John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American
lyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
,
songwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others. From the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s, many of the songs Mercer wrote and performed were among the most popular hits of the time. He wrote the lyrics to more than fifteen hundred songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Academy Award nominations, and won four. Mercer was also a co-founder of
Capitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
.
Childhood
Mercer was born in
SavannahSavannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. His father, George Anderson Mercer, was a prominent attorney and real estate developer, and his mother, Lillian Elizabeth (
néeA married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Ciucevich), George Mercer’s secretary and then second wife, was the daughter of Croatian-Irish immigrants who came to America in the 1850s. Lillian's father was a merchant seaman who ran the Union blockade during the U.S. Civil War. Mercer was George's fourth son, first by Lillian. His great-grandfather was Confederate General Hugh Weedon Mercer and he was a direct descendant of
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
General
Hugh MercerHugh Mercer was a soldier and physician. He initially served with British forces during the Seven Years War but later became a brigadier general in the Continental Army and a close friend to George Washington...
, a Scottish soldier-physician who died at the Battle of Princeton. Mercer was also a distant cousin of General
George S. PattonGeorge Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
. The construction of Mercer House in Savannah was started by General Hugh Weedon Mercer in 1860 (although never finished by him; the next owners of the house finished it), later the home of Jim Williams, whose trial for murder was the centerpiece of
John BerendtJohn Berendt is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction....
's book
Midnight in the Garden of Good and EvilMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a non-fiction work by John Berendt. Published in 1994, the book was Berendt's first, and became a The New York Times bestseller for 216 weeks following its debut....
, although neither the General nor Johnny ever lived there.
Mercer liked music as a small child and attributed his musical talent to his mother, who would sing sentimental ballads. Mercer's father also sang, mostly old Scottish songs. His aunt told him he was humming music when he was six months old and later she took him to see minstrel and vaudeville shows where he heard “coon songs” and ragtime. The family’s summer home “Vernon View” was on the tidal waters and Mercer’s long summers there among mossy trees, saltwater marshes, and soft, starry nights inspired him years later.
Mercer’s exposure to black music was perhaps unique among the white songwriters of his generation. As a child, Mercer had African-American playmates and servants, and he listened to the fishermen and vendors about him, who spoke and sang in the
CreoleA creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
dialect known as “Geechee”. He was also attracted to black church services. Mercer later stated, “Songs always fascinated me more than anything”. He never had formal musical training but was singing in a choir by six and at eleven or twelve he had memorized almost all of the songs he had heard and he had become curious about who had written them. He once asked his brother who the best songwriter was, and his brother said
Irving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, among the best of
Tin Pan AlleyTin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
.
Despite Mercer's early exposure to music, his talent was clearly in creating the words and singing, not in playing music, though early on he had hoped to become a composer. In addition to the lyrics that Mercer memorized, he was an avid reader and wrote adventure stories. However, his attempts to play the trumpet and piano were not successful, and he never could read musical scores with any facility, relying instead on his own notation system.
As a teenager in the Jazz Era, he was a product of his age. He hunted for records in the black section of Savannah and played such early black jazz greats as
Ma RaineyMa Rainey was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues....
,
Bessie SmithBessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
, and
Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
. His father owned the first car in town, and Mercer’s teenage social life was enhanced by his driving privilege, which sometimes verged on recklessness. The family would motor to the mountains near
Asheville, North CarolinaAsheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
to escape the Savannah heat and there Mercer learned to dance (from
Arthur MurrayArthur Murray was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name....
himself) and to flirt with Southern belles, his natural sense of rhythm helping him on both accounts.
Mercer attended exclusive
Woodberry Forest boys prep schoolWoodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. Woodberry's current enrollment is 402. Students come from 28 U.S...
in Virginia until 1927. Though not a top student, he was active in literary and poetry societies and as a humor writer for the school’s publications. In addition, his exposure to classic literature augmented his already rich store of vocabulary and phraseology. He began to scribble ingenious, sometimes strained rhymed phrases for later use. Mercer was also the class clown and a prankster, and member of the “hop” committee that booked musical entertainment on campus.
Mercer was already somewhat of an authority on jazz at an early age. His yearbook stated, “No orchestra or new production can be authoritatively termed ‘good’ until Johnny’s stamp of approval has been placed upon it. His ability to ‘get hot’ under all conditions and at all times is uncanny”. Mercer began to write songs, an early effort being ‘’Sister Susie, Strut Your Stuff.” and quickly learned the powerful effect songs had on girls.
Given his family’s proud history and association with
Princeton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, and
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Mercer was destined for school there until his father’s financial setbacks in the late 1920s changed those plans. He went to work in his father’s recovering business, collecting rent and running errands, but soon grew bored with the routine and with Savannah, and looked to escape.
Starting out
Mercer moved to New York in 1928, when he was 19. The music he loved,
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, was booming in Harlem and Broadway was bursting with musicals and revues from
George GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
,
Cole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, and
Irving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
.
VaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
, though beginning to fade, was still a strong musical presence. Mercer’s first few jobs were as a bit actor (billed as John Mercer). Holed up in a Greenwich Village apartment with plenty of time on his hands and a beat-up piano to play, Mercer soon returned to singing and lyric writing. He secured a day job at a brokerage house and sang at night. Pooling his meager income with that of his roommates, Mercer managed to keep going, sometimes on little more than oatmeal. One night he dropped in on
Eddie CantorEddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
backstage to offer a comic song, but although Cantor didn’t use the song, he began encouraging Mercer’s career. Mercer's first lyric, for the song "Out of Breath (and Scared to Death of You)", composed by friend Everett Miller, appeared in a musical revue
The Garrick Gaieties in 1930. Mercer met his future wife at the show, chorus girl Ginger Meehan. Meehan had earlier been one of the many chorus girls pursued by the young crooner
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
. Through Miller’s father, an executive at the famous publisher T. B. Harms, Mercer's first song was published. It was recorded by Joe Venuti and his New Yorkers.
The 20-year-old Mercer began to hang out with other songwriters and to learn the trade. He traveled to California to undertake a lyric writing assignment for the musical
Paris in the Spring and met his idols
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and
Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
. Mercer found the experience sobering and realized that he much preferred free-standing lyric writing to writing on demand for musicals. Upon his return, he got a job as staff lyricist for Miller Music for a $25 dollar-a-week draw which give him a base income and enough prospects to win over and marry Ginger in 1931. The new Mrs. Mercer quit the chorus line and became a seamstress, and to save money the newlyweds moved in with Ginger’s mother in Brooklyn. Johnny did not inform his own parents of his marriage until after the fact, perhaps in part because he knew that Ginger being Jewish would not sit comfortably with some members of his family, and he worried they would try to talk him out of marrying her.
In 1932, Mercer won a contest to sing with the
Paul WhitemanPaul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader and orchestral director.Leader of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s, Whiteman's recordings were immensely successful, and press notices often referred to him as the "King of Jazz"...
orchestra, but it did not help his situation significantly. He made his recording debut, singing with Frank Trumbauer's Orchestra, on April 5 of that year. Mercer then apprenticed with
Yip HarburgEdgar Yipsel Harburg , known as E.Y. Harburg or Yip Harburg, was an American popular song lyricist who worked with many well-known composers...
on the score for
Americana, a Depression-flavored revue famous for "
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?", also sung as "Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?", is one of the best-known American songs of the Great Depression. Written in 1931 by lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg and composer Jay Gorney, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" was part of the 1932 musical New Americana; the...
" (not a Mercer composition), which gave Mercer invaluable training. After several songs which didn’t catch fire, during his time with Whiteman, he wrote and sang "Pardon My Southern Accent". Mercer’s fortunes improved dramatically with a chance pairing with Indiana-born
Hoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
, already famous for the standard "
Stardust"Stardust" is an American popular song composed in 1927 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics added in 1929 by Mitchell Parish. Originally titled "Star Dust", Carmichael first recorded the song at the Gennett Records studio in Richmond, Indiana...
", who was intrigued by the “young, bouncy butterball of a man from Georgia”. The two spent a year laboring over "Lazybones", which became a hit one week after its first radio broadcast, and each received a large royalty check of $1250. A regional song in pseudo-black dialect, it captured the mood of the times, especially in rural America. Mercer became a member of ASCAP and a recognized “brother” in the
Tin Pan AlleyTin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
fraternity, receiving congratulations from
Irving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
,
George GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, and
Cole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
among others. Paul Whiteman lured Mercer back to his orchestra (to sing, write comic skits and compose songs), temporarily breaking up the working team with Carmichael.
During the golden age of sophisticated popular song of the late Twenties and early Thirties, songs were put into revues with minimal regard for plot integration. During the 1930s, there was a shift from revues to stage and movie musicals using song to further the plot. Demand diminished accordingly for the pure stand-alone songs that Mercer preferred. Thus, although he had established himself in the New York music world, when Mercer was offered a job in Hollywood to compose songs and perform in low-budget musicals for RKO, he accepted and followed idol
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
west.
Hollywood years
It was only when Mercer moved to Hollywood in 1935 that his career was assured.
Writing songs for movies offered two distinct advantages. The use of sensitive microphones for recording and of the lip-synching of pre-recorded songs liberated songwriters from dependence on the long vowel endings and long sustained notes required for live performance. Performers such as
Fred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and
Ginger RogersGinger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
could now sing more conversationally and more nonchalantly. Mercer, as a singer, was attuned to this shift and his style fit the need perfectly.
Mercer's first Hollywood assignment was not the Astaire-Rogers vehicle of which he had dreamed but a B-movie college musical,
Old Man Rhythm, to which he contributed two undistinguished songs and even worse acting. His next project,
To Beat the Band, was another flop, but it did lead to a meeting and a collaboration with
Fred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
on the moderately successful Astaire song "I’m Building Up to an Awful Let-Down".
Though all but overwhelmed by the glitter of Hollywood, Mercer found his beloved jazz and nightlife lacking. As he wrote, “Hollywood was never much of a night town. Everybody had to get up too early... the movie people were in bed with the chickens (or each other).” Mercer was now in Bing Crosby’s hard-drinking circle and enjoyed Crosby’s company and hipster talk. Unfortunately, Mercer also began to drink more at parties and was prone to vicious outbursts when under the influence of alcohol, contrasting sharply with his ordinarily genial and gentlemanly behavior.
Mercer’s first big Hollywood song "
I'm an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande"I'm an Old Cow Hand " is a comic song written by Johnny Mercer for the film Rhythm on the Range and sung by its star, Bing Crosby...
" was inspired by a road trip through Texas (he wrote both the music and the lyric). It was performed by Crosby in the film
Rhythm on the Range in 1936, and from thereon the demand for Mercer as a lyricist took off. His second hit that year was "
Goody Goody"Goody Goody" is a 1936 popular song composed by Matty Malneck, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.Benny Goodman and his Orchestra recorded this song. Frankie Lymon performed this song live on television on several occasions, including in 1957 on The Ted Steele Show...
". In 1937, Mercer began employment with the Warner Brothers studio, working with the veteran composer
Richard WhitingRichard Armstrong Whiting was a composer of popular songs including the standards, "Hooray for Hollywood", "Ain't We Got Fun?" & "On the Good Ship Lollipop"....
(
Ain't We Got Fun?"Ain't We Got Fun?" is a popular foxtrot published in 1921 with music by Richard A. Whiting, lyrics by Raymond B. Egan and Gus Kahn.It was first performed in 1920 in the revue Satires of 1920, then moved into vaudeville and recordings...
), soon producing his standard, "
Too Marvelous for Words"Too Marvelous for Words" is a popular song written in 1937. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics for music composed by Richard Whiting. It was featured in the 1937 Warner Brothers film Ready, Willing and Able, as well as a production number in a musical revue on Broadway...
", followed by "Hooray for Hollywood". After Whiting’s sudden death from a heart attack, Mercer joined forces with
Harry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
and created "
Jeepers CreepersJeepers Creepers is a popular 1938 song and jazz standard. The music was written by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for the movie Going Places. It was premiered by Louis Armstrong and has since been covered by many other artists.-Overview:...
", which earned Mercer his first Oscar nomination for Best Song. It was given a memorable recording by
Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
. Another hit with Warren in 1938 was "
You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, published in 1938. It was featured in the movie Hard to Get, released November 1938, where it was sung by Dick Powell....
". The pair also created "Hooray For Spinach", a comic song produced for the film
Naughty But Nice in 1939.
During a lull at Warners, Mercer revived his singing career. He joined Bing Crosby’s informal minstrel shows put on by the "Westwood Marching and Chowder Club," which included many Hollywood luminaries and brought together Crosby and
Bob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
. A duet "Mr. Crosby and Mr. Mercer" was recorded and became a hit in 1938.
In 1939, Mercer wrote the lyrics to a melody by
Ziggy ElmanHarry Aaron Finkelman , better known by the stage name Ziggy Elman, was an American jazz trumpeter most associated with Benny Goodman, though he also led his own Ziggy Elman and His Orchestra....
, a trumpet player with
Benny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
. The song was "
And the Angels SingAnd the Angels Sing is a classic example of a film musical written to capitalize on the title of a previously popular song; in this case Benny Goodman's 1939 number one hit song, "And the Angels Sing" by Ziggy Elman and Johnny Mercer, and sung by Martha Tilton although the song is not sung in the...
" and, although recorded by
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and
Count BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, it was the Goodman version with vocal by
Martha TiltonMartha Tilton was an American popular singer, best-known for her 1939 recording of "And the Angels Sing" with Benny Goodman. She was sometimes introduced as The Liltin' Miss Tilton.Tilton and her family lived in Texas and Kansas, relocating to Los Angeles when she was seven years old...
and memorable trumpet solo by Elman that became the Number One hit. Years later, the title was inscribed on Mercer's tombstone.
Mercer was invited to the
Camel CaravanCamel Caravan was a musical variety radio program, sponsored by Camel cigarettes, that aired on NBC Radio and CBS Radio from 1933 to 1954...
radio show in New York to sing his hits and create satirical songs with the
Benny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
orchestra, then becoming the emcee of the nationally broadcast show for several months. Two more hits followed shortly, "
Day In, Day Out"Day In, Day Out" is a popular song with music by Rube Bloom and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and published in 1939.According to Alec Wilder the song, 56 measures long, has a wonderful, soaring melodic line, free from pretentiousness, but full of passion and intensity which is superbly supported by the...
" and "
Fools Rush In"Fools Rush In" is a popular song. The lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer with music by Rube Bloom. The major hits at the time of introduction were Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle and Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra. It was also recorded by Billy Eckstine...
", and Mercer in short order had five of the top ten songs on the popular radio show
Your Hit ParadeYour Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
. Mercer also started a short-lived publishing company during his stay in New York. On a lucky streak, Mercer undertook a musical with
Hoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
, but
Walk With Music (originally called
Three After Three) was a bomb, with story quality not matching that of the score. Another disappointment for Mercer was the selection of
Johnny BurkeJohnny Burke was a lyricist, widely regarded as one of the finest writers of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s.-Biography:...
as the long-term songwriter for the Hope-Crosby “Road” pictures. In 1940, the Mercers adopted a daughter, Amanda. Mercer was thirty and his life and career were riding high.
In 1941, shortly after the death of his father, Mercer began an intense affair with nineteen-year-old
Judy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
while she was engaged to composer
David RoseDavid Rose was a British-born American songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist, and orchestra leader. His most famous compositions were "The Stripper", "Holiday for Strings", and "Calypso Melody"...
. Garland married Rose to stop the affair, but the effect on Mercer lingered, adding to the emotional depth of his lyrics. Their affair revived later. Mercer stated that his song "
I Remember You"I Remember You" is a popular song. The music was written by Victor Schertzinger, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1941.The song was one of several introduced in the movie The Fleet's In...
" was the most direct expression of his feelings for Garland.
Shortly thereafter, Mercer met an ideal musical collaborator in the form of
Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
whose
jazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-influenced compositions provided Mercer's sophisticated, idiomatic lyrics a perfect musical vehicle. Now Mercer's
lyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
began to display the combination of sophisticated wit and southern regional vernacular that characterize some of his best songs. Their first hit was "
Blues in the Night"Blues in the Night" is a popular song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun with the working title Hot Nocturne, but finally released as Blues...
" (1941), which
Arthur SchwartzArthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer.Schwartz supported his legal studies at New York University and postgraduate studies at Columbia University by playing piano before concentrating his talents on vaudeville, Broadway theatre and Hollywood.Among his Broadway musicals are The...
claimed was “probably the greatest blues song ever written.”
They went on to compose "
One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)"One for My Baby " is a popular song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the musical The Sky's the Limit and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. It was popularized by the American singer Frank Sinatra...
" (1941), "That Old Black Magic" (1942), and "Come Rain Or Come Shine" (1946) among others.
Frank Sinatra was particularly successful with the first two and Bing Crosby with the third. "Come Rain" was Mercer’s only Broadway hit, composed for the show
St. Louis Woman with
Pearl BaileyPearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
. "
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song which refers to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was written for the 1946 film, The Harvey Girls, where it was sung by Judy Garland. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year.The music was written by Harry...
" was a big smash for Judy Garland in the 1946 film
The Harvey GirlsThe Harvey Girls is a 1946 MGM musical film based on a 1942 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams about Fred Harvey's famous Harvey House restaurants. Directed by George Sidney, the film stars Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury, Virginia O'Brien, Ray Bolger, and Marjorie Main...
, and earned Mercer the first of his four Academy Awards for Best Song, after eight unsuccessful nominations.
Mercer re-united with Hoagy Carmichael with "
Skylark"Skylark" is an American popular song with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Hoagy Carmichael, published in 1941. Mercer said that he struggled for a year after he got the music from Carmichael before he could get the lyrics right....
" (1941), and the Oscar-winning "
In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" is a popular song with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1951 film, Here Comes the Groom, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song....
" (1951). With
Jerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, Mercer created
You Were Never LovelierYou Were Never Lovelier is a 1942 Hollywood musical comedy film, set in Buenos Aires. It starred Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou and Xavier Cugat, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The film was directed by William A...
for
Fred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and
Rita HayworthRita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
in the movie of the same name, as well as "
I'm Old Fashioned"I'm Old Fashioned" is a 1942 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer.It was written for the film You Were Never Lovelier , where it was introduced by Nan Wynn who dubbed for Rita Hayworth as part of a song and dance routine with Fred Astaire.According to Mueller:...
". Mercer co-founded
Capitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
(originally “Liberty Records”) in Hollywood in 1942, along with producer Buddy DeSylva and record store owner Glen Wallichs. He also co-founded
Cowboy RecordsCowboy Records was a record label in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Buddy DeSylva and Johnny Mercer in 1942. It was later owned by Jimmy DeKnight and Jack Howard. Artists who recorded for the label included Bill Haley, who made his first commercial single release with the label as...
.
Mercer by the mid-1940s enjoyed a reputation as being among the premier Hollywood lyricists. He was adaptable, listening carefully and absorbing a tune and then transforming it into his own style. Like
Irving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, he was a close follower of cultural fashion and changing language, which in part accounted for the long tenure of his success. Mercer preferred to have the music first, taking it home and working on it. He claimed composers had no problem with this method provided that he returned with the lyrics. Only with Arlen and Whiting did Mercer occasionally work side-by-side.
Mercer was often asked to write new lyrics to already popular tunes. The lyrics to "
Laura"Laura" is a 1945 popular song composed by David Raksin, with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer from the 1944 movie starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. It has since become a jazz standard with over four hundred known recordings.Some of the best known versions are by Billy Eckstine, Charlie...
", "Midnight Sun", and "
Satin Doll"Satin Doll" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded countless times, by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, 101 Strings, and Nancy Wilson...
" were all written after the melodies had become hits. He was also asked to compose English lyrics to foreign songs, the most famous example being "
Autumn Leaves"Autumn Leaves" is a much-recorded popular song. Originally it was a 1945 French song "Les Feuilles mortes" with music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert. Yves Montand introduced "Les feuilles mortes" in 1946 in the film Les Portes de la Nuit...
", based on the French "Les Feuilles Mortes".
In the 1950s, the advent of rock and roll and the transition of jazz into "bebop" cut deeply into Mercer’s natural audience, and dramatically reduced venues for his songs. His continual string of hits came to an end but many great songs were still to come. Mercer wrote for some MGM films, including
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and
Merry AndrewMerry Andrew is a 1958 American musical film directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd. The screenplay by Isobel Lennart and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the short story "The Romance of Henry Menafee" by Paul Gallico...
(1958). He collaborated on three Broadway musicals in the 1950s -
Top Banana (1951),
Li'l AbnerLi'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
(1956), and
Saratoga (1959).
Mercer made occasional television appearances. In 1953-1954 season, he guest starred as himself on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's
Jukebox JuryJukebox Jury was an hour-long television series hosted by disc jockey Peter Potter which aired in the 1953-54 season on the American Broadcasting Company. It was thereafter syndicated in 1959....
, a musical/quiz program on which celebrities judge the latest releases from the recording companies. In 1954, he appeared on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's
The Donald O'Connor ShowThe Donald O'Connor Show is an American musical situation comedy television series starring singer/dancer Donald O'Connor...
.
His more successful songs of the 1950s include "
The Glow-Worm"Das Glühwürmchen", known in English as "The Glow-Worm", is an aria from Paul Lincke's 1902 operetta Lysistrata, with German lyrics by Heinz Bolten-Backers...
" (sung by the
Mills BrothersThe Mills Brothers, sometimes billed as The Four Mills Brothers, were an American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century who made more than 2,000 recordings that combined sold more than 50 million copies, and garnered at least three dozen gold records...
) and "
Something’s Gotta Give"Something's Gotta Give" is a popular song with words and music by Johnny Mercer in 1954. It was published in 1955. It was written for and first performed by Fred Astaire in the 1955 musical film Daddy Long Legs....
". In 1961, he wrote the lyrics to "
Moon River"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini in 1961, for whom it won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was originally sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, although it has been covered by many other artists...
" for Audrey Hepburn in
Breakfast at Tiffany's and for
Days of Wine and Roses"Days of Wine and Roses" is a popular song, from the 1962 movie of the same name.The music was written by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. They received the Academy Award for Best Original Song for their work...
, both with music by Henry Mancini, and Mercer received his third and fourth Oscars for Best Song. The back-to-back Oscars were the first time a songwriting team had achieved that feat. Mercer, also with Mancini, wrote
Charade"Charade" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer performed in the 1963 film of the same name....
for the 1963
Cary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
-
Audrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
romantic thriller with the same name. The
Tony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
classic "
I Wanna Be Around"I Wanna Be Around" is a popular song. In the lyrics, the singer declares that he "wants to be around" when the woman who spurned him inevitably gets her heart broken....
" was written by Mercer in 1962 and the Sinatra hit "
Summer Wind"Summer Wind" is a 1965 song, with music by Heinz Meier and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Original german lyrics by Hans Bradtke. The song is a nostalgic tale of a fleeting romance, first recorded by Wayne Newton who had the first national chart hit with the song in 1965, peaking at number 78."Summer...
" in 1965.
An indication of the high esteem in which Mercer was held can be observed in that in 1964 he became the only lyricist to have his work recorded as a volume of
Ella FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
's celebrated 'Songbook' albums for the
VerveVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
label. Yet Mercer always remained humble about his work, attributing much to luck and timing. He was fond of telling the story of how he was offered the job of doing the lyrics for
Johnny MandelJohnny Mandel is an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. Among the musicians he has worked with are Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, and Shirley Horn.-Life:...
's music on
The Sandpiper, only to have the producer turn his lyrics down. The producer offered the commission to
Paul Francis WebsterPaul Francis Webster was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Song and was nominated sixteen times for the award.-Biography:...
and the result was
The Shadow of Your Smile"The Shadow of Your Smile", also known as "Love Theme from The Sandpiper", is a popular song. The music was written by Johnny Mandel with the lyrics written by Paul Francis Webster...
which became a huge hit, winning the
1965 OscarThe 38th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1965, were held on April 18, 1966 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Bob Hope....
for
Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
.
In 1969, Mercer helped publishers
Abe Olman and
Howie RichmondHoward S. "Howie" Richmond is an American music publisher and music industry executive. He established The Richmond Organization , one of the largest independent music publishing organizations in the world, and had a hand in commercialising and promoting many pop, folk and rock songs since the...
found the
National Academy of Popular Music's Songwriters Hall of FameThe Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
. In 1971, Mercer presented a retrospective of his career for the "Lyrics and Lyricists Series" in New York, including an omnibus of his "greatest hits" and a performance by
Margaret WhitingMargaret Whiting was a singer of American popular music and country music who first made her reputation during the 1940s and 1950s.-Youth:...
. It was recorded live as
An Evening with Johnny Mercer. In 1974, he collaborated on the West End production
The Good CompanionsThe Good Companions is a musical with a book by Ronald Harwood, music by André Previn, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It is based on the 1929 novel of the same title by J. B...
. He also recorded two albums of his songs in London in 1974, with the Pete Moore Orchestra, and with the Harry Roche Constellation, later compiled into a single album and released as
"...My Huckleberry Friend: Johnny Mercer Sings the Songs of Johnny Mercer""...My Huckleberry Friend": Johnny Mercer Sings the Songs of Johnny Mercer is an album by singer/composer Johnny Mercer, released in 1974....
.
In 1975,
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
approached Mercer for a collaboration but Mercer was ill, and an inoperable brain tumor was diagnosed. He died on June 25, 1976 in Bel Air,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Mercer was buried in Savannah's historical Bonaventure Cemetery. The simple line drawing caricature adorning his memorial bench is in fact a reproduction of a self-portrait.
Singing style
Well regarded also as a singer, with a folksy quality, Mercer was a natural for his own songs such as
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive"Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and it was published in 1944. It is sung in the style of a sermon, and explains that accentuating the positive is key to happiness...
,
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song which refers to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was written for the 1946 film, The Harvey Girls, where it was sung by Judy Garland. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year.The music was written by Harry...
,
One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)"One for My Baby " is a popular song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the musical The Sky's the Limit and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. It was popularized by the American singer Frank Sinatra...
, and
Lazybones. He was considered a first-rate performer of his own work.
It has been said that he penned
One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)"One for My Baby " is a popular song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the musical The Sky's the Limit and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. It was popularized by the American singer Frank Sinatra...
—one of the great
torch lamentsA torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affected the relationship...
of all times—on a napkin while sitting at the bar at
P. J. Clarke'sP. J. Clarke's is a famous saloon, established 1884 and occupying a building located at 915 Third Avenue on the northeast corner of 55th Street in New York City.- History :...
when Tommy Joyce was the bartender. The next day Mercer called Joyce to apologize for the line "So, set 'em up, Joe," "I couldn't get your name to rhyme."
ATCO Records issued
Two of a Kind in 1961, a duet album by
Bobby DarinBobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
and Johnny Mercer with
Billy MayWilliam E. "Billy" May was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music, for The Green Hornet , Batman , and Naked City and collaborated on films, such as Pennies from Heaven , and orchestrated Cocoon, and Cocoon: The Return among...
and his Orchestra, produced by
Ahmet ErtegünAhmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
.
Posthumous success
In his last year, Mercer became fond of pop singer
Barry ManilowBarry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
, in part because Manilow's first hit record was of a song titled
Mandy"Mandy", originally titled "Brandy", is a song jointly written and composed by Scott English and Richard Kerr."Brandy" had been a hit in 1971 for Scott English in the UK and in 1972 for Bunny Walters in New Zealand...
, which was also the name of Mercer's daughter Amanda. After Mercer's death in 1976 from a brain tumor, his widow, Ginger Mehan Mercer, arranged to give some unfinished lyrics he had written to Manilow to possibly develop into complete songs. Among these was a piece titled "
When October Goes"When October Goes" is a ballad based on a lyric Johnny Mercer had written but did not complete. It was matched up to a melody by Barry Manilow and published in 1984, becoming one of the top Adult Contemporary hits of that year in the United States....
", a melancholy remembrance of lost love. Manilow applied his own melody to the lyric and issued it as a single in 1984, when it became a top 10 Adult Contemporary hit in the United States. The song has since become a jazz standard, with notable recordings by
Rosemary ClooneyRosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
,
Nancy WilsonNancy Wilson is an American singer with more than 70 albums, and three Grammy Awards. She has been labeled a singer of blues, jazz, cabaret and pop; a "consummate actress"; and "the complete entertainer." The title she prefers, however, is song stylist...
, and
Megon McDonoughMegon McDonough is an American folk/cabaret singer-songwriter and actress, from Chicago, Illinois. After her early solo recording career brought national attention, she became a founding member of Four Bitchin' Babes, performing and recording with them from 1990 to 2001 and then resuming her solo...
, among other performers.
He was honored by the
United States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
with his portrait placed on a stamp in 1996. Mercer's star on the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 1628 Vine Street is a block away from the Capitol Records building at 1750 Vine Street.
Mercer was given tribute in
John BerendtJohn Berendt is an American author, known for writing the best-selling non-fiction book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction....
's book
Midnight in the Garden of Good and EvilMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a non-fiction work by John Berendt. Published in 1994, the book was Berendt's first, and became a The New York Times bestseller for 216 weeks following its debut....
. The Hoagy Carmichael/Johnny Mercer song "Skylark", sung by K.D. Lang, features prominently in the movie and the movie soundtrack is a tribute album to Johnny Mercer, containing 14 Mercer songs performed by a variety of jazz and pop recording artists.
The Johnny Mercer Collections, including his papers and memorabilia, are preserved in the library of
Georgia State UniversityGeorgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
in Atlanta. GSU occasionally holds events showcasing Mercer's works.
In November 2009, a statue of Mercer was unveiled in Ellis Square in
Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, his hometown and birthplace.
The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer was scheduled to be published by Knopf
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307265197 in the fall of 2009.
The Complete Lyrics contains the texts to nearly 1,500 of his lyrics, several hundred of them appearing in print for the first time.
Academy Awards
Mercer won four
Academy Award for Best Original SongThe Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
:
- "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song which refers to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was written for the 1946 film, The Harvey Girls, where it was sung by Judy Garland. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year.The music was written by Harry...
" (1946) (music by Harry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
) for The Harvey GirlsThe Harvey Girls is a 1946 MGM musical film based on a 1942 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams about Fred Harvey's famous Harvey House restaurants. Directed by George Sidney, the film stars Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury, Virginia O'Brien, Ray Bolger, and Marjorie Main...
- "In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening
"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" is a popular song with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1951 film, Here Comes the Groom, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song....
" (1951) (music by Hoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
) for Here Comes The Groom
- "Moon River
"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini in 1961, for whom it won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was originally sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, although it has been covered by many other artists...
" (1961) (music by Henry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
) for Breakfast at Tiffany's
- "Days of Wine and Roses
"Days of Wine and Roses" is a popular song, from the 1962 movie of the same name.The music was written by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. They received the Academy Award for Best Original Song for their work...
" (1962) (music by Henry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
) for Days of Wine and RosesDays of Wine and Roses is a film directed by Blake Edwards with a screenplay by JP Miller adapted from his own 1958 Playhouse 90 teleplay of the same name....
In 2009 Clint Eastwood produced a documentary film on Johnny Mercer's life and work called "The Dream's on Me" (Turner Classic Movies). After airing on Turner Classic Movies, the film was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Nonfiction Special. It is currently available as a Warner Brothers DVD.
Songs
Lyrics by Mercer, unless noted.
He wrote many other songs, some of which have entered the
Great American SongbookThe Great American Songbook is a hypothetical construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity...
:
- "Lazy Bones" (1933) (music by Hoagy Carmichael
Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
)
- "Save the Bones for Henry Jones"
- "Moon Dreams" with Chummy MacGregor
John Chalmers MacGregor , better known as Chummy MacGregor, a pianist and composer, was Glenn Miller’s pianist from 1936-1942. He composed the songs "Moon Dreams", "It Must Be Jelly ", and "Slumber Song"....
- "P.S. I Love You
"P.S. I Love You" is a popular song. The music was written by Gordon Jenkins, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1934.The original hit version in the 1930s was recorded by Rudy Vallée. It was revived in the 1950s by The Hilltoppers and in the 1960s by The Vogues, and again in...
" (1934) (music by Gordon JenkinsGordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements...
)
- "Goody Goody
"Goody Goody" is a 1936 popular song composed by Matty Malneck, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.Benny Goodman and his Orchestra recorded this song. Frankie Lymon performed this song live on television on several occasions, including in 1957 on The Ted Steele Show...
" (1936) (music by Matty MalneckMatty Malneck was an American jazz violinist, violist and songwriter.Malneck's first professional gigs as a violinist began when he was age 16. He worked with Paul Whiteman from 1926 to 1937, and also recorded in the same period with Frank Signorelli, Frankie Trumbauer, Bix Beiderbecke, and...
)
- "I'm an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande
"I'm an Old Cow Hand " is a comic song written by Johnny Mercer for the film Rhythm on the Range and sung by its star, Bing Crosby...
" (1936)
- "Hooray for Hollywood" (1937) (music by Richard A. Whiting
Richard Armstrong Whiting was a composer of popular songs including the standards, "Hooray for Hollywood", "Ain't We Got Fun?" & "On the Good Ship Lollipop"....
)
- "Too Marvelous for Words
"Too Marvelous for Words" is a popular song written in 1937. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics for music composed by Richard Whiting. It was featured in the 1937 Warner Brothers film Ready, Willing and Able, as well as a production number in a musical revue on Broadway...
" (1937) (music by Richard A. WhitingRichard Armstrong Whiting was a composer of popular songs including the standards, "Hooray for Hollywood", "Ain't We Got Fun?" & "On the Good Ship Lollipop"....
)
- "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
"You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" is a popular song with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, published in 1938. It was featured in the movie Hard to Get, released November 1938, where it was sung by Dick Powell....
" (1938) (music by Harry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
)
- "Jeepers, Creepers!
Jeepers Creepers is a popular 1938 song and jazz standard. The music was written by Harry Warren and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for the movie Going Places. It was premiered by Louis Armstrong and has since been covered by many other artists.-Overview:...
" (1938-Events:*January 16**Benny Goodman plays the first jazz concert at Carnegie Hall.**Béla Bartók's Sonata for two pianos and percussion is premiered in Basel....
) (music by Harry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
)
- "And the Angels Sing
And the Angels Sing is a classic example of a film musical written to capitalize on the title of a previously popular song; in this case Benny Goodman's 1939 number one hit song, "And the Angels Sing" by Ziggy Elman and Johnny Mercer, and sung by Martha Tilton although the song is not sung in the...
" (1939) (music by Ziggy ElmanHarry Aaron Finkelman , better known by the stage name Ziggy Elman, was an American jazz trumpeter most associated with Benny Goodman, though he also led his own Ziggy Elman and His Orchestra....
)
- "Day In, Day Out
"Day In, Day Out" is a popular song with music by Rube Bloom and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and published in 1939.According to Alec Wilder the song, 56 measures long, has a wonderful, soaring melodic line, free from pretentiousness, but full of passion and intensity which is superbly supported by the...
" (1939) (music by Rube BloomReuben Bloom was a Jewish American multi-faceted entertainer, and in addition to being a songwriter, pianist, arranger, band leader, recording artist, vocalist, and writer .During his career, he worked with many well-known performers, including Bix Beiderbecke, Joe Venuti, Ruth Etting,...
)
- "I Thought About You
"I Thought About You" is a 1939 popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was one of three collaborations Van Heusen and Mercer wrote for the then recently established Mercer-Morris publishing company, started by Mercer and former Warner Bros. publisher Buddy...
" (1939) (music by Jimmy Van Heusen)
- "Wings Over the Navy" (1939) (music by Harry Warren
Harry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
)
- "Cuckoo in the Clock
Song lyrics written by Johnny Mercer music by Walter Donaldson-Artists who have recorded this song:*Benny Goodman*Glenn Miller*Kay Kiser*Johnny Mercer...
" (1939) (music by Walter DonaldsonWalter Donaldson was a prolific United States popular songwriter, composing many hit songs of the 1910s and 1920s.-History:...
)
- "Fools Rush In" (1940) (music by Rube Bloom
Reuben Bloom was a Jewish American multi-faceted entertainer, and in addition to being a songwriter, pianist, arranger, band leader, recording artist, vocalist, and writer .During his career, he worked with many well-known performers, including Bix Beiderbecke, Joe Venuti, Ruth Etting,...
)
- "Blues In The Night
"Blues in the Night" is a popular song which has become a pop standard and is generally considered to be part of the Great American Songbook. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, for a 1941 film begun with the working title Hot Nocturne, but finally released as Blues...
" (1941) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
)
- "I Had Myself A True Love" (music by Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
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- "I Remember You
"I Remember You" is a popular song. The music was written by Victor Schertzinger, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1941.The song was one of several introduced in the movie The Fleet's In...
" (1941) (music by Victor SchertzingerVictor L. Schertzinger was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include Paramount on Parade , Something to Sing About with James Cagney, and the first two "Road" pictures Road to Singapore and Road to Zanzibar...
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- "Tangerine
"Tangerine" is a popular song.The music was written by Victor Schertzinger, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1941.It was introduced in the 1942 movie, The Fleet's In, produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by Schertzinger, and starring Dorothy Lamour, William Holden, Eddie...
" (1941) (music by Victor SchertzingerVictor L. Schertzinger was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include Paramount on Parade , Something to Sing About with James Cagney, and the first two "Road" pictures Road to Singapore and Road to Zanzibar...
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- "This Time the Dream's on Me
"This Time the Dream's on Me" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1941 film Blues in the Night.-Notable recordings:*Chet Baker *June Christy - Something Cool *Harry Connick Jr....
" (1941) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
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- "Hit The Road To Dreamland
"Hit the Road to Dreamland" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen, the lyrics by Johnny Mercer.The song was introduced in 1942 in the Paramount musical film Star Spangled Rhythm where it was introduced by Dick Powell, Mary Martin, and the Golden Gate Quartet...
" (1942) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
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- "That Old Black Magic
"That Old Black Magic" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen, with the lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was published in 1942 and has become an often-recorded standard with versions by Glenn Miller, the singers Margaret Whiting, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mercer himself,...
" (1942) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
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- "Trav'lin' Light
"Trav'lin' Light" is a 1942 song composed by Trummy Young and Jimmy Mundy with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. In 1942, with vocals by Billie Holiday, Paul Whiteman hit number one on the Harlem Hit Parade charts for three non consecutive weeks. The song also hit the pop charts at number 23 for one week...
" (1942) (music by Jimmy Mundy and James Osborne "Trummy" Young)
- "Skylark
"Skylark" is an American popular song with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Hoagy Carmichael, published in 1941. Mercer said that he struggled for a year after he got the music from Carmichael before he could get the lyrics right....
" (1942) (music by Hoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
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- "Dearly Beloved" (1942) (music by Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
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- "I'm Old Fashioned
"I'm Old Fashioned" is a 1942 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer.It was written for the film You Were Never Lovelier , where it was introduced by Nan Wynn who dubbed for Rita Hayworth as part of a song and dance routine with Fred Astaire.According to Mueller:...
" (1942) (music by Jerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
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- "My Shining Hour
"My Shining Hour" is a song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1943 film The Sky's the Limit, where it was introduced by Sally Sweetland - who dubbed for Joan Leslie - backed by Freddie Slack and his orchestra. It was nominated for an Academy Award for...
" (1943) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
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- "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
"One for My Baby " is a popular song written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the musical The Sky's the Limit and first performed in the film by Fred Astaire. It was popularized by the American singer Frank Sinatra...
" (1943) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
; theme song of the 1957-1958 NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
detectiveA detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
series, Meet McGrawMeet McGraw is an American dramatic television series starring Frank Lovejoy in the role of the hard-hitting detective McGraw, a man specifically given no first name in the program. Forty-one half-hour episodes aired on NBC during the 1957-1958 season, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The series was...
, starring Frank LovejoyFrank Lovejoy was an American actor in radio, film, and television. He was born Frank Lovejoy Jr. in Bronx, New York, but grew up in New Jersey. His father, Frank Lovejoy Sr., was a furniture salesman from Maine...
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- "Dream
"Dream", sometimes referred to as "Dream ", is a jazz and pop standard with words and music written by Johnny Mercer in 1944...
" (1943) (words and music by Johnny Mercer)
- "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive
"Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" is a popular song. The music was written by Harold Arlen and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and it was published in 1944. It is sung in the style of a sermon, and explains that accentuating the positive is key to happiness...
" (1944) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
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- "Out of This World
"Out of This World" is an American popular song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer.It was introduced in the film Out of This World by Bing Crosby dubbing in for the voice of the main character played by Eddie Bracken....
" (1945) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
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- "Laura
"Laura" is a 1945 popular song composed by David Raksin, with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer from the 1944 movie starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. It has since become a jazz standard with over four hundred known recordings.Some of the best known versions are by Billy Eckstine, Charlie...
" (1945) (music by David RaksinDavid Raksin was an American composer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With over 100 film scores and 300 television scores to his credit, he became known as the "Grandfather of Film Music." One of his earliest film assignments was as assistant to Charlie Chaplin in the composition of the score...
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- "Come Rain Or Come Shine
"Come Rain or Come Shine" is a popular music song written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was written for the musical St. Louis Woman, and was published in 1946....
" (1946) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
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- "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home
Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home is a popular song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Johnny Mercer.It was first introduced in 1946 in the musical St. Louis Woman. In the musical the song was sung by a female character of easy virtue, and the lyrics start out, "Free and easy"...
" (1946) (music by Harold ArlenHarold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
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- "Autumn Leaves
"Autumn Leaves" is a much-recorded popular song. Originally it was a 1945 French song "Les Feuilles mortes" with music by Joseph Kosma and lyrics by poet Jacques Prévert. Yves Montand introduced "Les feuilles mortes" in 1946 in the film Les Portes de la Nuit...
" (1947) (music by Joseph KosmaJoseph Kosma was a Hungarian-French composer, of Jewish background.-Biography:Kosma was born József Kozma in Budapest, where his parents taught stenography and typing. He had a brother, Akos. A maternal relative was the photographer László Moholy-Nagy, and another relative was the conductor Georg...
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- "Glow Worm" (1952) (music Paul Lincke
Carl Emil Paul Lincke was a German composer and theater conductor. He is considered the "father" of the Berlin opera and holds the same significance for Berlin as does Johann Strauss for Vienna and Jacques Offenbach for Paris.He was the son of magistrate August Lincke and and wife Emilie...
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- "Satin Doll
"Satin Doll" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded countless times, by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, 101 Strings, and Nancy Wilson...
" (1953) (music by Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and Billy StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
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- "Midnight Sun
"Midnight Sun" was originally an instrumental composed by Lionel Hampton and Sonny Burke in 1947 and is now considered a jazz standard. Subsequently, Johnny Mercer wrote the words to the song...
" (1954) (music by Lionel HamptonLionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
and Sonny BurkeSonny Burke was a big band leader. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke Ambassadors....
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- "Something's Gotta Give
"Something's Gotta Give" is a popular song with words and music by Johnny Mercer in 1954. It was published in 1955. It was written for and first performed by Fred Astaire in the 1955 musical film Daddy Long Legs....
" (1954) (words and music by Johnny Mercer)
- "Jubilation T. Cornpone" (1956) (music by Gene de Paul
Gene de Paul was an American pianist, composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II....
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- "I'm Past My Prime" (1956) (music by Gene de Paul
Gene de Paul was an American pianist, composer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II....
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- "Moon River
"Moon River" is a song composed by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini in 1961, for whom it won that year's Academy Award for Best Original Song. It was originally sung in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's by Audrey Hepburn, although it has been covered by many other artists...
" (1961) (music by Henry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
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- "Days of Wine and Roses
"Days of Wine and Roses" is a popular song, from the 1962 movie of the same name.The music was written by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. They received the Academy Award for Best Original Song for their work...
" (1962) (music by Henry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
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- "I Wanna Be Around
"I Wanna Be Around" is a popular song. In the lyrics, the singer declares that he "wants to be around" when the woman who spurned him inevitably gets her heart broken....
" (1962) (words and music by Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt)
- "Charade
"Charade" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer performed in the 1963 film of the same name....
" (1963) (music by Henry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
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- "Lorna" (1964) (music by Mort Lindsey
Mort Lindsey, is an orchestrator, composer, pianist, conductor and musical director for Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Merv Griffin.Lindsey attended Newark Arts High School....
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- "Emily
"Emily" is a popular song composed by Johnny Mandel, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was the title song to the 1964 film The Americanization of Emily, where it was introduced by Julie Andrews. It has since been recorded by numerous artists, notably Bill Evans and Tony Bennett...
" (1964) (music by Johnny MandelJohnny Mandel is an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. Among the musicians he has worked with are Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, and Shirley Horn.-Life:...
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- "Summer Wind
"Summer Wind" is a 1965 song, with music by Heinz Meier and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Original german lyrics by Hans Bradtke. The song is a nostalgic tale of a fleeting romance, first recorded by Wayne Newton who had the first national chart hit with the song in 1965, peaking at number 78."Summer...
" (1965) (music by Henry Mayer)
- "Whistling Away The Dark" (1970) (music by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
; from the film Darling LiliDarling Lili is a 1970 American musical film. The screenplay was written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, who also directed. The cast included Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp.-Plot:...
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- "Drinking Again
"Drinking Again" is a 1962 torch song, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Doris Tauber. The song has been recorded by Frank Sinatra , Dinah Washington , Aretha Franklin and Bette Midler , among others.The song was recorded by The Jeff Beck Group in 1968 "Drinking Again" is a 1962 torch...
" (with Doris Tauber)
- "When October Goes
"When October Goes" is a ballad based on a lyric Johnny Mercer had written but did not complete. It was matched up to a melody by Barry Manilow and published in 1984, becoming one of the top Adult Contemporary hits of that year in the United States....
" (music by Barry ManilowBarry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
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External links