名人轶事:Cole Porter Pt.2（在线收听）

Rochelle Gollust

Broadcast: August 22, 2004

((THEME))

VOICE ONE:

This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today

we bring you the second part of our program about American songwriter Cole

Porter. Porter wrote his songs from the nineteen-twenties to the nineteen-

fifties. They continue to be popular today.

((MUSIC))

VOICE ONE:

That was a recording of "Anything Goes", one of Cole Porter's most famous

songs. Caroline O'Connor sings it in the movie about Cole Porter called "De-

Lovely." Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd star in this movie about Porter's life,

released in two-thousand-four. The title of the movie is from one of Porter's

popular songs, "It's De-Lovely." In the song, Porter plays with words that

start with the letter "d." Robbie Williams sings the song.

((MUSIC))

VOICE TWO:

As we said in our program last week, Cole Porter went to live in France in

nineteen-sixteen before he became famous. He was a wealthy young man who was

smart and funny and knew how to enjoy life. He and his wife, Linda, became

well known for their costly and exciting parties.

Yet Cole Porter never let other pleasures interfere with what he loved most

– writing songs. He worked hard on his songs. Both the words and music had

to be perfect.
VOICE ONE:

Porter gained fame as a musical theater writer by the early nineteen-

thirties. His musical plays were produced in Broadway theaters in New York

City. He had a new musical every year or so during the years of America's

great economic depression. His words and music gave people a few hours of

pleasurable escape during difficult times.

Some critics still consider one of Porter's early musical plays, "Anything

Goes," to be his best. "Anything Goes" opened on Broadway in nineteen-thirty

-four. It starred one of Porter's favorite singers, Ethel Merman. She sang a

song that became famous immediately. It is called "I Get a Kick Out of You."

That expression means I enjoy being with you.

((MUSIC))

VOICE TWO:

For years, Porter was Broadway's "King Cole." His musical plays were very

successful. Later, he went to Los Angeles, California and wrote music for

Hollywood movies. They were very popular, too.

Cole and Linda Porter traveled all over the world. They were happily married

most of the time. But Cole Porter was homosexual. He had sex with men.

Homosexuality was both accepted and forbidden in high society at that time.

Love affairs between men were not exactly secret. Yet they could never be

admitted publicly.
VOICE ONE:


All his life, Cole Porter wrote songs about love, desire and passion. He

included the names of foreign countries, famous people and comments on

current events. And he filled his songs with little jokes and hidden

meanings.

Porter's words stretched the limits of what was socially acceptable. They

spoke directly and indirectly about sex. They admitted that love is not

always pure. It is often selfish. And it rarely lasts forever. Porter was not

even sure what love really is. He wonders about it in this song, "What is

This Thing Called Love?" It is sung by Lemar.#p#副标题#e#

((MUSIC))

VOICE TWO:

Cole Porter also wrote some of the most beautiful love songs ever, full of

true, deep feeling. Critics consider "Every Time We Say Goodbye" to be one of

his finest songs. Natalie Cole sings the song.

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VOICE ONE:

In nineteen-thirty-seven, Cole Porter was injured while riding a horse. The

horse slid on a muddy hill and fell on top of him. His legs were crushed.

Cole Porter spent the rest of his life, twenty-seven years, disabled and in

severe pain. Yet he continued writing wonderful songs, musical plays and

movies.

In nineteen-forty-eight, he wrote what some consider his greatest work. It

was a musical play called "Kiss Me, Kate." It was based on William

Shakespeare's play, "The Taming of the Shrew." But it takes place in modern

times, among a group of actors. The play was produced again on Broadway in

nineteen-ninety-nine.

One of the most famous songs in the musical is called "Too Darn Hot." It is a

funny song about how hard it is to be interested in love in really hot

weather. Stanley Wayne Mathis sings it in "Kiss Me, Kate."

((MUSIC))

VOICE TWO:

Cole Porter had another hit show in nineteen-fifty-three, called "Cancan." It

was his final play. That same year, Porter's wife, Linda, died. Porter was

very sad, and increasingly disabled by his old injury. He died at the age of

seventy-three in nineteen-sixty-four.


In nineteen-ninety-one, America celebrated the one-hundredth anniversary of

Cole Porter's birth. Special concerts celebrated his music. New recordings

were issued. Jazz singers and symphony orchestras recorded his songs.

So did several rock-and-roll artists. They made a recording and special music

video to honor him. All the money earned from the recording and video was

given to research on AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

AIDS is a disease that was first discovered among homosexual men.

VOICE ONE:

Today, Cole Porter's songs are still valued for their beauty, humor and

intelligence. And for their unexpected jokes and word play. They shine like

jewels, one critic wrote. They are shot through with love that sometimes

feels like pain.

There seems little doubt that Cole Porter's songs will continue to be sung.

They will make us laugh. They will make us cry. And they will touch the

deepest truths of our emotions.

((MUSIC))

VOICE TWO:

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis.

This is Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And this is Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for People in America in

VOA Special English.

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