Abel Meeropol
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| Abel Meeropol | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 14, 1903 New York City, New York. U.S. |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Longmeadow, Massachusetts. U.S. |
| Other names | Lewis Allan |
| Occupation | actor, song writer |
| Years active | 1944–86 |
| Known for | "Strange Fruit" "The House I Live In" |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Meeropol |
| Children | Robert Meeropol Michael Meeropol |
Abel Meeropol (February 14, 1903 – October 29, 1986)[1] was an American writer, teacher[2] and song-writer, whose works were published under his pseudonym Lewis Allan. His best-known song is "Strange Fruit" (1937), especially as recorded by Billie Holiday.
Biography
Early life
Meeropol was born in 1903 to Russian Jewish immigrants in The Bronx, New York City.[3][4] Meeropol graduated from Dewitt Clinton in 1921; he earned a B.A. degree from City College of New York, and an M.A. from Harvard. He taught English at DeWitt Clinton for 17 years.[5]
Song writing and poetry
Meeropol wrote the anti-lynching poem "Strange Fruit" (1936), which was first published as "Bitter Fruit" in a Teachers Union publication. He later set it to music. The song's best-known recordings and performances were by Billie Holiday and Josh White.[6] Billie Holiday claimed in Lady Sings the Blues, that she co-wrote the music to the song with Meeropol and Sonny White, but Meeropol was the sole writer of both the lyrics and melody.
Meeropol wrote countless poems and songs, including the Frank Sinatra and Josh White hit, "The House I Live In."[7] He also wrote the libretto of Robert Kurka's opera, The Good Soldier Schweik (1957), which was premiered in 1958 by the New York City Opera.
Meeropol published his work under the pseudonym of "Lewis Allan," in memory of the names of his two stillborn children. Later, he and his wife Anne adopted Julius and Ethel Rosenberg's two sons, Michael and Robert, who were orphaned after their parents' executions. Michael and Robert took the Meeropol surname.
According to son Robert Meeropol, the songs "Strange Fruit", "The House I Live In," and the Peggy Lee hit "Apples, Peaches and Cherries," provided most of the royalty income of the family. "Apples, Peaches and Cherries" was translated into French by Sacha Distel (French singer and sometime boyfriend of Brigitte Bardot) and has been especially popular. It became the number one hit in France under the title "Scoubidou." The song in France still earns royalties for Michael and Robert Meeropol. Abel Meeropol filed a copyright infringement lawsuit over Distel's plagiarism, as at first he claimed the song as his. After the case was settled, Meeropol started receiving the royalties.[8]
Meeropol died on October 29, 1986, at the Jewish Nursing Home in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.[3]
References
- ↑ Baker, Nancy Kovaleff, "Abel Meeropol (a.k.a. Lewis Allan): Political Commentator and Social Conscience," American Music 20/1 (2002), pp. 25-79; see especially note 3.
- ↑ Blair, Elizabeth, "The Strange Story Of The Man Behind 'Strange Fruit'", NPR, 5 September 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Forward March 27, 2012
- ↑ Blair, Elizabeth, "The Strange Story Of The Man Behind 'Strange Fruit'", NPR, 5 September 2012.
- ↑ Margolick, David, Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Café Society, and an Early Cry for Civil Rights (Philadelphia: Running Press, 2000), pp. 16-70.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Meeropol, Robert, An Execution in the Family: One Son's Journey (New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2003), pp. 47-48.
External links
- Pages using infobox person with unknown parameters
- Infobox person using religion
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1903 births
- 1986 deaths
- American communists
- Jewish American songwriters
- Songwriters from New York
- Jewish American writers
- History of African-American civil rights
- 20th-century American poets
- 20th-century American musicians
