Rochelle Gollust
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VOICE ONE:
This is Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with People in America in VOA SpecialEnglish. Today we bring you the second part of our program aboutAmerican songwriter Cole Porter. Porter wrote his songs from thenineteen-twenties to the nineteen-fifties. They continue to bepopular today.
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VOICE ONE:
That was a recording of “Anything Goes”, one of Cole Porter’smost famous songs. Caroline O’Connor sings it in the movie aboutCole Porter called “De-Lovely.” Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd star inthis movie about Porter’s life, released in two-thousand-four. Thetitle of the movie is from one of Porter’s popular songs, “It’sDe-Lovely.” In the song, Porter plays with words that start with theletter “d.” Robbie Williams sings the song.
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VOICE TWO:
As we said in our program last week, Cole Porter went to live inFrance in nineteen-sixteen before he became famous. He was a wealthyyoung man who was smart and funny and knew how to enjoy life. He andhis wife, Linda, became well known for their costly and excitingparties.
Yet Cole Porter never let other pleasures interfere with what heloved most – writing songs. He worked hard on his songs. Both thewords and music had to be perfect.
VOICE ONE:
Porter gained fame as a musical theater writer by the earlynineteen-thirties. His musical plays were produced in Broadwaytheaters in New York City. He had a new musical every year or soduring the years of America’s great economic depression. His wordsand music gave people a few hours of pleasurable escape duringdifficult times.
Some critics still consider one of Porter’s early musical plays,”Anything Goes,” to be his best. “Anything Goes” opened on Broadwayin nineteen-thirty-four. It starred one of Porter’s favoritesingers, Ethel Merman. She sang a song that became famousimmediately. It is called “I Get a Kick Out of You.” That expressionmeans I enjoy being with you.
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VOICE TWO:
For years, Porter was Broadway’s “King Cole.” His musical playswere very successful. Later, he went to Los Angeles, California andwrote music for Hollywood movies. They were very popular, too.
Cole and Linda Porter traveled all over the world. They werehappily married most of the time. But Cole Porter was homosexual. Hehad sex with men. Homosexuality was both accepted and forbidden inhigh society at that time. Love affairs between men were not exactlysecret. Yet they could never be admitted publicly.
VOICE ONE:
All his life, Cole Porter wrote songs about love, desire andpassion. He included the names of foreign countries, famous peopleand comments on current events. And he filled his songs with littlejokes and hidden meanings.
Porter’s words stretched the limits of what was sociallyacceptable. They spoke directly and indirectly about sex. Theyadmitted that love is not always pure. It is often selfish. And itrarely lasts forever. Porter was not even sure what love really is.He wonders about it in this song, “What is This Thing Called Love?”It is sung by Lemar.
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VOICE TWO:
Cole Porter also wrote some of themost beautiful love songs ever, full of true, deep feeling. Criticsconsider “Every Time We Say Goodbye” to be one of his finest songs.Natalie Cole sings the song.
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VOICE ONE:
In nineteen-thirty-seven, Cole Porter was injured while riding ahorse. The horse slid on a muddy hill and fell on top of him. Hislegs were crushed. Cole Porter spent the rest of his life,twenty-seven years, disabled and in severe pain. Yet he continuedwriting wonderful songs, musical plays and movies.
In nineteen-forty-eight, he wrote what some consider his greatestwork. It was a musical play called “Kiss Me, Kate.” It was based onWilliam Shakespeare’s play, “The Taming of the Shrew.” But it takesplace in modern times, among a group of actors. The play wasproduced again on Broadway in nineteen-ninety-nine.
One of the most famous songs in the musical is called “Too DarnHot.” It is a funny song about how hard it is to be interested inlove in really hot weather. Stanley Wayne Mathis sings it in “KissMe, Kate.”
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VOICE TWO:
Cole Porter had another hit show in nineteen-fifty-three, called”Cancan.” It was his final play. That same year, Porter’s wife,Linda, died. Porter was very sad, and increasingly disabled by hisold injury. He died at the age of seventy-three innineteen-sixty-four.
In nineteen-ninety-one, America celebrated the one-hundredthanniversary of Cole Porter’s birth. Special concerts celebrated hismusic. New recordings were issued. Jazz singers and symphonyorchestras recorded his songs.
So did several rock-and-roll artists. They made a recording andspecial music video to honor him. All the money earned from therecording and video was given to research on AIDS, Acquired ImmuneDeficiency Syndrome.
AIDS is a disease that was first discovered among homosexual men.
VOICE ONE:
Today, Cole Porter’s songs are still valued for their beauty,humor and intelligence. And for their unexpected jokes and wordplay. They shine like jewels, one critic wrote. They are shotthrough with love that sometimes feels like pain.
There seems little doubt that Cole Porter’s songs will continueto be sung. They will make us laugh. They will make us cry. And theywill touch the deepest truths of our emotions.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced byLawan Davis. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for People inAmerica in VOA Special English.