Chapter 8: Broadway and Musical Theater
Cole Porter stands out among Broadway composers for his remarkable ability to combine sophisticated music with witty, urbane lyrics. Known for writing both words and music, Porter created a songbook that continues to captivate audiences with its elegance, cleverness, and emotional nuance.
Born into a wealthy family in Peru, Indiana, Porter was introduced to music early in life, studying violin and piano at the Marion Conservatory. He enrolled at Yale University in 1909, where he demonstrated his musical flair by writing "Bulldog" (1911), which remains the Yale football fight song today. In 1913, Porter moved on to Harvard, originally to study law, but soon shifted to music. By 1916, he had dropped out and began composing full-length musicals.
Cole Porter spent his early years as a songwriter in Paris, where he lived a lavish expatriate life, known for hosting glittering parties attended by European aristocrats and artists. Although he had been writing musicals since the 1910s, his first major commercial successes came in 1929 with Wake Up and Dream and Fifty Million Frenchmen. Throughout the 1930s, Porter established himself as one of Broadway’s most distinctive and celebrated composers with hit shows such as The Gay Divorce (1932), Anything Goes (1934), and DuBarry Was a Lady (1939).
Cole Porter’s music reflected his intellectual depth and cosmopolitan worldview. His lyrics distinguished themselves through sharp wit, literary and philosophical allusions, and masterful wordplay. Porter had a particular gift for layering innuendo and double entendre into his songs, evident in enduring standards like “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” Unlike many of his contemporaries, Porter approached themes of love, desire, and sexuality with playful irony and unmistakable elegance.
Porter’s career was dramatically interrupted in 1937 when he suffered a devastating horseback riding accident that crushed both legs. He endured over thirty surgeries and was left in chronic pain for the rest of his life, but he continued composing. His triumphant return came in 1948 with Kiss Me, Kate, a witty musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Featuring songs like “Too Darn Hot” and “Wunderbar,” the show won the first-ever Tony Award for Best Musical.
Like Irving Berlin, Porter is remembered less for specific shows and more for his individual songs, many of which have become standards in both the musical theater and jazz repertoires. Although Porter continued to write into the 1950s, his output slowed, especially after the amputation of his right leg in 1958. He died in 1964, leaving behind a body of work that continues to enchant singers, actors, and audiences worldwide.