Classical & Opera Codexery

Cole Porter

American composer and songwriter of witty Broadway and film standards.

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Cole Porter

via Wikipedia: Cole Porter · see source

Cole Porter, born on June 9, 1891, in Peru, Indiana, was the sole child of a wealthy family to survive.[1][2]

Quick Facts

Born
June 9, 1891, Peru, Indiana, USA
Died
October 15, 1964
Field
Composer and songwriter
Nationality
American

Facts from the source article.

Making and release

He composed a piano piece called "Song of the Birds" dedicated to his mother as early as 1901.[2] At Yale, Porter wrote approximately 300 songs, including football fight songs still played at the university.[3][2] Porter's first Broadway production, See America First in 1916, was a flop that closed after two weeks.[4] After World War I service, Porter married Linda Lee Thomas on December 19, 1919, a union that was mutually advantageous.[5][6][2]

The revue Hands Up (1915) featured Porter's debut Broadway song, "Esmeralda".[4] "Night and Day", Porter's most famous song, was introduced in Fred Astaire's final stage production, Gay Divorce, which opened in 1932.[7] Kiss Me, Kate* (1948), Porter's most triumphant show, achieved 1,077 performances in New York and earned the inaugural Tony Award for Best Musical.[8]

What the cited sources add

The Cole Porter Biography by JX Bell states that Porter's name derives from the surnames of his parents, Kate Cole and Sam Porter.[2] Bell notes that Porter's mother financed student orchestras in exchange for guarantees of her son's violin solos.[2] According to Bell, Porter's Yale years likely saw his homosexuality become a powerful part of his life.[2] Bell reports that Porter's grandfather J.O. Cole disapproved of careers in the arts and tried to convince him to become a lawyer.[2]

The Cole Porter Reference Guide details that the short film Paree, Paree was released in 1934 and ran 21 minutes.[9] The same guide lists numerous single-artist collections of Porter songs, including recordings by Frank Sinatra and Dionne Warwick.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Cole Porter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ewen (1961). pp. 134–139; Shaftel, Matthew (Autumn, 1999). "From Inspiration to Archive: Cole Porter's 'Night and Day'", Journal of Music Theory, Duke University Press, vol. 43, no. 2, p; Bell, J. X. "Cole Porter Biography", Cole Wide Web. . Retrieved March 7, 2011.; Schwartz (1977), p. 11; Schwartz (1977), p. 18 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Bell, J. X. "Cole Porter Biography", Cole Wide Web. . Retrieved March 7, 2011.. facts only, no text reused. coleporter.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Cole Porter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bell, J. X. "Cole Porter Biography", Cole Wide Web. . Retrieved March 7, 2011.; "Yale Fight Songs" , Yale Bands, Yale University. Retrieved February 21, 2020.; Schiff, David (July/August 2004). "One Swell Party", The Atlantic. Retrieved April 2, 2020.; Ewen (1961). pp. 134–139; McBrien (1998), p. 32; Kimball (1999), p. 1; Algeo (2011), p. 144; Shaftel, Matthew (Autumn, 1999). "From Inspiration to Archive: Cole Porter's 'Night and Day'", Journal of Music Theory, Duke University Press, vol. 43, no. 2, p; Bell, J. X. "Cole Porter Biography", C en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Cole Porter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Root, Deane L. and Gerald Bordman (January 20, 2001). "Porter, Cole (Albert)", Grove Music Online. Retrieved May 21, 2010.; Kimball (1999), p. 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Cole Porter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bell, J. X. "Cole Porter Biography", Cole Wide Web. . Retrieved March 7, 2011.; Derbyshire, John (July 28, 2004). "Oh, the Songs!" National Review Online. Retrieved July 22, 2025.; McBrien (1998), p. 70 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Cole Porter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McBrien (1998), p. 65 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Cole Porter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hutchins, Michael H. "Gay Divorce – Original Broadway Production", The Cole Porter Reference Guide. Retrieved July 22, 2025. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Cole Porter" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Citron (2005), p. 419 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Hutchins, Michael H. "Paree, Paree", The Cole Porter Reference Guide. Retrieved July 22, 2025.. facts only, no text reused. sondheimguide.com
  10. Hutchins, Michael H. "Collections", The Cole Porter Reference Guide. Retrieved July 22, 2025.. facts only, no text reused. sondheimguide.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Cole Porter (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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