Dilletante…hedonist…elitist…snob. Cole Porter was called many things over the course of his creative but troubled life. No matter how he was perceived, his reputation as a musical genius has never been questioned.
That life can be divided into two distinct parts: before Porter’s debilitating riding accident in 1937 and after. Unlike contemporaries Jerome Kern, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin, Porter did not seek Broadway success during his early years, living what was very much a life of privilege. Eventually he did manage to balance a personal and professional life as he entered his 30s, epitomized by the 1934 blockbuster Anything Goes.
After his injury, he produced some of his finest shows, including Kiss Me Kate, Can- Can, and Silk Stockings. His indomitable work ethic and his insistence on enjoying life clearly enlivened his music: He wove the emotions and mores of his generation into lyrics whose words were provocative, erotic, exotic, and always much more than clever in songs like “Night and Day,” “Begin the Beguine,” and “I Love Paris”.
American music specialist Robert Wyatt travels through Porter’s life on Broadway and in Hollywood, 40 years that produced 33 stage works and the music for 23 films. Rare archival film clips and recordings of original cast members, including Ethel Merman, Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong, and Bing Crosby are featured, along with Porter himself singing and playing “You’re the Top”—which he was.
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