For almost fifteen years I've spent many happy hours blogging about famous people on their birthdays but sometimes circumstance warrant remembering their deaths especially when it involves personal experience. That was the case when I transferred to a new job in Savannah in early 1977. There, I found a city in mourning over the loss of their most beloved and famous personality, Johnny Mercer (1909-1976).
It's hard to believe that this week marks the 47th anniversary of his death. As a sentimental gentleman from Georgia and the favorite son of Savannah, he went on to New York and Hollywood to become one of the most significant figures in American music history.
He died in Los Angeles after almost fifty years in a wide-ranging career as a prolific lyricist and songwriter, popular singer, music industry innovator, entrepreneur and benefactor. No matter how souccessful he became he jumped at every opportunity to return to his hometown and the source of so much of the character and imagery preserved in his catalog of more than 1400 songs.
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| Johnny Mercer statue by Susie Chisholm, erected in Ellis Square, Savannah, in 2009 |
For those who may not be familiar with his work, here is a list of what Mercer considered his "bread and butter songs," including his four Academy Award-winning efforts (in bold) and several nominations (underlined):
Lazybones (1933), music by Hoagy Carmichael
Goody, Goody (1936), music by Marty Malneck
Too Marvelous For Words (1937), music by Richard A. Whiting
Jeepers Creepers (1938), music by Harry Warren
Satin Doll (1958), written with Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby (1938), music by Harry Warren
That Old Black Magic (1943), music by Harold Arlen
Accentuate the Positive (1944) music by Harold Arlen
Fools Rush In (1940), music by Rube Bloom
I Remember You (1942), music by Victor Schertzinger
Day In - Day Out (1939), music by Rube Bloom
Dearly Beloved (1942), music by Jerome Kern
Come Rain or Come Shine (1946), music by Harold Arlen
Tangerine (1942), music by Victor Schertzinger
Hooray For Hollywood (1938), music by Richard A. Whiting
Laura (1945), music by David Raksin
Dream (1944), words and music by Johnny Mercer
On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe (1946, Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song), music by Harry Warren
Something's Gotta Give (1954), words and music by Johnny Mercer
One For My Baby (1943), music by Harold Arlen
In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening (1951, Academy Award for Best Music, Oroginal Song), music by Hoagy Carmichael
Skylark (1941), music by Hoagy Carmichael
Autumn Leaves (1950), music by Joseph Kosma
I Wanna Be Around (1962), words and music by Johnny Mercer and Sadie Vimmerstedt
Blues in the Night (1941), music by Harold Arlen
Charade (1963), music by Henry Mancini
Summer Wind (1965), music by Henry Mayer
Moon River (1961, Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song), music by Henry Mancini
Days of Wine and Roses (1962, Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song), music by Henry Mancini
Hardly a day passes that even a casual music listener will not hear a Johnny Mercer song. For those who enjoy the Great American Songbook and jazz/pop vocals, the Mercer magic remains very much alive in contemporary music. Looks like the music of the man once described by the lyricist, Yip Harburg, as "one of our great folk poets" will be around for a long, long time. How lucky we are!
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| Mercer self-portrait and signature, Mercer grave, Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, GA |
Sources
Photos and Illustrations:
grave site photo, Emily E. Beck
Text:
Harburg quote, Portrait of Johnny: The Life and Times of John Herndon Mercer, Gene Lees, Hal Leonard, February 2006.
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