Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer, a singer-songwriter known best for his razor-sharp rhymes poking fun at American culture in the 1950s and '60s, died July 26, 2025, at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the age of 97.

An academic prodigy, Lehrer began undergraduate studies in mathematics at Harvard University at age 15 and earned a master's degree at 19. His doctoral studies languished, however, as he began to focus on a career in music. His self-produced first album, "Songs by Tom Lehrer" (1953), became a cult hit first around the Harvard campus and then, more slowly, across the United States.

Accompanying himself on piano, Lehrer sang songs that paired cheerful melodies with darkly witty lyrics that titillated 1950s and 1960s audiences. Over the course of several records, his subject matter ranged from cannibalism ("I Hold Your Hand in Mine") and STDs ("I Got It From Agnes") to sadism ("Poisoning Pigeons in the Park") and the military-industrial complex ("Werner Von Braun").

Through the 1950s and into the 1960s, Lehrer released several studio and live recordings, and his reputation grew. In 1964, Lehrer began contributing songs to TV's "That Was the Week That Was." His songs for the NBC show often took on timely topics such as race relations and the Cold War.

In the early '70s, though, Lehrer turned his back on musical fame, returning to his academic career. He joined the mathematics department faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1972 and taught there until his retirement in 2001.

Many of Lehrer's songs have found lasting appeal. He once explained their enduring popularity by saying, "Always predict the worst and you'll be hailed as a prophet."

A successful stage revue of Lehrer's songs, "Tom Foolery," premiered in London in 1980 and in New York in 1981, where it ran off-Broadway for 120 performances. Although it was produced without his input, Lehrer was brought in as a consultant during the show's run.

Lehrer returned to the stage for two London performances in 1998, his first public appearance in 25 years.

Despite a relatively short career in music, Lehrer has been a significant influence on songwriters such as Randy Newman, who observed that Lehrer is "one of the great American songwriters without a doubt, right up there with everybody, the top guys. As a lyricist, as good as there's been in the last half of the 20th century." Of his own music, Lehrer said that "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."

"One of the reasons for its appeal is that it's simple: just piano and voice," Lehrer said in a 2015 interview for the Library of Congress. "Most records are 'produced' by someone, but I didn't even know what a record producer was. That may be one of the reasons that children like it, even if they don't understand it. I heard that Joan Baez-whom I've never met-was asked in an interview if she sang lullabies to her baby. She said that doesn't work, but she sings [my song] 'The Old Dope Peddler' to him and he goes right to sleep."

Chuck Falzone contributed to this report.

(Image: AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)