Abel Meeropol (February 10, 1903 - October 30, 1986) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer and inadvertent song-writer, best known under his pseudonym
Lewis Allan and as the adoptive father of the young sons of
Julius and Ethel RosenbergJulius Rosenberg and Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg were American communists who were executed in 1953 after having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage. The charges were in relation to the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union...
.
Meeropol wrote the anti-
lynchingLynching is an extrajudicial punishment meted by a mob, usually by hanging. It is an enumerated felony in all states of the United States, defined by some codes of law as "Any act of violence inflicted by a mob upon the body of another person which results in the death of the person," with a 'mob'...
poem, "
Strange Fruit"Strange Fruit" is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday. It condemned American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans that had occurred chiefly in the South but also in all regions of the United States. Holiday's version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of...
", which he subsequently set to music. The song was performed by
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing...
. Billie Holiday (or rather her
ghostwriterA ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
) claimed, in
Lady Sings the BluesLady Sings The Blues is a 1972 film about jazz singer Billie Holiday loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from one of Holiday's most popular songs. It was produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures. Diana Ross portrayed Holiday, alongside a cast...
, that she cowrote the music to the song with Meeropol and
Sonny WhiteEllerton Oswald, better known as Sonny White was a jazz pianist who spend most of his life in America....
, but in fact, Meeropol was the sole writer of both lyrics and melody to this haunting plea for civil rights.
Meeropol was the writer of countless poems and songs, including the
Frank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers." His professional career had stalled by the...
hit
The House I Live InThe House I Live In is a ten-minute short film written by Albert Maltz, produced by Frank Ross and Mervyn LeRoy, and starring Frank Sinatra. It was made to oppose anti-Semitism and racial prejudice at the end of World War II...
and the libretto of Robert Kurka's opera "The Good Soldier Schweik".
Abel Meeropol (February 10, 1903 - October 30, 1986) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer and inadvertent song-writer, best known under his pseudonym
Lewis Allan and as the adoptive father of the young sons of
Julius and Ethel RosenbergJulius Rosenberg and Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg were American communists who were executed in 1953 after having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage. The charges were in relation to the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union...
.
Biography
Meeropol wrote the anti-
lynchingLynching is an extrajudicial punishment meted by a mob, usually by hanging. It is an enumerated felony in all states of the United States, defined by some codes of law as "Any act of violence inflicted by a mob upon the body of another person which results in the death of the person," with a 'mob'...
poem, "
Strange Fruit"Strange Fruit" is a song performed most famously by Billie Holiday. It condemned American racism, particularly the lynching of African Americans that had occurred chiefly in the South but also in all regions of the United States. Holiday's version of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of...
", which he subsequently set to music. The song was performed by
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing...
. Billie Holiday (or rather her
ghostwriterA ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
) claimed, in
Lady Sings the BluesLady Sings The Blues is a 1972 film about jazz singer Billie Holiday loosely based on her 1956 autobiography which, in turn, took its title from one of Holiday's most popular songs. It was produced by Motown Productions for Paramount Pictures. Diana Ross portrayed Holiday, alongside a cast...
, that she cowrote the music to the song with Meeropol and
Sonny WhiteEllerton Oswald, better known as Sonny White was a jazz pianist who spend most of his life in America....
, but in fact, Meeropol was the sole writer of both lyrics and melody to this haunting plea for civil rights.
Meeropol was the writer of countless poems and songs, including the
Frank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers." His professional career had stalled by the...
hit
The House I Live InThe House I Live In is a ten-minute short film written by Albert Maltz, produced by Frank Ross and Mervyn LeRoy, and starring Frank Sinatra. It was made to oppose anti-Semitism and racial prejudice at the end of World War II...
and the libretto of Robert Kurka's opera "The Good Soldier Schweik". He taught at
DeWitt Clinton High SchoolDeWitt Clinton High School is an American high school located in the New York City borough of the Bronx.-History:Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School, although this Boys High School was not related to the one in...
in the Bronx, and on the side was an ardent, but closet, Communist. Meeropol chose to write as Lewis Allan in memory of the names of his two
stillbornA stillbirth occurs when a fetus which has died, in the uterus or during labor or delivery, exits a woman's body. The term is often used in distinction to live birth or miscarriage. Most stillbirths occur in full term pregnancies....
children.
Later, he and his wife Anne adopted
Julius and Ethel RosenbergJulius Rosenberg and Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg were American communists who were executed in 1953 after having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage. The charges were in relation to the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union...
's two sons,
MichaelMichael Meeropol is a retired professor of economics. He is the older son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Born in New York City, as Michael Rosenberg, Meeropol spent his early childhood living in New York and attending local school there. His father Julius, an electrical engineer, was a member of...
and
RobertRobert Meeropol is the younger son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Meeropol was born in New York City. His father Julius, an electrical engineer, was a member of the Communist Party. His mother Ethel , a union organizer, was also active in the Communist Party...
, after their parents' executions. Michael and Robert took the Meeropol surname.
According to
Robert MeeropolRobert Meeropol is the younger son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Meeropol was born in New York City. His father Julius, an electrical engineer, was a member of the Communist Party. His mother Ethel , a union organizer, was also active in the Communist Party...
, "Strange Fruit", "The House I Live In" and the
Peggy LeePeggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer and actress. She first came to prominence in the 1940s with her #1 hits Somebody Is Taking Your Place and Mañana, having a string of successful albums and top 10 hits in three consecutive decades...
hit "Apples, Peaches and Cherries" provided most of the royalty income of the family. The latter especially after it had been translated into French by
Sacha DistelSacha Distel , was a French singer who had hits such as a cover version of the Academy Award winning "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" , "Scoubidou" and "The Good Life"...
(French Folksinger and sometime boyfriend of
Brigitte BardotBrigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is an animal rights activist and a former French actress, fashion model and singer.In her early life Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer. She started her acting career in 1952 and after appearing in 16 films became world-famous due to her role in the controversial film...
). The resulting number one hit in France "Scoubidou" still earns Michael and Robert Meeropol royalties; however, these only started coming in after Distel and Abel Meeropol settled a copyright infringement law suit over Distel's plagiarism.
Meeropol died on October 30, 1986 at the Jewish Nursing Home in
Longmeadow, MassachusettsLongmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,633 at the 2000 census. Its town government consists of a Select Board with 5 members....
.
External links