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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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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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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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.
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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.
