night and Day, Begin the Beguine), but sometimes jubilant (Blow, Gabriel, Blow, You're the Top).