In the mid 80's, a friend of mine asked him why he had given up political satire. Tom replied, "Political satire went out of date when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize."

Lehrer has said of his musical career, "If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while." Liner notes, Songs & More Songs By Tom Lehrer, Rhino Records, 1997.

"Dear Algebra: Please stop asking us to find your ex. She's not coming back, and we don't know why."

This is probably perhaps the last and probably the final documented recording (audio or video) of Tom Lehrer performing for an audience. This should be preserved in The Library Of Congress for perpetuity.

I'm 15, almost 16. It's sad that nobody young appreciates this kinda stuff anymore. I listen to Tom Lehrer almost every day.

I was 16 and had just moved to Boston and had been a fan since I was 6! Walking past Filene's I ducked into a phone booth, and checked a phone book (seriously). Much to my surprise Tom Lehrer, Cambridge was a LISTED number. Yup, I called. AND HE ANSWERED! It was 1977 and that voice was unmistakable. I told him I was a fan, and he seemed surprised that anyone still listened to them, making a joke of course. He was a very nice fella.

Dear, dear Tom Lehrer, born April 9, 1928, will turn 91 in a few weeks. I hope he's comfortable and still with it. His live recording of The Elements, taken at breakneck speed without any mistakes, defies belief.

This man is so talented. He's a professor of mathamatics, a fantastic satirist, and the inventor of the jello shot.

Time jumps: 1:45 The Derivative Song 2:58 There is a δ for every ε 4:48 The Professor's Song 8:25 Sociology Song 11:17 That's Mathematics

Tom Lehrer is the epitome of just an adorable person.

He's making some VERY FUNNY jokes that his audience doesn't get. Like "find the Fourier series" of the written in script word "minimum"., which looks like a sinusoid with phase trouble.

Tom's one of the biggest brains of the 20th century. Go look up his credentials. The songs alone are incredible but his whole life is awesome.

"How sad, how cruel, how tragic How pitiful, and other adjec-" The second I heard this, I lit up. A perfect throwback to Lehrer's golden days!

His song "Pollution Pollution" was ahead of his time. In a newspaper article I read about him years ago, he aaid he wanted people to think and reflect more. He went back to teaching math because he said he didn't want to end up doing covers of himself. He was a great person. I'm SO glad my parents had his records!

First time I heard Tom Lehrer was in 1960. I had found a hidden record in my father's collection. The record actually belonged to his younger brother. I listened to it and couldn't stop laughing. Scary thing though, I understood it was humor and I understood that humor and the songs. I was 8 yrs old. To this day, satire and satirical items are my favorite. Thank you, Mr. Lehrer.

Hmmm. The Professor speaks of a date that he took a class at Harvard in 1943, and refers to it having been 54 years ago, so, using New Math, this recording must have occurred in 1997. Unless he was speaking in Base 8, which as the Professor taught us all, is really like Base 10...if you're missing two fingers.. :-)

"They in an ivory steeple, far away from all people, they do research in sociology." This song was the contraband that got me through a sociology course years ago. I don't know if there's a formula one could use to quantify how much Lehrer's wit can help one to laugh at and withstand the world's absurdities but I'm sure the results would be statistically significant. :-)

I was first sent to a Russian school because my parents escaped from the Soviets and then my American teacher played me all the songs by Tom Lehrer, how refreshing, if am screwed up I know why and I enjoyed every minute of it

I just heard he turned 95 yesterday. Many happy returns Mr. L.

About the rhyme with algebra: Maybe some song about a young, eager marine biologist who is frustrated by having to study something he's not interested in pursueing later? Something like Why would I want to study algebra? When I want to explore the deep sea? I'll only have to fiddle with algae bras when the mermaids pleasure me? ...I'll see myself out now. 😂

Ive followed Tom for 65 years, played his songs over and over and still remain AMAZED at his ability to rhyme all of his thots. A MASTER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE!!!!

Amazing man, born in 1928, so he is 90 now and 86 in this video and he sounds the same. A big talent and great man thanks for the musical satire Tom, songs like Verner Von Braun are things no one else even dared to say.

I grew up listening to Tom Lehrer. My Dad went to Princeton and thus was "in the know" in the Ivy League circuit. While in grad school he and my Mom heard someone in the next apartment (the rooms were called the Princeton "projects") playing Lehrer's first LP, a 10-incher entitled "Songs of Tom Lehrer." My Mom told me once they heard it, they knew they "had to get it." The initial pressing was only 400 copies but M&D were able to get one. One of my earliest memories is enjoying this record (as well as Spike Jones' 78s). I was too young to fully understand all of his satire (as well as some of the more risque songs) but knew it was funny since my parents enjoyed it. I listened to the record so much I easily memorized all the songs. (Many years later I was at a music clinic with a friend of mine and was chatting with a piano player. We discovered a mutual love for Lehrer, and before you knew it, the guy had sat down at a piano and I was singing all of the songs from the first LP--both of us from memory!) As a young adult I rediscovered Lehrer, bought all his other albums and enjoyed listening to them with my parents. Later on, as an adult living in Massachusetts, I really to meet him, so one day I looked him up in the phone book--and his number was there! I called him (he was living in Cambridge) and asked him if he could give me piano lessons. He kind of chuckled and said he "probably wouldn't be very good at it" (which is understandable, since he was mostly self-taught.) Anyway, Tom Lehrer has played a big part in my life in terms of developing both my sense of humor as well as my musical sense. Hats off to him! 🙂

Was this one of the performances he gave during lectures long after he stopped performing publicly? What a gem!

I cannot adequately communicate the respect and affection I have for this man’s work. He is simply amazing and I wish he could live happily forever because the world will be a much poorer place when he passes.

Algebra - Isn't that what mermaids wear on the upper part of their bodies ?

I wish the crowd laughed more 😭 I’m laughing so much and loudly, hes hilarious

One of the underrated talents of our time - and a master of maths and the English language to boot. It's interesting that the word "Lehrer" means teacher. In a similar vein, Allen Sherman is worth checking out. Different style, but they always remind me of each other. Funny that.

I first heard him on the radio when I was a wee tad back in the early 1950's and thus began my long career as a misanthrope!

An international treasure. Why doesn't somebody do a doco about him? I'd be up for it, if I had the funds.

We *actually went through* the "New Math" situation with our son's "Common Core" class, as they *literally* said "It's more important to know what you're doing than get the right answer!" Then a few weeks ago, I heard my son cackling over a youtube song (he made it to college). Asking what was so funny, he said *"It's a new guy named Tom Lehrer!"* I bust a gut, having known all Lehrer's stuff from childhood. The *awesome* part is that my son is a math/music/chess talent who can sound exactly like Lehrer, and is a *huge* fan (as am I). For the perverse pleasure of it, we both sing along with such hits as "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and the "New Math." Mr. Lehrer, I challenge you to revive the best old ones and write a few new ones. There is always enough absurd news to feed a talent like yours! Much of your old material is just as pertinent as ever. Even the black plastic 50's and 60's glasses are "in" again, so before we "All Go Together" let's hear a few more hits!

First heard his song 'Lobachevsky' (and others) around 1956. Indelible childhood memory. "Once upon a time in Berkeley..."

This such a wonderful find. I am guessing this was a treat for his students at the end of the semester. I'll bet he had a number of students who showed up just to hear him sing.

I have loved Tom Lehrer since I was about eight; admittedly, I had little comprehension of his content, but he presented his creations so happily and I was swept along by his clever ivory-tickling and tongue-tripping exercises. The Element Song is my go-to but, really, anything delights me. Great to hear these 'new' songs. How prescient he was with 'The Old Dope Peddler,' as we learned in the Sixties! Thank you, Tom Lehrer, for hours and hours and years and years of intelligent and entertaining lullabies and shanties.

i just love this guy. it would be one of my dreams to meet him.

Thank goodness 'common core' is dead. Tom Lehrer is my lifelong hero. Just love his work. 90 years old next year. I recommend Ernesto Lecuona's music. At almost any moment I expect Tom to start singing....what a genius!

I wanna meet him before I or he dies. He's so inspiring to me.

Maybe I would have done better in Differential Equations in college if my professor had a piano. :)

Tom Leher was once a mathematician, and it was during that time he realised that the world didn't add up so he did the smart thing and became a pianist and a very clever song righter "trying" to tell the people of the world it didn't add up. Sadly no one realised what he was telling us except me.

I love Tom Lehrer. A sibling of mine has his records that were in our family. He designed his record album covers. There were quite a few parodying humorous singers back then. I like Alan Sherman's parody of "Downtown." There was Stan Freberg (?), Rich Little's parody of Nixon, and other comedians. The 60s didn't just pop out of pablum. There was a precursor. Thanks to all the great and WEIRD humorists and to utube for preserving them!

"I remember drinking champagne from her slipper and almost choking on a corn pad!" Yecch.

It's time for a Noble Prize for comedy. Tom gets the first one!

The delta and epsilon song brings back unpleasant memories of the first course I dropped in university. It was callled Calculus! I was out of my depth from day 3 (days 1 and 2 were revision). Everything the prof said made sense at the moment, but after that it was gone. Fortunately I was able to get by on Mathematics for the Social Sciences.

Utterly brilliant, as usual. Lehrer is the thinking man's Cole Porter, a real (perverse) treasure! One of the greats who makes this miserable world bearable. Thank you a thousand times for posting this!

The first two records I learned to put on the record player by myself were Tom Lehrer's "That Was The Year That Was" and the Doors' "Morrison Hotel". When I was six I knew the words to "Smut" and "Proliferation" (First we got the Bomb) by heart . . . People who know me say this explains a lot.

Happy 95th, Professor Lehrer! 🎉

My first exposure to this genius was a promotional 45 RPM (remember 45's? Anybody? Please? Anybody?) record from Perkin Elmer, one side was a humorous "Diatribe on Detection Limits" by one or another executives of Perkin Elmer, the other side of which was Lehrer's "The Elements". It came in handy in Major "Marbles" Chamber's chemistry class. Anybody remember Major Chambers?

He is such a hero to me. I was introduced to his work in 1981. God bless the teacher who did it in Phoenix, AZ

Genius. If my grasp of acedemia was firmer I'd be able tell why this is so funny.

Great to see this - Tom Lehrer is brilliant - but it would also be great if people who put up such recordings would date them please.

"MIT did not have a sociology department; they hadn't sunk THAT low." Rotfl

When I think of my high school algebra, It brings up a sense of nostalgia, brah.

THERES A DELTA FOR EVERY EPSILON IS SUCH A BANGAR🔥🔥🔥🔥

Brilliant. The one & only Tom Lehrer.

In the 1960s we listened to Tom Lehrer's LPs and learned all the words. I knew "The Vatican Rag" as I also knew the words of the Beatles' songs. I also loved "The New Math" which is still relevant today. I have not been able to find the song about Vice President Hubert Humphrey on KZfaq, also very funny. It is a shame that the modern generation are not familiar with his very funny songs.

Just loved this genius for 50 years. Was 17 when I first heard him. 🎉🎉 half century!

What I remember about Sociology class: I walked around a mall eating crickets and documenting people’s reactions.

I absolutely love seeing him have such fun playing these pieces. He looks so lighthearted, and is enjoying himself so much. After years of performing, in his time off when he started into more fulltime teaching i wondered what he played for himself, and whether he got together still with friends to share the fabulously wickedly funny ideas he has running around in that brilliant head. I should also confirm here that my husband and i FELL IN LOVE OVER TOM LEHRER RECORDS!! I'm sure Professor Lehrer wouild roll his eyes upon hearing that although i'd still love to meet him in person. I'm in San JOse and he;'s in Santa Cruz. So if anyone out there knows how to reach him, please do let me know.

I love Tom for writing and performing this and I love you for uploading them.

If you hear me say I was brainwashed by Tom Lehrer (Especially THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS), I say it as a GOOD THING. How recollections of the words happen with so many events/words... THANK YOU PROFESSOR LEHRER! OH, and the Engineering friend who (Pulled over by the police and asked to count backward from 100), recited the Periodic Table of Elements. Lucky it turned out OK.

Having played that role I love this song. I also love Tom Lehrer songs. This is great!

I love this man.❤

New (to me) TL material... I can’t believe it! Thanks so much.

I didn't know that Mahler was still alive and that he'd decided to become a jazz pianist!

How old is he here? Greater and lesser men couldn't have sung and played piano at the same time at his age. He's incredible.

I would love to hear him write a song about today.

Well, according to the website "Dead or Alive?" Tom Lehrer is still alive. So can we get him out of retirement long enough to compose a song about common core? He doesn't have to sing it, just compose it and give it to someone he thinks is worthy of singing it.

While algebra has no true rhymes, algebraic rhymes with mosaic, prosaic, archaic, and Judaic among others

If the professor is not clearly understood by his students, there can be only one reason: There is simply not enough emphasis on vocabulary words, and/or rote practice of mathematical equations and procedures.

Great! This presentation was done after Fermat's conjecture had turned into a theorem. Tom Lehrer looked young. I happened to find his videos abou a month ago. I am glad he was alive and young at that very important moment for mathematics. The mathematician that I admire most is Kurt Gödel because of his completude theorems, however Tom Lehrer never wrote a song to him. When I was presented to Kurt Gödel and those two theorems, the professor said that Kurt Gödel had divided the history of mathematics. Why not a song for him?

I cossecant get these songs out of my head!

Integral calculus is bacterial plaque which covers an entire tooth with one unbroken layer. Differential calculus is bacterial plaque which covers one part of the tooth with a layer thicker than that covering another part of the tooth.

Tom Lehrer had a vision, that is what my American teacher taught me

This man is a true genius

Sounds like a lot of professors we have all had at least once.

I love this! Thank you for doing this.

I wish he was my math teacher .... I may have paid attention lol

haha what a dork. I've been a fan for decades

I wish I'd been able to take a mathematics course from Mr. Lehrer when I was a student at UC Santa Cruz. Who knows, I might have passed Calculus, stayed with my original major of Biology, and avoided switching to the social sciences as my consolation prize!

Push-up bra Matzo-Brie (pronounce second part as "brah") Algebra

According to Wikipedia, Wagner was born in 22nd May. But ALW and Sondheim actually have the same birthday which is my favorite new fact

He has made me happy and furthermore 😊 Joy to my existence

This may be 9 yesrs old but it is still grand! Thank you!

My first Calculus teacher was just like this. She could not explain how to do the problems. A different teacher made all the difference to me.

The world needs a good Midas Touch song about Trump by this man, particularly!

awesome

Junior year in college I had to take "Introductory Linear Algebra" That sounded to me like a 9th grade level course. I was in for a surprise.

Ooooh! And it's Gama's song from "Princess Ida," doubly excellent!

Americans should hold Dr. Lehrerin the highest esteem and regard. He made us smarter.

I took Algebra II which always included Trigonometry for half a year. Then there was this full year course called Math Analysis. Only then did one wade into Calculus.

Algebra and "bruh" rhyme. I mean you can argue that bruh is not a word but whatever. Poetry is the peasants' literature anyway.

Fan f(n) tastic!

my HERO

Tom lehrer reminds me of the genius Randy Rogel ⭐🌟⭐🌟🎼🎵🎶🎹

I am wondering what kind of a family Tom grew up from... What are the elements that build such a genius !!!

I would of love to meet this man ;-;

I hate maths, but I like Lehrer! His surname is btw german and means "teacher".. How fitting.. But he could never taught me math. I'm too stupid! :-D

It's true what they say: he really is pretty acceptable with the piano.

Great entertainer!

When art and logic mix. To beautiful conclusions.