Cole Porter was born on June 9, 1891, in Peru, Indiana. His family was well-to-do thanks to the industriousness of his grandfather, J.O. Cole, who struck gold in California and returned to Indiana to parlay it into a greater fortune.
Porter attended prep school in the east and then matriculated at Yale. There he became a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. He was also a cheerleader, active in the Glee and Mandolin Clubs, and a member of the Whiffenpoofs acapella group, in the years just after its founding.
He wrote more than 300 songs while at Yale. Several dozen songs were written for productions staged by Delta Kappa Epsilon. On November 28, 1911, Cora was performed at the DKE chapter house. Porter provided the music and lyrics to the book written by T. Gaillard Thomas, II. The closing number Mother Phi was a shout-out to the chapter. Delta Kappa Epsilon was founded on June 22, 1844 at Yale and the chapter has the Phi designation.
As part of the Glee Club, Porter performed at venues across the country, entertaining Yale alumni and keeping them connected to their Alma Mater. They started the year of 1912 entertaining in Washington, D.C.
On November 26, 1912, the fraternity house was the locale of another Phi Opera Company production. The Pot of Gold: A Home Play in Two Acts with a book by Almet F. Jenks, Jr. and music and lyrics by Porter debuted. An encore performance took place on December 4, 1912 at New Haven’s Hotel Taft.
Among the musical numbers is I Want to Be Married (to a Delta Kappa Epsilon Man). It includes this refrain:
I want to be married To a Delta Kappa Epsilon man.
I never have varied
From the Delta Kappa Epsilon clan.
I’ve a friend or two in A. D. Phi,
And my mother’s second cousin was a Beta Theta Pi,
But I want to be married
To a Delta Kappa, Delta Kappa, Delta Kappa,
Delta Kappa, Delta Kappa Epsilon man.
Porter’s work is a cornerstone of the Great American Songbook. His music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Kiss Me Kate won the first Tony Award for Best Musical at the third Tony Awards in 1949.
Porter died on October 15, 1964. His body of work lives on.
