Cole Porter

So our school play this year is Anything Goes. I am the Chinese gambler named Ling, and as long as I am researching the subject of arts, it would be a perfect opportunity to look into one of the most famous names in the play: Cole Porter. Porter was born in 1891. His mother, who was a pianist, had Cole take violin lessons at age six and piano at eight. His first song "The Bobolink Waltz" was published in 1902 when he was just 11! His grandfather wanted him to be lawyer, but he followed his own music and was able to get two of his songs into Broadway shows: "Esmerelda" in Hands Up and "Two Big Eyes" in Miss Information. Unfortunately those shows did not quite catch on like some of his others. After meeting producer Raymond Hitchcock on a ship, he was asked to write music and lyrics for Hitchy-Koo in 1919, a revue. Cole's song, "An Old-Fashioned Garden," was one of the show's hits. After that, he did not have much luck until a 1929 London production, Wake Up and Dream became a hit. It included his song, "What Is This Thing Called Love?"
Many of Porter's best-known songs originated in Broadway productions of the 1930s: "Love for Sale" (The New Yorkers, 1930), "Night and Day" (Gay Divorce, 1932), "You're the Top" (Anything Goes, 1934), and "Begin the Beguine" and "Just One of Those Things" (Jubilee, 1935).
Unfortunately, he was badly injured after being thrown off his horse and crushed by it. He needed 31 operations during the next 20 years to save his legs (the right one was later amputated) and was in pain for the rest of his life. But that did not stop him from creating other hit songs such as those from "Kiss Me Kate". He also worked in film for three decades. He continued to write songs until his health started faltering. He eventually died after kidney surgery in 1964 in Santa Monica, CA. I am very excited to have the opportunity to perform one of his shows and it really helps to understand where the music actually was developed. And, scene...

Harmon, Justin, et. al. "Cole Porter." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2010. .