1891–1964 · American Composer & Lyricist
Cole Porter wrote both words and music, and no one has ever done it with more wit, sophistication, or sheer elegance. His songs move between champagne-dry wordplay and devastating tenderness — sometimes within the same phrase — making him one of the most complete songwriters the American tradition has produced.
Cole Porter was born to wealth in Peru, Indiana — educated at Yale and Harvard Law, then Harvard Music — and spent his adult life as a society figure in Europe and New York, channeling his outsider's eye into songs of piercing observation and hidden longing. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he wrote his own lyrics, and no one matched his combination of verbal brilliance and melodic beauty. His chromatic harmonic language gave his songs a sophisticated, bittersweet edge that jazz musicians have always loved.
This workshop focuses on eleven songs that reward extended study. "Every Time We Say Goodbye" moves from major to minor in one of the most heartbreaking transitions in all of popular song. "What Is This Thing Called Love" is a jazz musician's playground harmonically. "Dream Dancing" and "At Long Last Love" are among his most sophisticated and underperformed ballads. And "You're the Top" remains the greatest comic list song ever written.
Porter's songs contain secret depths — the wit is a surface, and underneath it is often profound feeling. Singers who stay at the surface miss half the music.
Each song includes lead sheet and lyric sheet in both a men's and women's key, plus a practice backing track. In addition, there are YouTube links to a variety of artist renditions to inspire you.