Johnny Mercer was born in 1909 in Georgia to a comfortable white middle-class family but grew up listening to ragtime, spirituals, early jazz and black church music. As a young teen he was interested in poetry, music and making music.
At the age of 19 he moved to New York where he began to network with other songwriters and combine day jobs with attempts to break into show business and song writing. His first major success was ‘Lazybones’ a collaboration with Hoagy Carmichael which was a huge US hit and established Mercer as a lyricist and talent. In the 30s he moved to Hollywood where he socialised with the likes of Bing Crosby, wrote songs for the movies and created some of his best known lyrics and songs.
Johnny Mercer’s Finest Songs
- Jeepers Creepers (music by Harry Warren). This song earned him his first Oscar nomination. Louis Armstrong later recorded the definitive version.
- You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby (music by Harry Warren).
- And the Angels Sing (music by Ziggy Elman).
- Blues in the Night (music by Harold Arlen)
- One for My Baby and One More for the Road (music by Harold Arlen). Frank Sinatra recorded the definitive version.
- That Old Black Magic (music by Harold Arlen). Another Sinatra classic.
- Moon River (music by Henry Mancini). This song earned Mercer an Oscar for Best Song. Audrey Hepburn’s version remains the definitive recording.
The Story of Moon River
