Wikipedia

Tom Lehrer

Thomas Andrew Lehrer(/ˈlɛərər/;born April 9, 1928) is an American musician,singer-songwriter,satirist,and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy and humorous, oftenpolitical songsthat became popular in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs often parodied popular musical forms, though they usually had original melodies. An exception is "The Elements",in which he set the names of thechemical elementsto the tune of the "Major-General's Song"fromGilbert and Sullivan'sPirates of Penzance.

Tom Lehrer
Lehrerc. 1957
Born
Thomas Andrew Lehrer

(1928-04-09)April 9, 1928(age 96)
Manhattan,New York City,U.S.
EducationHarvard University(AB,MA)
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • satirist
  • mathematician
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
Years active
  • 1945–1973
  • 1980
  • 1998
Labels
Websitetomlehrersongs
Signature

Lehrer's early performances dealt with non-topical subjects andblack humor(also known as dark comedy) in songs such as "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park".In the 1960s, he produced songs about timely social and political issues, particularly for the U.S. version of the television showThat Was the Week That Was.The popularity of these songs has far outlasted their topical subjects and references. Lehrer quoted a friend's explanation: "Always predict the worst and you'll be hailed as a prophet."[1]In the early 1970s, Lehrer largely retired from public performance to devote his time to teaching mathematics and musical theater history at theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz.

Early life

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Lehrer inLoomis School's 1943 yearbook

Thomas Andrew Lehrer was born on April 9, 1928, to a secular Jewish family and grew up onManhattan'sUpper East Side.[2][3]He is the son of Morris James Lehrer (1897–1986) and Anna Lehrer (née Waller; 1905–1978) and older brother of Barry Waller Lehrer (1930–2007).[4][5]He began studying classical piano at the age of seven, but was more interested in the popular music of the age. Eventually, his mother sent him to a popular-music piano teacher.[6]At this early age, he began writingshow tunes,which eventually helped him as a satirical composer and writer in his years of lecturing atHarvard Universityand later at other universities.[7]

Lehrer attended theHorace Mann Schoolin theRiverdale, New York,part ofthe Bronx.[2][8]He also attendedCamp Androscoggin,both as a camper and a counselor.[9]Lehrer was considered a child prodigy and enteredHarvard College,where one of his professors wasIrving Kaplansky,[10][11]at the age of 15 after graduating fromLoomis School.[2]As a mathematics undergraduate student at Harvard College, he began to writecomic songs,to entertain his friends, including "Fight Fiercely, Harvard".Those songs were later named collectively the" Physical Revue ",[12]a joking reference to a leading scientific journal, thePhysical Review.

Academic and military career

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Lehrer inHarvard University's 1947–1948 yearbook
(From left) Lehrer, Robert H. Welker, David Z. Robinson, andLewis M. Branscombperform a hymn for the Harvard Spring rites on Arbor Day, 1951. The quartet performed songs forThe Physical Revue.

Lehrer graduatedbachelor of artsin mathematics fromHarvard University,magna cum laude,[13]in 1946.[14]At Harvard, he was the roommate of the Canadian theologianRobert Crouse.[15]He received hisMAdegree the next year and was inducted intoPhi Beta Kappa.[16]He later taught mathematics and other classes atMIT,Harvard,Wellesley,and theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz.[17] Lehrer remained in Harvard's doctoral program for several years, taking time also for his musical career and to work as a researcher at theLos Alamos Scientific Laboratory.[18]

Lehrer was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1955 and served until 1957, working at theNational Security Agency(NSA). Lehrer once stated that he invented theJello shotduring this time, as a means of circumventing the naval base's ban on alcoholic beverages.[18] Despite holding a master's degree in an era when American conscripts often lacked high school diplomas, Lehrer served as anenlisted soldier,achieving the rank ofspecialist third class,which he described as being a "corporalwithout portfolio".[19]These experiences became fodder for songs, such as "The Wild West is Where I Want to Be" and "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier".[20]In 2020 Lehrer publicly revealed that he had been assigned to the NSA; since the mere fact of the NSA's existence was classified at the time, Lehrer found himself in the position of implicitly using nuclear weapons work as a cover story for something more sensitive.[21]

In 1960, Lehrer returned to full-time math studies at Harvard.[8]From 1962 he taught mathematics in thepolitical sciencedepartment at MIT.[22]In 1965 he gave up on his mathematics dissertation onmodesin statistics, after working on it intermittently for 15 years.[2]

In 1972, Lehrer joined the faculty of theUniversity of California, Santa Cruz,teaching an introductory course entitled "The Nature of Mathematics" to liberal arts majors— "math for tenors", according to Lehrer. He also taught a class inmusical theater.He occasionally performed songs in his lectures.[11]

In 2001, Lehrer taught his last mathematics class, on the topic ofinfinity,and retired from academia.[23]He has remained in the area, and in 2003 said he still "hangs out" around the University of California, Santa Cruz.[24]

Musical career

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Style and influences

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When You Are Old and Gray
Lehrerc. 1958
When You Are Old and Gray
"When You Are Old and Gray", a satirical song about love. Studio recording fromSongs by Tom Lehrer(1953).

Lehrer was mainly influenced bymusical theater.According toGerald Nachman's bookSeriously Funny,[25]the Broadway musicalLet's Face It!made an early and lasting impression on him. Lehrer's style consists ofparodyingvarious forms ofpopular song.For example, his appreciation oflist songsled him to write "The Elements",which lists thechemical elementsto the tune ofGilbert and Sullivan's "Major-General's Song".[26]

In author andBoston UniversityprofessorIsaac Asimov's second autobiographical volume,In Joy Still Felt,Asimov recounted seeing Lehrer perform in aBostonnightclub on October 9, 1954. Lehrer sang a song about Jim getting it from Louise, and Sally from Jim, "...and after a while you gathered the 'it' wasvenereal disease.Suddenly, as the combinations grew more grotesque, you realized he was satirizing every knownperversionwithout using a single naughty phrase. It was clearly unsingable outside a nightclub. "(The song was likely"I Got It From Agnes".) Asimov also recalled a song that dealt with theBoston subwaysystem, making use of the stations leading into town from Harvard, observing that the local subject-matter rendered the song useless for general distribution. Lehrer subsequently granted Asimov permission to print the lyrics to "The Subway Song" in his book. "I haven't gone to nightclubs often," said Asimov, "but of all the times I have gone, it was on this occasion that I had by far the best time."[27]

Recordings

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We Will All Go Together When We Go
Lehrerc. 1958
We Will All Go Together When We Go
"We Will All Go Together When We Go", a song aboutnuclear holocaustleading tohuman extinction.Studio recording fromMore of Tom Lehrer(1959).

Lehrer was encouraged by the success of his performances, so he paid $15 (equivalent to $171 in 2023) for some studio time in 1953 to recordSongs by Tom Lehrer.The initial pressing was 400 copies. Radio stations would not air his songs because of his controversial subjects, so he sold the album on campus at Harvard for $3, equivalent to $34 in 2023, while "several stores near the Harvard campus sold it for $3.50, taking only a minimal markup as a kind of community service. Newsstands on campus sold it for the same price."[28]After one summer, he started to receive mail orders from all parts of the country, as far away as San Francisco, after theSan Francisco Chroniclewrote an article on the record.[29]Interest in his recordings spread by word of mouth. People played their records for friends, who then also wanted a copy.[30]Lehrer recalled, "Lacking exposure in the media, my songs spread slowly. Likeherpes,rather thanebola."[31]

The album included the macabre "I Hold Your Hand in Mine", the mildly risqué "Be Prepared", and "Lobachevsky"regarding plagiarizing mathematicians. It became acult successby word of mouth, despite being self-published and without promotion. The limited distribution of the album led to a knock off album by Jack "Enjal" (a pseudonym of Jack Nagel) being released in 1958 without Lehrer's approval, where some of the lyrics were mistranscribed.[32]

Lehrer embarked on a series of concert tours and recorded a second album in 1959. He released the second album in two versions: the songs were the same, butMore of Tom Lehrerwas a studio recording andAn Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrerwas recorded live in concert. In 2013, Lehrer recalled the studio session for "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park", which referred to the practice of controlling pigeons in Boston withstrychnine-treated corn:[33]

The copyist arrived at the last minute with the parts and passed them out to the band... And there was no title on it, and there was no lyrics. And so they ran through it, "What a pleasant little waltz".... And the engineer said,"'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park,' take one, "and the piano player said," What? "and literally fell off the stool.[34]

Touring

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Lehrer as an honorary member of the Copenhagen Student Union, 1967

Lehrer had a breakthrough in the United Kingdom on December 4, 1957, when theUniversity of Londonawarded adoctor of musicdegreehonoris causatoPrincess Margaret,and the public orator, Professor J. R. Sutherland, said it was "in the full knowledge that the Princess is a connoisseur of music and a performer of skill and distinction, her taste being catholic, ranging from Mozart to thecalypsoand from opera to the songs of MissBeatrice Lillieand Tom Lehrer. "[35][36][37]This prompted significant interest in Lehrer's works and helped to secure distribution in Britain for his five-year-old debut album. It was there that his music achieved real sales popularity, as a result of the proliferation of university newspapers referring to the material, and inadvertently due to theBBC,which in 1958 banned from broadcast 10 of the 12 songs on the album.[38]By the end of the 1950s, Lehrer had sold 370,000 records.[2]

That Was The Week That Was

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In 1960, Lehrer essentially retired from touring in the U.S.[2]The same year, he toured Australia and New Zealand, performing a total of 33 concerts to great acclaim[28]and controversy.[39]While in New Zealand, he penned lyrics critical of theAll Blacks' upcoming tour of Apartheid-era South Africaand Prime MinisterWalter Nash's stance on it.[40][41]Lehrer's tours occurred during a time in which he was, he said, "banned, censored, mentioned in several houses of parliament and threatened with arrest". In particular, "Be Prepared" drew advance resistance in Brisbane from the commissioner of police. He performed several songs in Australia that were still unreleased, including "The Masochism Tango".[24]In the early 1960s, he was employed as the resident songwriter for the U.S. edition ofThat Was The Week That Was(TW3), a satirical television show.[28]

National Brotherhood Week
Lehrer performing in Copenhagen, 1967
National Brotherhood Week
"National Brotherhood Week", a song about an annual event promoted by theNational Conference for Community and Justice.Live recording fromThat Was the Year That Was(1965).

A greater proportion of his output became overtly political, or at least topical, on subjects such as education ( "New Math"), theSecond Vatican Council( "The Vatican Rag"), race relations (" National Brotherhood Week "), air and water pollution (" Pollution "), American militarism (" Send the Marines "), andnuclear proliferation( "Who's Next?" and "MLF Lullaby" ). He also wrote a song satirizing rocket scientistWernher von Braun,who worked for Nazi Germany before working for the United States. Lehrer did not appear on TW3; vocalistNancy Amesperformed his songs (to Lehrer's chagrin),[32]and lines were often cut from his songs.[32]Lehrer later performed nine of these songs at theHungry inightclub inSan Francisco,and this became the albumThat Was The Year That Was(1965).[42]

In 1966, BBC TV hostDavid Frostreturned to the UK with the BBC programThe Frost Report;alongsideJulie Felix,Lehrer provided musical satire on the weekly subject.[43]The show was transmitted live, and he pre-recorded all his segments at one performance.[42]Lehrer was not featured in every edition, but his songs featured in an appropriate part of each show.[44]At least two of his songs were not included on any of his LPs: a reworking ofNoël Coward's "That is the End of the News" (with some new lyrics)[45]and a comic explanation of how Britain might adapt to thecoming of decimal currency.[46]The record deal withReprise RecordsforThat Was The Year That Wasalso gave Reprise distribution rights for his earlier recordings, because Lehrer wanted towind uphis own record imprint.[32]The Reprise issue ofSongs by Tom Lehrerwas a stereo re-recording. This version was not issued on CD, as Lehrer was unhappy with this version.[42]The live recording included bonus tracks "L-Y" and "Silent E", two of the ten songs that he wrote for the PBS children's educational seriesThe Electric Company.Lehrer later commented that worldwide sales of the recordings under Reprise surpassed 1.8 million units in 1996. That same year,That Was The Year That Waswent gold.[30]The album liner notes promote his songs with self-deprecating humor, such as quoting aNew York Timesreview from 1959: Mr. Lehrer's muse is "not fettered by such inhibiting factors as taste".[47]

Lehrer toured Sweden, Norway and Denmark in 1967;[48]his concert in Oslo was recorded for Danish television and subsequently released on DVD some 40 years later.[49]He performed as a prominent international guest at theStudenterforeningen(student association) in Copenhagen, which was televised, and he commented on stage that he might be America's "revenge forVictor Borge".[50]He performed original songs in aDodgeautomobile industrial film distributed primarily to automobile dealers and shown at promotional events in 1967, set in a fictional American wild west town and titledThe Dodge Rebellion Theatre presents Ballads For '67.[28][51]He attempted to adaptSweeney Toddas a Broadway musical, working withJoe Raposo,to starJerry Colonna.They started a few songs but, as Lehrer noted, "Nothing ever came of it, and of course twenty years laterStephen Sondheimbeat me to the punch. "[52]

Departure from the music scene

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L-Y
Lehrer performing at a fundraising event for George McGovern in Brattleboro, Vermont, 1972
L-Y
"L-Y", a song featured inThe Electric Company.

In the 1970s, Lehrer concentrated on teaching mathematics and musical theater, although he also wrote ten songs for the educational children's television showThe Electric Company.His last public performance for many years took place in 1972, on a fundraising tour for Democratic US presidential candidateGeorge McGovern.[2]

When asked why he had abandoned his musical career in an interview for the booklet accompanying his CD boxed set,The Remains of Tom Lehrer(2000), Lehrer replied: "If an idea came to me, I'd write, and if it didn't I wouldn't—and, gradually, the second option prevailed over the first. Occasionally people ask 'If you enjoyed it'—and I did—'why don't you do it again?' I reply, 'I enjoyed high school but I certainly wouldn't want to dothatagain.'"[53]

Though Lehrer was "a hero of the anti-nuclear, civil rights left" and covered its political concerns in many of his songs and, even though he shared theNew Left's opposition to theVietnam War,and advocated for civil rights, he disliked the aesthetics of thecounterculture of the 1960sand stopped performing as the movement gained momentum.[2]

Lehrer's musical career was relatively brief. He once mentioned that he performed a mere 109 shows and wrote 37 songs over 20 years.[54]Nevertheless, he developed a significant following in the United States and abroad.

Revivals and reissues

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Lehrerc. 1983

Lehrer's music became a staple of theDoctor DementoShow when it began national syndication in 1977.[55] In 1980,Cameron MackintoshproducedTomfoolery,a revue of Lehrer's songs that was a hit on the London stage. Lehrer was not initially involved with the show, but he was pleased with it; he eventually gave the stage production his full support and updated several of his lyrics for the show.Tomfoolerycontained 27 songs and led to more than 200 productions,[30]including an Off-Broadway production at theVillage Gatewhich ran for 120 performances in 1981.[56]Lehrer made a rare TV appearance onBBC'sParkinsonshow in conjunction with theTomfoolerypremiere in 1980 at theCriterion Theatrein London, where he sang "I Got It from Agnes".[57][58]There were "Tomfoolery" performances in San Francisco about 1982 and in 2018–19. In 1993, he wrote "That's Mathematics" for the closing credits to aMathematical Sciences Research Institutevideo[59]celebrating the proof ofFermat's Last Theorem.

On June 7 and 8, 1998, Lehrer performed in public for the first time in 18 years at theLyceum Theatre, Londonas part of the showHey, Mr. Producer!celebrating the career of Cameron Mackintosh, who had producedTomfoolery.The June 8 show was his only performance beforeQueen Elizabeth II.Lehrer sang "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and an updated version of the nuclear proliferation song "Who's Next?".[60]

In 2000, Lehrer commented that he doubted his songs had any real effect on those not already critical of the establishment: "I don't think this kind of thing has an impact on the unconverted, frankly. It's not even preaching to the converted; it's titillating the converted... I'm fond of quotingPeter Cook,who talked about the satirical BerlinKabarettsof the 1930s, which did so much to stop the rise of Hitler and prevent the Second World War. "[61]

Lehrer has said, jokingly, of his musical career: "If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while."[6] In 2003, Lehrer commented that his particular brand of political satire is more difficult in the modern world: "The real issues I don't think most people touch. TheClintonjokes are all aboutMonica Lewinskyand all that stuff and not about the important things, like the fact that he wouldn't ban land mines... I'm not tempted to write a song aboutGeorge W. Bush.I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirize George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporize them. "[24]Earlier, he had said: "Political satire became obsolete whenHenry Kissingerwas awarded the Nobel peace prize. "[62]

In 2000, the boxed CD setThe Remains of Tom Lehrerwas released byRhino Entertainment.It included live and studio versions of his first two albums,That Was The Year That Was,the songs that he wrote forThe Electric Company,some previously unreleased material, and a small hardbound lyrics book with an introduction byDr. Demento.In 2010,Shout! Factorylaunched a reissue campaign, making Lehrer's out-of-print albums available digitally. The CD/DVD comboThe Tom Lehrer Collectionwas also issued, including his best-known songs, with a DVD featuring an Oslo concert.[63]

In a February 2008 phone call,Gene WeingartenofThe Washington Postinterviewed Lehreroff the record.When Weingarten asked if there was anything he could print for the record, Lehrer responded "Just tell the people that I am voting forObama."[64]

In 2012, rapper2 Chainzsampled Lehrer's song "The Old Dope Peddler",on his 2012 debut album,Based on a T.R.U. Story.In 2013, Lehrer said he was "very proud" to have his song sampled "literally sixty years after I recorded it". Lehrer went on to describe his official response to the request to use his song: "As sole copyright owner of 'The Old Dope Peddler', I grant you mother fucker s permission to do this. Please give my regards to Mr. Chainz, or may I call him 2?"[34][65]

All songs in the public domain

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In October 2020, Lehrer transferred the music and lyrics for all songs he had ever written into thepublic domain.[66][67]In November 2022, he formally relinquished the copyright and performing/recording rights on his songs, making all music and lyrics composed by him free for anyone to use, and established a website from which all of his recordings and printable copies of all of his songs could be downloaded.[68]His statement releasing all his works into the public domain concludes with this note: "This website will be shut down at some date in the not too distant future, so if you want to download anything, don't wait too long."[68]

Musical legacy

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In 1967, Swedish actorLars Ekborg,known outside Sweden for his part inIngmar Bergman’sSummer with Monika,made an album calledI Tom Lehrers vackra värld( "In the beautiful world of Tom Lehrer" ), with 12 of Lehrer's songs interpreted in Swedish. Lehrer wrote in a letter to the producer Per-Anders Boquist that, "Not knowing any Swedish, I am obviously not equipped to judge, but it sounds to me as though Mr. Ekborg is perfect for the songs", along with further compliments to pianist Leif Asp for unexpected additional flourishes.[69]

In 1971, Argentinian singerNacha Guevarasang Spanish versions of several Lehrer songs for the show/live albumEste es el año que es.[70][71]

ComposerRandy Newmansaid of Lehrer, "He's one of the great American songwriters without a doubt, right up there with everybody, the top guys. As a lyricist, as good as there's been in the last half of the 20th century."[34]Singer and comedianDillie Keanehas acknowledged Lehrer's influence on her work.[72]

Dr. Dementopraised Lehrer as "the best musical satirist of the twentieth century." Other artists who cite Lehrer as an influence include"Weird Al" Yankovic,whose work generally addresses morepopularand less technical or political subjects,[73]and educator and scientistH. Paul Shuch,who tours under the stage name Dr. SETI, and calls himself "a cross betweenCarl Saganand Tom Lehrer: He sings like Sagan and lectures like Lehrer. "[74]Yankovic sawDaniel Radcliffe(who called Lehrer his "hero" )[75]perform "The Elements" onThe Graham Norton Showin his native United Kingdom, which led to Radcliffe starring inWeird: The Al Yankovic Story.[76]

From January 16 to February 25, 2006, the playLetters from Lehrer,written and performed by CanadianRichard Greenblatt,ran atCanStagein Toronto. It followed Lehrer's musical career, the meaning of several songs, the politics of the time, and Greenblatt's own experiences with Lehrer's music, while playing some of Lehrer's songs.[77]

In the March 16, 2006, issue ofNew Yorkmagazine,Donald FagenofSteely Dannamed Tom Lehrer among the writers who had influenced him and his songwriting partnerWalter Becker."We also liked comic songwriting, like Tom Lehrer. He was a piano player and songwriter who wrote these grim, funny songs."[78]

In 2010, the German musician-comedian Felix Janosa released an album with the title "Tauben vergiften: Die bösen Lieder von Tom Lehrer" ( "Poisoning pigeons: The Evil Songs of Tom Lehrer" ), with German versions of some of his best-known songs.[79]

In 2024,Francis Beckettwrote a playTom Lehrer Is Teaching Math and Doesn’t Want to Talk to You,which features Lehrer's music and was performed with Lehrer's tacit approval at theUpstairs at The Gatehousetheatre inHighgate, London.[80][81]

Performers influenced by Lehrer's style include American political satiristMark Russell,[82]Canadian comedian and songwriterRandy Vancourt,and the British duo Kit and The Widow. Composer/cabarettistLeonard Lehrmanextended three of Lehrer's songs, writing a new verse 4 to "Clementine",[83]a new verse 2 to "Hanukkah in Santa Monica",[84]and a new verse 3 to "The Elements".[85]

Discography

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Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
  • Tom Lehrer in Concert(1994; UK compilation)
  • Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer(1997; US compilation of his first two studio albums with additional songs)
  • The Remains of Tom Lehrer(2000)
  • The Tom Lehrer Collection(2010)
  • The Conducted Tom Lehrer(2023; Adds instrumental versions of four songs, with an additional song, 'Trees', that was never released before)

Many of Lehrer's songs are performed by others inThat Was The Week That Was(Radiola LP, 1981).

The sheet music of many songs is published inThe Tom Lehrer Song Book(Crown Publishers Inc., 1954; Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 54-12068) andToo Many Songs by Tom Lehrer: With Not Enough Drawings byRonald Searle(Pantheon, 1981,ISBN0-394-74930-8;Methuen, 1999,ISBN978-0-413-74230-8). A second song book,Tom Lehrer's Second Song Book,is out of print,ISBN978-0517502167.

Publications

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TheAmerican Mathematical Societydatabase lists him as co-author of two papers:

Two of Lehrer's songs were reprinted, with his permission, inMadmagazine:[86]

  • Tom Lehrer Sings "The Wild West is Where I Want To Be"(illustrated byGeorge Woodbridge,MAD#32, April 1957)[87]
  • Tom Lehrer's "The Hunting Song"(illustrated by George Woodbridge,MAD#35, October 1957)[88]

References

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  2. ^abcdefghSmith, Ben(April 9, 2014)."Looking For Tom Lehrer, Comedy's Mysterious Genius".BuzzFeed.Archivedfrom the original on November 29, 2021.RetrievedApril 12,2014.
  3. ^Warren Allen Smith (2002). "Tom Lehrer".Celebrities in Hell.ChelCpress. p. 72.ISBN9781569802144.He responded: No one is more dangerous than someone who thinks he has The Truth. To be an atheist is almost as arrogant as to be a fundamentalist. But then again, I can get pretty arrogant.
  4. ^"Spotlight: 1960s satirist Tom Lehrer resurfaces".HeraldScotland.November 2020.Archivedfrom the original on February 12, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 12,2022.
  5. ^"Tom Lehrer: An equal opportunity offender".Jewish Telegraphic Agency.May 31, 2000.Archivedfrom the original on February 12, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 12,2022.
  6. ^abLiner notes,Songs & More Songs By Tom Lehrer,Rhino Records, 1997.
  7. ^Jeremy Mazner."Tom Lehrer: The Political Musician That Wasn't".Casualhacker.net.Archivedfrom the original on September 30, 2019.RetrievedOctober 25,2019.
  8. ^abToobin, Jeffrey R(November 9, 1981)."Tom Lehrer".The Harvard Crimson.Archivedfrom the original on August 7, 2013.RetrievedApril 14,2012.
  9. ^"The Elements by Tom Lehrer".Archived fromthe originalon February 1, 2012.RetrievedMay 23,2013.
  10. ^"MTArchive: A Song about Pi".Mtarchive.blogspot.September 22, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on October 25, 2019.RetrievedOctober 25,2019.
  11. ^abLehrer performance excerpt,"Irving" Kaps "Kaplansky's 80th Birthday Celebration".1997.RetrievedOctober 27,2015.
  12. ^"The Physical Revue, by Tom Lehrer".Ww3.haverford.edu. October 22, 2003.Archivedfrom the original on September 23, 2015.RetrievedOctober 27,2015.
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  26. ^"Tom Lehrer's 'The Elements' and 'Clementine' (1959) The Gilbert and Sullivan Discography".Archivedfrom the original on October 12, 2007.RetrievedNovember 18,2023.
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  30. ^abcJim Bessman. "Rhino Reissues Lehrer's Seminal 'Songs' Albums".Billboard.June 21, 1997.
  31. ^Maslon, Laurence,Make Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America,Hachette Book Group, 2008, pg. 81
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  33. ^Faulkner, Clarence (May 1, 1999)."As It Was in Region 5, 1949–1964".The Probe.200:7.Archivedfrom the original on March 31, 2020.RetrievedMarch 2,2020– via DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln, "City-wide pigeon control in Boston, MA using strychnine-treated whole corn".
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