Cole Porter

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Lore & Background

Porter was born in Peru, Indiana, on June 9, 1891, the only surviving child of a wealthy family. His mother began his musical training early; he learned the violin at age six, the piano at eight, and wrote his first operetta (with help from his mother) at ten. She falsified his recorded birth year, changing it from 1891 to 1893 to make him appear more precocious. His grandfather, J. O. Cole, wanted him to become a lawyer and sent him to Worcester Academy in Massachusetts in 1905. Porter brought an upright piano with him to school and found that music made it easy to make friends. He became class valedictorian and was rewarded by his grandfather with a tour of France, Switzerland and Germany. Entering Yale College in 1909, Porter majored in English, minored in music, and studied French. He wrote 300 songs while at Yale, including the football fight songs "Bulldog" and "Bingo Eli Yale" (aka "Bingo, That's The Lingo!") still played at Yale. After graduating, he enrolled in Harvard Law School in 1913, where he roomed with future Secretary of State Dean Acheson. He soon felt he was not destined to be a lawyer and, at the suggestion of the dean, switched to Harvard's music department, studying harmony and counterpoint with Pietro Yon. In 1915, his first song on Broadway, "Esmeralda", appeared in the revue Hands Up. His first Broadway production, in 1916, See America First, was a flop, closing after two weeks. In 1917, when the United States entered World War I, Porter moved to Paris to work with the Duryea Relief organization. The French Foreign Legion lists Porter as one of its soldiers and displays his portrait at its museum in Aubagne. In 1918, he met Linda Lee Thomas, a rich, Louisville, Kentucky-born divorcée eight years his senior. The couple married on December 19, 1919. She was in no doubt about Porter's homosexuality, but it was mutually advantageous for them to marry. They remained married until her death in 1954. Porter maintained a luxury apartment in Paris, where he entertained lavishly. His parties were extravagant and scandalous, with "much gay and bisexual activity, Italian nobility, cross-dressing, international musicians and a large surplus of recreational drugs." In 1923, Porter came into an inheritance from his grandfather, and the Porters began living in rented palaces in Venice. He once hired the entire Ballets Russes to entertain his guests. In 1923, in collaboration with Gerald Murphy, he composed a short ballet, originally titled Landed and then Within the Quota, satirically depicting the adventures of an immigrant to America who becomes a film star. The work was one of the earliest symphonic jazz-based compositions, predating George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by four months. After a slow start, Porter began to achieve success in the 1920s, and by the 1930s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs. After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. His shows of the early 1940s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the 1920s and 1930s, but in 1948 he made a triumphant comeback with his most successful musical, Kiss Me, Kate. It won the first Tony Award for Best Musical.

Reader's Guide

Cole Porter's significance lies in his dual role as composer and lyricist, producing a body of work that defined the American musical theatre and popular songbook. His songs—including "Night and Day", "Begin the Beguine", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "Well, Did You Evah!", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love", "My Heart Belongs to Daddy", and "You're the Top"—became enduring standards, celebrated for their sophisticated, witty lyrics and memorable melodies. Porter's career spanned from the 1910s through the 1950s, with major successes on Broadway including Fifty Million Frenchmen, DuBarry Was a Lady, Anything Goes, Can-Can, and Silk Stockings, and in Hollywood films such as Born to Dance (1936), Rosalie (1937), High Society (1956), and Les Girls (1957). His ability to write both music and words set him apart from many contemporaries. Despite a serious horseback riding accident in 1937 that left him disabled and in constant pain, Porter continued to produce work, culminating in the 1948 triumph of Kiss Me, Kate, which won the first Tony Award for Best Musical. His legacy endures in the continued performance and recording of his songs, which remain staples of jazz and popular music.

Did You Know?

• Porter's mother falsified his recorded birth year, changing it from 1891 to 1893 to make him appear more precocious.
• He wrote 300 songs while at Yale, including the football fight songs 'Bulldog' and 'Bingo Eli Yale' still played at Yale.
• In 1923, Porter composed a short ballet, Within the Quota, one of the earliest symphonic jazz-based compositions, predating Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue by four months.
• After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work.
• Kiss Me, Kate (1948) won the first Tony Award for Best Musical.