Legendary musician Tom Lehrer, who always questioned societal norms, politics, marriage, religion, and racism, has died at 97 years old.
According to his close friend David Herder, Lehrer had died at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Lerher had a dry sense of humor, but the world was shocked when he left his music career to fully focus on being a mathematician at the University of California.
Tom was a very brilliant man. He earned his degree from Harvard at age 18 before he began making music.
He was not into the modern music that rocked the world then. He preferred sounds from old traditions and matched them melodiously while playing the piano.
His popular songs include ’Be Prepared’, where he made fun of the Boy Scouts, ‘Poisoning in the Pigeon’s Park’, and ‘The Vatican Rag’, where he made fun of the Catholic Church.
However, he was also very vocal about serious issues like racism. He condemned discrimination as he believed all humans should be given an equal chance to succeed.
Lehrer did not have a large music catalogue. He only had a few dozen before he stopped writing totally and decided to focus on maths.
The confidence with which Lehrer approached societal issues and how unapologetically vocal he was, you would think he was comfortable with anything. But he was not comfortable in the public eye. He would rather stay home and play the piano than go out to perform.
Since he also thrived in academia, it’s safe to say that Tom loved a fulfilled life and did what he loved.
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