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Johnny Mercer, songwriter: reference sources (web and print); selected songs; recordings, videos; miscellanyWelcome to Cafe Songbook Internet Home of theSongs, Songwriters and PerformersofThe Great American Songbook Search Tips: 1) Click 'Find on This Page' button to activate page search box. 2) When searching for a name (e.g. A songwriter), enter last name only. 3) When searching for a song title on the catalog page, omit an initial 'The' or 'A'.
4) more.Johnny MercerBasic InformationBorn: John Herndon Mercer, Nov. 18, 1909, Savannah, Georgia, (US)Died: June 25, 1976 (age 66) Los Angeles, CalifoniaPrimary songwriting role: lyricist; also a singer, composer, actor, and co-founder of Capitol Records.Co-writers: According to, 'the list of men and women with whom Mercer worte totals 230.
Supassing by a wide margin any other major American songwriter.' His 'primary songwriting partners' include,. For songs written with these co-writers and 69 others, view the database.Page MenuOverview and CommentaryJohnny Mercer(This section is currently in preparation), Robert Kimball, Barry Day, Miles Kreuger, and Eric Davis (Eds.),New York: Alfred A. Knoph, 2009.Miles Kreuger opens his essay 'Johnny Mercer - Too Marvelous for Words' with the following paragraph that captures the broad outlines as well as the essence of the songwriter's fabulous career:He received an astonishing eighteen Academy Award nominations for best song and and won four times. He has one of the largest catalogs of hits in ASCAP, for which he served as a board member. Largely a man who wrote lyrics, he also penned the music for some of his best songs, although Margaret Whiting claims that he could barely play the piano with one finger.
He appeared as an actor in two movies and had bit roles in several Broadway productions. He cofounded Capitol Records and transformed the neophyte label into a competitor to RCA Victor, Columbia, and Decca. But it was as a familiar radio singer and recording star that Johnny Mercer by far became the best-loved songwriter in history ( The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer, p. Xv).Words and MusicMercer, predominantly a lyricist, wrote both the words and music for five songs in the: ' ',' ',',' and '.' Alec Wilder, New York: Oxford University Press, 1972.In an aside, Alec Wilder says of Mercer's lyrics, 'I believe that one of the reasons Johnny Mercer's lyrics have an added zest, a crackle and shine to them, is that he probably sings them as he writes them. For after all, he began his career as a singer' (Wilder, p. 507, hardcover Ed.).Cafe SongbookMusic-Video Cabinet:Johnny Mercer(This section is currently in preparation)An Evening with Johnny Mercer(CD of Mercer's appearanceat the 92nd Street Y, NYC, March 1971,'Lyrics and Lyricists Series'where he sings and talks about his songs-a priceless performance - Amazon onlyMercer and Crosby on TV (c.
Dream Johnny Mercer Sheet Music Youtube
1960) mimicking an earlier medium-radio-where they both spent a lot of time early in their careers.Johnny Mercer and Evelyn Poe sing 'Comes The Revolution, Baby' (Lewis E. Gensler, music; Mercer, words) written for the 1935 RKO filmMusical theater historians Barry Day and Robert Kimball discuss the life and times of singer and songwriter Johnny Mercer. Singers Anna Bergman and Steve Ross perform - on Theater Talk.Johnny Mercer and Nat King Cole swing'Save the Bones for Henry Jones'on the Nat King Cole TV show (Oct. 29, 1957)Johnny Mercer Capitol Collectors Series(collected recordings of Mercersinging his own work)Johnny Mercer Songsin theofThe Great American Songbook.(to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart).(from the Rio Grande).(Ah, the Apple Trees).Johnny Mercersongs currently in the Cafe Songbookfor which Mercer received full or partial credit for both music and lyrics.for a database of songs written or co-written by Johnny Mercer.Research Resources:Johnny Mercer. Johnny Mercerresearch resources on the web (listed alphabetically by web source):. (publications by and about, recordings, videos, sheet music, etc.).
(Database Of Popular Music: song list; awards; hit songs; co-writers). (biography and song list);.
Dream Johnny Mercer Sheet Music Free
(article);. (Broadway productions and song credits).
(brief biography, filmography, movie song credits);. (articles about the songwriter); including:. Stephen Holden,.' The New York Times, Nov. 23, 2009 (review of Mercer Centennial concert at Carnegie Hall). Jay Atkinson.
The New York Times, Jan. 29, 2010 (a tour of Mercer's Savannah). (catalog entries for books, personal papers, recordings, scores, etc.);. (archive of relevant programs often including audio segments):',' NPR music, Nov. 18, 2009;Jeff Lunden. NPR Music, Nov.
18, 2009;. PBS: Jeffrey Brown. PBS News Hour Art Beat, Nov. 19, 2009.: Johnny MercerJohnny Mercer research resources in print (listed chronologically):. Bob Bach and Ginger Mercer.
Secaucus, NJ: Lyle Stuart, 1982. David Ewen., An H.
Wilson Biographical Dictionary. New York: The H. Wilson Co., 1987 (includes 146 bios of composers and lyricists). a wide selection of used copies is available at (entry, pp.
279-282). Thomas S. New York: Praeger, 1991 (pp. 145-147).
Philip Furia., New York: St. Martins Press, 2003.
Gene Lees. New York: Pantheon, 2004. Ken Bloom.
New York: Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, 2005 (entry-pp. 268-271 and others).
Thomas S. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 (entry-p. 488). Robert Kimball, Barry Day, Miles Kreuger, and Eric Davis, New York: Alfred A. Knoph, 2009.
Stephen Sondheim, New York: Alfred A Knoph, 2011 (mini-essay on Mercer, p. 308).Visitor Comments.