Cole Porter Pt. 2

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 Special
English. Today we bring you the second part of our program about
American songwriter Cole Porter. Porter wrote his songs from the
nineteen-twenties to the nineteen-fifties. They continue to be
popular today.

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VOICE ONE:

That was a recording of "Anything Goes", one of Cole Porter's
most famous songs. Caroline O'Connor sings it in the movie about
Cole Porter called "De-Lovely." Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd star in
this movie about Porter's life, released in two-thousand-four. The
title of the movie is from one of Porter's popular songs, "It's
De-Lovely." In the song, Porter plays with words that start with the
letter "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 in
France in nineteen-sixteen before he became famous. He was a wealthy
young man who was smart and funny and knew how to enjoy life. He and
his wife, Linda, became well known for their costly and exciting
parties.

Yet Cole Porter never let other pleasures interfere with what he
loved most – writing songs. He worked hard on his songs. Both the
words and music had to be perfect.

VOICE ONE:

Porter gained fame as a musical theater writer by the early
nineteen-thirties. His musical plays were produced in Broadway
theaters in New York City. He had a new musical every year or so
during the years of America's great economic depression. His words
and music gave people a few hours of pleasurable escape during
difficult times.

Some critics still consider one of Porter's early musical plays,
"Anything Goes," to be his best. "Anything Goes" opened on Broadway
in nineteen-thirty-four. It starred one of Porter's favorite
singers, Ethel Merman. She sang a song that became famous
immediately. It is called "I Get a Kick Out of You." That expression
means I enjoy being with you.

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VOICE TWO:

For years, Porter was Broadway's "King Cole." His musical plays
were very successful. Later, he went to Los Angeles, California and
wrote music for Hollywood movies. They were very popular, too.

Cole and Linda Porter traveled all over the world. They were
happily married most of the time. But Cole Porter was homosexual. He
had sex with men. Homosexuality was both accepted and forbidden in
high society at that time. Love affairs between men were not exactly
secret. Yet they could never be admitted publicly.

VOICE ONE:

All his life, Cole Porter wrote songs about love, desire and
passion. He included the names of foreign countries, famous people
and comments on current events. And he filled his songs with little
jokes and hidden meanings.

Porter's words stretched the limits of what was socially
acceptable. They spoke directly and indirectly about sex. They
admitted that love is not always pure. It is often selfish. And it
rarely 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 the
most beautiful love songs ever, full of true, deep feeling. Critics
consider "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 a
horse. The horse slid on a muddy hill and fell on top of him. His
legs were crushed. Cole Porter spent the rest of his life,
twenty-seven years, disabled and in severe pain. Yet he continued
writing wonderful songs, musical plays and movies.

In nineteen-forty-eight, he wrote what some consider his greatest
work. It was a musical play called "Kiss Me, Kate." It was based on
William Shakespeare's play, "The Taming of the Shrew." But it takes
place in modern times, among a group of actors. The play was
produced again on Broadway in nineteen-ninety-nine.

One of the most famous songs in the musical is called "Too Darn
Hot." It is a funny song about how hard it is to be interested in
love in really hot weather. Stanley Wayne Mathis sings it in "Kiss
Me, 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 his
old injury. He died at the age of seventy-three in
nineteen-sixty-four.

In nineteen-ninety-one, America celebrated the one-hundredth
anniversary of Cole Porter's birth. Special concerts celebrated his
music. New recordings were issued. Jazz singers and symphony
orchestras recorded his songs.

So did several rock-and-roll artists. They made a recording and
special music video to honor him. All the money earned from the
recording and video was given to research on AIDS, Acquired Immune
Deficiency 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 word
play. They shine like jewels, one critic wrote. They are shot
through with love that sometimes feels like pain.

There seems little doubt that Cole Porter's songs will continue
to be sung. They will make us laugh. They will make us cry. And they
will touch the deepest truths of our emotions.

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by
Lawan Davis. This is Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for People in
America in VOA Special English.