Cole Porter

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Cole Albert Porter
Cole Porter, Composer and Songwriter
Born	June 9, 1891 Peru, Indiana, USA
Died	October 15, 1964 Santa Monica, California, USA

Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter from Indiana. His works include the musical comedies Kiss Me, Kate (1948) (based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew), Fifty Million Frenchmen and Anything Goes, as well as songs like "Night and Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "I've Got You Under My Skin". He was noted for his sophisticated (sometimes ribald) lyrics, clever rhymes, and complex forms. Irving Berlin used to refer to "Begin the Beguine" as "that long, long song."

Contents 1 The early years 1.1 Paris and Marriage 1.2 Sexuality 1.3 On The Sidelines 2 The middle years 3 The later years 4 Trivia 5 Song samples 6 Well-known songs 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] The early years

Porter was born in Peru, Indiana, to a wealthy Protestant background;^[1] his maternal grandfather, James Omar "J.O." Cole, was a coal and timber speculator who dominated his daughter's family. Music was one way for the young Cole to escape from his grandfather's iron hand. His mother started Porter in musical training at an early age; he learned the violin at age 6, the piano at 8, and he wrote his first operetta (with help from his mother) at 10. Porter's mother, Kate Porter, recognized and supported her son's talents. She changed his legal birth year from 1891 to 1893 to make him look like an advanced child. Porter's grandfather J.O. Cole wanted the boy to become a lawyer,^[2] and with that career in mind, sent him to Worcester Academy in 1905 (where he became class valedictorian)^[2] and then Yale University beginning in 1909.

Porter was a member of Scroll and Key, Delta Kappa Epsilon, and sang as a member of the original line-up of the Whiffenpoofs. While at Yale, he wrote a number of student songs, including the football fight songs "Yale Bulldog" and "Bingo Eli Yale" (aka "Bingo, That's The Lingo!") that are still played at Yale to this day. Cole Porter wrote 300 songs while at Yale.^[2]

Porter spent a year at Harvard Law School in 1913, and then transferred into Arts and Sciences.^[2] An unverified story tells of a law school dean who, in frustration over Porter's lack of performance in the classroom, suggested tongue-in-cheek that he "not waste his time" studying law, but instead focus on his music. Taking this suggestion to heart, Porter transferred to the School of Music.

In 1915, his first song on Broadway, "Esmeralda", appeared in the revue Hands Up. However, the quick success was immediately followed by failure; his first Broadway production, in 1916, See America First (book by Lawrason Riggs), was a flop, closing after two weeks. He soon started to feel the crunch of rejection, as other revues he wrote for were all colossal flops. After the string of failures, Porter banished himself to Paris, France, selling songs and living off an allowance partly from his grandfather and partly from his mother.

[edit] Paris and Marriage

Porter was writing and selling songs and holding “glittering soirees” when the U.S. entered World War I in 1917. He traveled all over Europe, living very freely and savoring the good life around him. He lived lavishly and partied with some of the best known intellectuals and artists in Europe, becoming a charter member of the Lost Generation.

Believing he would continue to lead his charmed life, he did not register for the draft, yet loved to tell the press that he had joined the French Foreign Legion. In reality, he went to work for the Duryea Relief Fund and maintained a closet full of various tailormade military uniforms that he wore when the mood suited him. More often, his playboy lifestyle suited him better. The French Foreign Legion, however, claims Porter as an enlistee and displays his portrait in its museum in Aubagne.

In 1918, he met Linda Lee Thomas, a rich Louisville, Kentucky-born divorcée 8 years his senior;^[1] they were married in 1919. Despite his fairly well-known homosexual inclinations, their marriage was a happy contrast to the abusive one Thomas had just left. She was beautiful, loved travel, and was extremely wealthy, as well as a brilliant hostess with an innate sense of style and class, and Porter loved learning these tastes and disciplines from her.

[edit] Sexuality

Porter was homosexual, which might not have been a concern for his wife Linda, who was almost a decade older than him. Indeed, it seems that they both got what they wanted from each other. After her abusive first marriage, Linda was no longer interested in sex and was content to be the glamorous wife of a world famous songwriter who would never physically mistreat her. In turn, Cole had a beautiful woman on his arm when the situation warranted it. Cole and Linda did separate briefly in the early 1930s when Porter's sexuality became more and more open during their time living in Hollywood. After Cole's tragic horse accident, Linda was reunited with her husband. He had an affair in 1925 with Boris Kochno, a poet and Ballets Russes librettist. He also reportedly had a long relationship with his constant companion, Howard Sturges, a Boston socialite, as well as with architect Ed Tauch (for whom Porter wrote "Easy to Love"), choreographer Nelson Barclift (who inspired "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To"), director John Wilson (who later married international society beauty Princess Nathalie Paley), and longtime friend Ray Kelly, whose children still receive half of the childless Porter's copyright royalties.

A review of a recent Porter biography recounts that in his later years, the composer kept "breaking appliances so he could lure cute repairmen into his lair". When in Hollywood, Cole was also a regular guest at George Cukor's Sunday pool parties, which were completely devoid of women, but featured plenty of young men who were Hollywood hopefuls.

[edit] On The Sidelines

Unlike contemporaries such as George Gershwin and Irving Berlin, Porter had not succeeded on Broadway in his early years. However, born to as well as married to wealth, he did not lack for money, and sat out most of the 1920s living in luxury in Europe. Porter was not lazy, however, and continued to write. Some of these songs would later be hits.

Richard Rodgers, in his autobiography, Musical Stages, relates an anecdote about meeting Cole in Venice during this period. Porter played Rodgers several of his compositions and Rodgers was highly impressed, wondering why Porter was not represented on Broadway, not knowing Cole had already written several shows that had flopped.

In the late 1920s, Porter returned to Broadway, and made up for lost time.

[edit] The middle years

Porter reintroduced himself to Broadway with the musical Paris (1928), which featured one of his greatest "list" songs, "Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)." Following this Gallic theme, his next show was Fifty Million Frenchmen (1929), which included several popular numbers including "You Do Something To Me" and "You've Got That Thing." Finishing out the decade, opening on December 30, 1929, was Wake Up and Dream, with a score that included "What Is This Thing Called Love?" With these three shows, critics and audiences alike recognized here was a songwriter with a wit and sophistication rarely heard.

The 1930s were Porter's Golden Decade. He had a string of hits songs and successful shows.

He started the decade with the revue The New Yorkers (1930), which included a song about a streetwalker, "Love For Sale." The lyric was considered too explicit for radio at the time, but has gone on to become a standard.

Next came Fred Astaire's last stage show, Gay Divorce (1932). It featured a hit that would become perhaps Porter's best known song, "Night And Day."

In 1934, Porter wrote what is thought by most to be his greatest score of this period, Anything Goes (1934). Its songs include "I Get A Kick Out Of You," "All Through The Night," perhaps his ultimate "list" song "You're The Top," and "Blow, Gabriel, Blow," as well as the title number. For years after, critics would compare most Porter shows--unfavorably--to this one.

Anything Goes was also the first Porter show featuring Ethel Merman, who would go on to star in five of his musicals. He loved her loud, brassy voice, and wrote many numbers that featured her strengths.

Jubilee (1935), written with Moss Hart while on a cruise around the world, was not a major hit, but featured two songs that have since become part of the Great American Songbook--"Begin The Beguine" and "Just One Of Those Things."

Red Hot And Blue (1936), featuring Merman, Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope, introduced "It's De-Lovely," "Down In The Depths On The 90th Floor" and "Ridin' High."

Porter also wrote for Hollywood, including the scores for Born To Dance (1936), featuring "Easy To Love" and "I've Got You Under My Skin," and Rosalie (1937), featuring "In the Still of the Night."

Porter continued to live the high life during this period, throwing lavish parties and hobnobbing with the likes of Elsa Maxwell, Monty Woolley, Beatrice Lillie, Igor Stravinsky and Fanny Brice. In fact, some of his lyrics mentioned his friends.

Unlike some composers who worried when their musicals opened, Cole Porter would make a grand entrance and sit up front, apparently relishing the show as much as any audience member. Cole Porter had made it and there was no end in sight.

Then, in 1937, a riding accident crushed his legs and left him in chronic pain, largely crippled. (According to a biography by William McBrien, a probably apocryphal story from Porter himself has it that he composed the lyrics to part of "At Long Last Love" while lying in pain waiting to be rescued from the accident.) Doctors told Cole's wife and mother that his right leg would need to be amputated and possibly the left one as well. Linda and Kate were convinced the loss of his legs would kill his spirit and essentially the man as well. So, Cole underwent more than thirty surgeries on his legs and was in constant pain for the rest of his life. During this period, the many operations led him to severe depression. Cole was one of the first people who experienced a new treatment for depression, electric shock therapy.

[edit] The later years

Despite his pain, Porter continued to write successful shows. Leave It To Me (1938) (introducing Mary Martin singing "My Heart Belongs To Daddy"), DuBarry Was a Lady (1939), Panama Hattie (1940), Let's Face It! (1941), Something For The Boys (1943) and Mexican Hayride (1944) were all hits. These shows included songs such as "Get Out Of Town," "Friendship," "Make It Another Old-Fashioned Please" and "I Love You." Nevertheless, Porter was turning out fewer hit songs and, to some critics, his music was less magical.

After two flops, Seven Lively Arts (1944) (which featured the standard "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye") and Around The World (1946), many thought he was washed up.

In 1948, Porter made a great comeback, writing what was by far his biggest hit show, Kiss Me, Kate (1948). The production won the Tony Award for Best Musical, and Porter won for Best Composer and Lyricist. The score--generally conceded to be his best--includes "Another Op'nin' Another Show," "Wunderbar," "So In Love," "Too Darn Hot," "Always True to You (In My Fashion)," and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare." Porter was back on top.

Though his next show--Out Of This World (1950)--didn't do that well, the show after that, Can-Can (1952), featuring "C'est Magnifique" and "It's All Right With Me," was a major hit. His last original Broadway production, Silk Stockings (1955), featuring "All Of You," was also successful.

After his riding accident, Porter also continued to work in Hollywood, writing the scores for two Fred Astaire movies, Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940), which featured "I Concentrate On You," and You'll Never Get Rich (1941). He later wrote the songs for the Gene Kelly/Judy Garland musical The Pirate (1948). The film lost money, though it does feature the delightful "Be A Clown" ( intriguingly echoed in Donald O'Connor's performance of "Make 'Em Laugh" in the 1952 musical film Singin' in the Rain). High Society (1956), starring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly, had Porter's last major hit, "True Love."

Eventually, his injuries caught up with him. After a series of ulcers and 34 operations on his right leg, it had to be amputated and replaced with an artificial limb in 1958. This tragedy followed the death of his beloved mother Kate in 1952 and the end of his wife Linda's battle with emphysema in 1954. The combined hardships Porter endured proved to be too much for the legendary composer. He never wrote another song and spent the remaining years of his life in relative seclusion from everyone except his very close friends.

Cole Porter died of kidney failure at the age of 73 in Santa Monica, California and is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery in his native Peru, Indiana.

His life was made into Night and Day, a very sanitized (almost fantasy) 1946 Michael Curtiz film starring Cary Grant and Alexis Smith. His life was also chronicled, somewhat more realistically, in De-Lovely, a 2004 Irwin Winkler film starring Kevin Kline as Porter and Ashley Judd as Linda.

[edit] Trivia

• Cole had a younger brother (Louis) and a sister (Rachel) who both died in infancy.
• He is referenced in the song The Call of the Wild(Merengue)by David Bryne on his 1989 album Rei Momo.
• Cole lived at the Waldorf-Astoria Tower in New York City from 1939 through 1964.
• Cole is buried beside his father and wife in Peru, Indiana
• Actor Cole Sprouse is named after Cole Porter
• Cole was a heavy smoker.
• Cole's grandfather never forgave him for his music career.

[edit] Song samples

• Download sample of "In the Still of the Night" by Billy Eckstine, a popular version of a Porter song

[edit] Well-known songs

Shows listed are stage musicals unless otherwise noted. (Where the show was done both as a film and on stage, the year refers to the stage version.)

• (1916) See America First
• (1919) Hitchy Koo Of 1919 — "An Old Fashioned Garden"
• (1928) Paris — "Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love"
• (1929) Wake Up And Dream — "What Is This Thing Called Love?"
• (1929) Fifty Million Frenchmen — "You Do Something To Me"
• (1930) The New Yorkers — "Love for Sale"
• (1932) Gay Divorce — "After You, Who", "Night And Day" (basis for film renamed "The Gay Divorcee" in 1934)
• (1933) Nymph Errant — "Experiment (Cole Porter)", "The Physician", "It's Bad For Me"
• (1934) Anything Goes — "All Through the Night", "Anything Goes", "Blow Gabriel, Blow", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "You're the Top"
• (1934) Adios Argentina (un-produced) — "Don't Fence Me In"
• (1935) Jubilee — "Begin The Beguine", "Just One Of Those Things"
• (1936) Red, Hot and Blue — "It's De-Lovely"
• (1936) Born to Dance (film) — "Down in the Depths", "Easy To Love (You'd Be So Easy To Love)", "I've Got You Under My Skin"
• (1937) Rosalie (film) — "In the Still of the Night"
• (1937) You Never Know — "At Long Last Love", "From Alpha To Omega"
• (1938) Leave It To Me — "From Now On (Cole Porter song)", "My Heart Belongs to Daddy"
• (1939) Broadway Melody Of 1940 — "Between You And Me", "I Concentrate On You", "I've Got My Eyes On You", "I Happen To Be In Love", "Begin the Beguine"
• (1939) Dubarry Was A Lady — "Do I Love You", "Well, Did You Evah!", "Friendship"
• (1940) Panama Hattie — "Let's Be Buddies", "Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please"
• (1941) You'll Never Get Rich (film) — "Dream Dancing", "So Near and Yet So Far"
• (1941) Let's Face It — "Everything I Love", "I Hate You, Darling"
• (1942) Something for the Boys "Could It Be You"
• (1942) Something To Shout About — "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To"
• (1943) Mexican Hayride — "I Love You"
• (1944) Seven Lively Arts — "Every Time We Say Goodbye"
• (1946) Around the World in Eighty Days — "Look What I Found"
• (1947) The Pirate — "Be a Clown"
• (1948) Kiss Me, Kate — "Another Op'nin', Another Show", "Brush Up Your Shakespeare", "I Hate Men", "So In Love", "Too Darn Hot"
• (1950) Out Of This World — "From This Moment On", "I Am Loved"
• (1953) Can-Can — "I Am In Love", "I Love Paris", "C'est Magnifique"
• (1954) Silk Stockings — "All Of You", "Paris Loves Lovers"
• (1955) High Society — "Mind If I Make Love To You", "True Love", "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?", "You're Sensational"
• (1956) Les Girls — "Ca, C'est L'amour", "You're Just Too, Too"
• (1958) Aladdin (television) — "Opportunity Knocks But Once"

A far more comprehensive list of Cole Porter songs, along with their date of composition and original show, is available here: [1].

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} John Derbyshire (NRO columnist), "Oh, the Songs!" (indepth review of film De-Lovely), 2004-07-28, National Review Online (nationalreview.com), webpage: NationalReview-CP: explains Cole Porter's marriage.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Cole Porter Biography written by JX Bell" (includes lives of parents/grandparents), www.ColePorter.org, ColePorterOrg-bio, accessed 2006-09-21.

[edit] References

• JX Bell, Cole Porter Biography (retrieved February 16, 2005).
• Derbyshire, John (NRO columnist), "Oh, the Songs!" (indepth review of film De-Lovely), 2004-07-28, National Review Online (nationalreview.com), webpage: NationalReview-CP: explains Cole Porter's marriage.
• Stefan Kanfer, (Winter 2003) The Voodoo That He Did So Well City Journal.
• McBrien, William (1998). Cole Porter: A Biography. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-72792-2.
• Powell, Don: Music Producer, Playwright.
• Rimler, Walter: A Cole Porter Discography, N. Charles Sylvan Company, 1995, ISBN 1-886385-25-4.
• Schwartz, Charles: Cole Porter: A Biography (Hardcover and a Da Capo Paperback), May 1, 1979, ISBN 0-306-80097-7.

[edit] External links

Gay Greats - Cole Porter http://www.fyne.co.uk/index.php?item=409