[Dixielandjazz] Johnny Mercer - Mercer Gave Southern Roots to American Music

[Robert Ringwald]

Mercer Gave Southern Roots to American Music
by Frank Daniels III
Nashville Tennessean, November 18, 2013
In 1926, when he was a fifth former (high school junior) at Woodberry Forest School
in Virginia, John Herndon Mercer was sure he had life by the tail. A merry prankster
from Savannah, Ga., who was kicked out of the school choir for his antics, he was
planning to follow family footsteps to Princeton University, and then into the family
real estate development business.
Those plans were dashed when the bank called the company's notes, and Mercer went
to work collecting rents instead of to college. He did not remain long in Savannah,
and became one of the most prolific and successful songwriters in history, penning
lyrics to about 1,100 songs.
Mercer was born on Nov. 18, 1909, and grew up with the freedom that privilege can
provide. His family was not musical, but they loved to sing. Mercer began singing
in the choir when he was six, and could often be found in the pews of local black
churches, singing with the congregation. He spent several summers near Asheville,
N.C., where his father was developing property, and learned to dance the foxtrot
from Arthur Murray at the Princess Anne Hotel.
He moved to New York in 1928, but it took several years for him to find success.
In 1932, he began singing with several orchestras, and in 1933 he wrote the lyrics
for "Lazybones," collaborating with Hoagy Carmichael to create the hit.
In 1935, RKO offered him a job writing lyrics for their musicals. Hollywood made
Mercer a star, but the lifestyle revealed the darker aspects of his persona as he
began to drink frequently with new movie pals such as Bing Crosby. He was a mean
drunk.
Beginning in 1936 with "I'm an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande," sung by Crosby,
Mercer turned out a string of hits such as "Hooray for Hollywood," "Jeepers Creepers,"
and "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby." His own recording career blossomed as
well; he sang with the Benny Goodman Band and was host of his own radio show.
"He was the most versatile, the best of those we study and appreciate. He could write
anything," Alan Bergman said. "He could be very funny, yet he wrote a lot about lost
youth. The images and the metaphors are just marvelous. I'm amazed every time I hear
his work."
In 1942, Mercer co-founded Capitol Records with producer Buddy DeSylva and businessman
Glen Wallichs, and also co-founded Cowboy Records in Philadelphia. He sold his share
in 1955, and paid off the last of his father's creditors.
The emergence of rock and roll in the 1950s stunted the popularity of his songs,
but his collaborations with Henry Mancini in the early 1960s sparked two Song of
the Year Grammy Awards, for "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses."
He wrote lyrics for 1,100 songs. In addition to his two Grammys, Mercer received
19 Academy Award nominations; he won four.
He died on June 25, 1976.
-30


-Bob Ringwald K6YBV
www.ringwald.com
916/ 806-9551

Why do shops have signs, “GUIDE DOGS ONLY?: 
The dogs can’t read and their owners are blind.