10 Music Artists Who Quit In Their Prime
9. Tom Lehrer
Perhaps best remembered for chemistry-nerd classic The Elements, Tom Lehrer was a top notch musical satirist. His witty piano tunes inspired a devoted following as proven by the raucous live albums that round out his meagre back catalogue. After building his reputation with darkly macabre and risqué material, his increasingly topical works made him a fixture of the US version of pioneering satirical TV show, That Was The Week That And Was.
He gained popularity overseas as well, with successful tours in Australasia and Europe and contributing songs to The Frost Report in the U.K. but by 1965 his recording career was done. By 1972 he had also given up touring and returned to teaching mathematics and musical theatre.
Bored of touring, he claimed simply to have lost interest in writing and recording songs and that he’d said everything he wanted to say. Though it might be argued we could still have used his satirical barbs in the ensuing decades.
In 2020 he donated all his music and lyrics to the public domain. Of his own career he said,
"If, after hearing my songs, just one human being is inspired to say something nasty to a friend, or perhaps to strike a loved one, it will all have been worth the while."