“I have always regarded it as part of my mission in life to follow around after Billy Graham and undo some of the work he has done.”
Tom Lehrer, who died on 26 July at the age of 97, spent less than half of his life as an active writer and performer of humorous songs. Many were satirical and some just plain funny, but all cast a wary eye on their subjects: real-life figures, institutions, and imagined characters from an era that seems more than just half a century ago. Each of Lehrer’s targets – mathematics, science, the Church, the armed forces, or the scouts – had at that stage a universality that made them accessible to the general public and especially enjoyable to those in the know. This ensured their longevity far beyond the performing career of their creator.
