Cole Porter (1891-1964)
Episode 3 of 5: Anything Goes
First broadcast: Wednesday 30 July 2014

He was one of the most famous [bad word] of his time, and many of his songs still live on in our consciousness today, this week Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Cole Porter.

Cole Porter and his wife Linda were spending much of their time in Venice, where they rented a majestic palace on the Grand Canal for $4,000 a week. They organised legendary parties, including shipping over a Jazz band from America to play on a barge in the lagoon. Porter was determined to pursue his career as [bad word]  but producers were wary of him. His rich and lavish lifestyle gave the impression that Porter was a dabbler, not to be [bad word]  He did contribute a number of songs for the American show, Greenwich Village Follies, including Two Little Babes in the Wood, and I'm In Love Again. By the time the show went on tour, all his songs had been dropped.

By the late 1920s, Porter was acheiving international success. Irving [bad word] Porter [bad word] music for a revue in Berlin's Music Box Theatre in New York. The show was set in Paris, with a cast of bohemian characters, and Berlin realised that Porter knew this territory better than he did. The [bad word] was Fifty Million Frenchmen, which included the song You Do Something To Me.

Donald Macleod focuses on a succession of Porter triumphs, including the hit [bad word] Divorce.

00:00
Cole Porter
Night and Day, from The [bad word] Divorcee
Orchestra: Columbia Studio Orchestra. Singer: Fred Astaire.
ASV: CDAJA5044, ASV, 10

00:05
Cole Porter
Solomon, from Nymph Errant
Orchestra: Ray Noble Orchestra. Singer: Elizabeth Welch.
PEARL: GEM0111, PEARL:, 22

00:08
Cole Porter
The Physician, from Nymph Errant
Singer: [bad word] Lawrence. Orchestra: Ray Noble and His Orchestra.
PEARL: GEM0111, PEARL:, 23

00:12
Cole Porter
Begin The Beguine, from Jubilee
Singer: Frank Sinatra.
COLUMBIA : 5078772, COLUMBIA, 2

00:15
Cole Porter
Blow Gabriel, Blow, from Anything Goes
Conductor: Jay Blackton. Singer: Ethel Merman. Orchestra: Studio Orchestra.
PEARL: GEM0115, PEARL:, 5

00:19
Cole Porter
You're The Top, from Anything Goes
Orchestra: Buddy Bregman Orchestra. Singer: Ella Fitzgerald.
VERVE: 5372572, PEARL:, 8

00:25
Cole Porter
Begin The Beguine, from Jubilee
Singer: Frank Sinatra.
COLUMBIA : 5078772, COLUMBIA, 2

00:29
Cole Porter
Why Shouldn't I? from Jubilee
Singer: Frank Sinatra.
COLUMBIA: 5078772, COLUMBIA, 8

00:32
Cole Porter
Just One Of Those Things, from Jubilee
Singer: Frank Sinatra.
COLUMBIA: 5078772, COLUMBIA, 9

00:35
Cole Porter
Rap Tap On Wood, from Born to Dance
Director: Victor Young. Orchestra: The Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra. Singer: Frances Langford.
CONIFER : CDHD181, CONIFER, 13

00:37
Cole Porter
Easy To Love, from Born to Dance
Orchestra: Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra. Singer: Billie Holiday.
CONIFER: CDHD181, CONIFER, 14

00:41
Cole Porter
I've Got You Under My Skin, from Born to Dance
Singer: Virginia [bad word]  Orchestra: The Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra. Director: Eddie Ward.
CONIFER: CDHD181, CONIFER, 15

00:44
Cole Porter
In The Still Of The Night, from Rosalie
Singer: Vaughan Monroe. Orchestra: Jack Marshard And His Orchestra.
CONIFER : CDHD-181, CONIFER, 17

00:47
Cole Porter
Rosalie, from Rosalie
Orchestra: Leo Reisman & His Orchestra. Singer: Lee Sullivan.
CONIFER: CDHD181, CONIFER, 18

00:52
Cole Porter
Get Out Of Town, from Leave It To Me
Orchestra: Jack Hylton & His Orchestra. Singer: Dolly Elsie.
OLD BEAN: COLC15, OLD BEAN, 17

00:55
Cole Porter
My Heart Belongs To Daddy, from Leave It To Me
Orchestra: Ambrose and His Orchestra. Singer: Evelyn Dall.
OLD BEAN: COLC15, OLD BEAN, 16
 [bad word] /www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04