The grandson of “the richest man in Indiana”, Cole Porter came to his love of music as a child and developed his love for musical theatre while at Yale, where he wrote over 300 songs. In 1917 he moved to France, which became his primary home for the next 20 years. He joined the French Foreign Legion, married wealthy divorcée Linda Lee Thomas (in 1919), hosted wild parties at their luxurious homes in Paris and Venice, encouraged the career of nightclub hostess Bricktop, and wrote lots of songs, as his career on Broadway established itself. For this concert, we’ll look at early songs written by Porter during his years in Paris and his songs that were written about Paris, many from later in his career. Ken ponders, “I always wonder which came first: our almost caricatured impressions of Paris coming from his songs, or vice versa!.