Cole Porter

I got a kick the first time I heard the songs of Cole Porter. From the exotic, sensuous, Latin-infused ballads to the sparkling, wildly rhythmic and gaily witty comic numbers, each is a gem as lustrous as those his society friends sported on his opening nights. The greatest stars of the day introduced his work—Fred Astaire, Bert Lahr, Mary Martin, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland—but perhaps his quintessential interpreter was the brass-lunged Ethel Merman, whose renditions of such timeless bonbons as "Anything Goes," "You're the Top" and "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" perfectly pointed up Porter's deft rhythms and melodies while ensuring his saucy and sophisticated lyrics would be heard in the third balcony. De-Lovely, indeed.