Abel Meeropol (February 14, 1903 – October 29, 1986) was an American song-writer and poet whose works were published under his pseudonym, Lewis Allan. His best-known song is "Strange Fruit" (1937), especially as recorded by Billie Holiday. Meeropol was a member of the American Communist Party, but would later quit.
Meeropol was born in 1903 to Russian Jewish immigrants in The Bronx, New York City. 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.
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 Nina Simone. 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." 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.
According to son Robert Meeropol, the songs "Strange Fruit" and "The House I Live In," along with 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 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.
Meeropol published his work under the pseudonym of "Lewis Allan" in memory of the names of his two stillborn children.
Communism
Meeropol was a communist and sympathetic to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Later, he and his wife Anne adopted the Rosenberg's two sons, Michael and Robert, who were orphaned after their parents' executions for espionage. Michael and Robert took the Meeropol surname.
Death
Meeropol died on October 29, 1986, at the Jewish Nursing Home in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
