- Creator Backlash:
- One of the reasons he retired was that he grew to despise touring to perform his songs.
- It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time to him, back in his youth, to write "The Old Dope Peddler"; in later years he would call it "chilling".
- He's also developed a different perspective now on "When You Are Old and Gray".
- Creator Breakdown:
- The reason he stopped doing political satire was apparently because the politicians became too corrupt. He abandoned his singing career before Richard Nixon was even President, and things haven't gotten better...
Lehrer: I don't want to satirize
George [W.] Bush and his puppeteers. I want to
vaporize them.
- That's part of the reason, but not the entire reason. There's also the fact that the political issues of later eras became much more complex, and it's hard to get good laughs out of a song that presents both sides of the issue. Here
's a piece that has a lot more elaboration from Lehrer. That said, the devolution of politics certainly has not made Lehrer any more enthusiastic about the idea of writing music. - According to the preface of one of his songbooks, "Well-wishers...are constantly suggesting hilarious subject matter, such as the Vietnam War, the gradual destruction of the environment, our recent presidents, etc. so that I have often felt like a resident of Pompeii who has been asked for some humorous comments on lava."
- Some do, however, hold out hope, that if PBS makes another educational children's show a-la The Electric Company (1971) or Square One Television, Lehrer might agree to contribute a few televisual tutorial tunes for tots.
- As mentioned above, he also strongly disliked touring, noting that in his later tours his mind would constantly wander while he performed, and on a few occasions he flat-out forgot lyrics, which he took as a sign that he was burned out on live performing.
- He Also Did: Self-proclaimed inventor of the Jello shot, which he created as a way to get around liquor restriction on his military base.
- Meaningful Name: A Real Life example. Lehrer is German for 'teacher'.
- Reclusive Artist: Firmly retired to a life in academia, but has been willing enough to do the occasional interview over the years.
- So My Kids Can Watch: Not literally, since he never had children, but his songs for The Electric Company were in this vein. In later years he was amused by the fact that his college students weren't aware of his satirical songs but were really impressed when they found out he was the guy who sang "Silent E".
Mr. Lehrer provides the page quotes for:
(Note: This list may not be complete. As you can see, he's
quite popular on this wiki).
