In the Short Story above, we asked Josh what he would be if he weren't a mathematician and Josh says he'd have liked to have been a musician. In Tom Lehrer's case it really was true and mathematics became part of his musical routine. This song is about plagiarism in maths. Many of you might know it. And even if you don't, you might recognise it.
Lehrer gave up music in the early 70s to concentrate on teaching maths. He died earlier this year at the age of 97.
Sometimes artists become better known for their lifestyle or fashion tastes than the work without which we wouldn't know or care about them - Van Gogh, Bowie, even Taylor Swift. Jim Morrison of the Doors fits that bill, in his case for his death and grave as much as his life. But he and the band wrote some songs. That's where it all starts and ends.
On January 17th 1967 the Hollies were recording their latest single, On A Carousel, in Abbey Road Studios when a Granada Television crew burst in with Beatles producer George Martin who was making a film with Granada on advancing music technology (The Beatles were recording Penny Lane next door). A surprise no doubt, but the boys were pros. The brilliant three part vocal harmony that was filmed proved to be the one used on the song, But maybe the star of the show is Bobby Elliott, as cool as drummer as ever there was.
There has been a resurgence of interest and performance in recent years of the work of American 20th century composer Florence Price, helped by the discovery in 2009 of a vast collection of her works and papers found in her abandoned summer home in St Anne, Illinois.
Florence Price was the first African-American woman to have a work played by a major orchestra.
Captain's log, star date 1968
William Shatner was the original Captain Kirk in Star Trek. But he also had a side line in singing; or rather talking his way through popular songs and Shakespeare plays. What was he up to? Who knows, but here's a song written by Bob Dylan, made famous by the Byrds and then beamed up to the USS Enterprise in Shatner's head. Enjoy.