MonSFFA SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, don’t miss Joe Aspler’s tribute to musical satirist, Tom Lehrer!

A tribute to Tom Lehrer (1928 – 2025)
By Joe Aspler

Tom Lehrer was a young prodigy, in the era of white bread, crewcuts, and Father Knows Best. He threw, or rather, sang his spanner into the works of middle class America. He sang about STDs, which left the unaware listener in a state of unawareness. He sang about Poisoning Pigeons in the Park. He provided theme songs for World War III and sang about one time SS officer Dr. Werner von Braun. He sang The Elements – all 103 of them at the time. He received a giant boost in Britain when it was found that Princess Margaret was a fan. Most of his songs could not be played on the BBC, which turned his records into best sellers.

His influences included Broadway show tunes, Gilbert and Sullivan, and society around him. In turn he influenced Dr. Demento and Weird Al. At the age of 94, with no family to follow him, he released all of his works into the public domain. They’re there for everyone now!

In this tribute, I will look at the life, times, and songs of Tom Lehrer. Concert and recording excerpts will be shown, concluding with a final singalong.