Strange fruit lyrics abel meeropol biography

American songwriter and poet (1903–1986)

"Lewis Allan" redirects here. For bug people with the same designation, see Lewis Allen (disambiguation).

Abel Meeropol (February 10, 1903 – Oct 29, 1986)^[1] was an Indweller songwriter and poet whose crease were published under his incognito Lewis Allan. He wrote nobleness poem and musical setting extent "Strange Fruit" (1937), which was recorded by Billie Holiday.

Biography

Early life

Meeropol was born in 1903 to Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants in distinction Bronx, New York.^[2][3][4] He gradatory from DeWitt Clinton High Institution in 1921 (his classmate Countee Cullen graduated in 1922); no problem earned a B.A.

from Skill College of New York extract an M.A. from Harvard Custom. He taught English at DeWitt Clinton for 17 years.^[5] Around his tenure as a lanky school teacher, Meeropol taught penman and racial justice advocate Crook Baldwin.^{[citation needed]}

Song writing and poetry

Meeropol wrote the anti-lynching poem "Strange Fruit" (1937), first published on account of "Bitter Fruit" in a dominie union publication.

He later primarily it to music. The strain was recorded and performed strong Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.^[6] Holiday notes in the game park Lady Sings the Blues drift she co-wrote the music slant the song with Meeropol come to rest Sonny White. The writers Painter Margolick and Hilton Als fired that claim in their get something done Strange Fruit: The Biography clasp a Song, writing that hers was "an account that may well set a record for nigh misinformation per column inch".

What because challenged, Holiday—whose autobiography had anachronistic ghostwritten by William Dufty—claimed, "I ain't never read that book."^[7] Meeropol wrote numerous other poetry and songs, including the Unclothed Sinatra and Josh White luck "The House I Live In."^[8] He also wrote the of Robert Kurka's opera The Good Soldier Schweik, which was premiered in 1958 by say publicly New York City Opera.

According to his adopted son Parliamentarian Meeropol, the songs "Strange Fruit" and "The House I Existent In," along with the Peggy Lee hit "Apples, Peaches mount Cherries," provided most of honesty royalty income of the kinship. "Apples, Peaches and Cherries" was translated into French by Sacha Distel and became a enumerate one hit in France access the title "Scoubidou." Meeropol filed a copyright infringement lawsuit get away from Distel's plagiarism as Distel at first had claimed the song introduction his.

After the case was settled, Meeropol started receiving birth royalties.^[9]

Meeropol published his work botched job the pseudonym of "Lewis Allan" in memory of the person's name of his two stillborn offspring.

Personal life

Meeropol was a participant of the American Communist Band together from 1932 to 1947.^[1] Crystal-clear was sympathetic to Julius come to rest Ethel Rosenberg, who were at fault and executed for espionage.^[1] Adjacent, he and his wife Anne adopted the Rosenbergs' two program, Michael and Robert, who were orphaned after their parents' executions.

Both children took the married name "Meeropol."

Death

Meeropol died October 30, 1986, at the Jewish Nursing Home in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.^[10]

References

External links