Cole Porter was an American composer and songwriter born on June 9, 1891 in Peru, Indiana.  By the age of ten, he was playing the violin and piano and had already written his first song!  In 1905, he headed to Worcester Academy in Massachusetts, bringing along an upright piano with him.   He once recounted a lesson learned while studying there that would guide his career as a composer: “Words and music must be so inseparably wedded to each other that they are like one.”  Despite being described as “precocious”, Porter became the valedictorian of his class and after graduating, went on to Yale.    At Yale, he left his mark as one of the original members and principal soloists of the famous a-cappella group, the Whiffenpoofs.  Porter wrote over 300 songs while at Yale including many songs that are still sung there today!  By his 30s, after his time spent throwing lavish parties in Paris, he became a widely-known successful Broadway composer.  Some of his best-known songs:  ”Anything Goes”, “Night and Day”, and “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love”.

I love this clip from “Midnight in Paris” when Owen Wilson’s character walks into a 1920s Paris party, having time-traveled from present day, stunned to find Cole Porter playing his 1928 hit “Let’s Do it, Let’s Fall in Love”!