LSI PLAYERMusic / J / Johnny Mercer / Biography
- Johnny Mercer
- Genre
- -
- LetsSingIt Music Player
- play all songs
- Fans
- 0, 0 of your friends
add to favorites
- Moderator
- This has no moderator.
Last updated biographies25/05/2012 Carly Smithson 25/05/2012 Maria Mena 24/05/2012 The Radio Dept. 24/05/2012 Morrissey 23/05/2012 Busted 23/05/2012 Tom Dice 23/05/2012 Usher 21/05/2012 Mysto & Pizzi 20/05/2012 Cover Drive 20/05/2012 Maverick Sabre 20/05/2012 Best Coast 20/05/2012 Santigold 20/05/2012 Tenacious D 19/05/2012 Louis Delort 19/05/2012 Al. Hy
Johnny Mercer - Biography
| last update : 09-07-2006 00:05 |
| Johnny Mercer's main claim to immortality is his incredible songwriting output, penning the lyrics or music and lyrics to roughly 1,500 songs. Marked by a sophisticated, occasionally whimsical mastery of language and rhymes, many of Mercer's songs have become standards regularly covered by jazz artists. Yet Mercer was also a successful singer, with a relaxed, Southern-accented, jazzy, rhythmically agile delivery that resulted in several major hits in the 1940s. At first, Mercer was torn between acting and songwriting, but having failed to land a part in Garrick Gaities in 1930, he ended up writing his first hit, "Out of Breath, Scared to Death Of You," for the show. His first charted songwriting hit was Ted Lewis' 1933 recording of "Lazybones." By 1938 he was recording duets with Bing Crosby for Decca and the following year, he was on Benny Goodman's Camel Cavalcade radio program as a featured singer. In 1942, he, Glenn Wallichs and Buddy DeSylva founded Capitol Records, which would eventually become an industry behemoth, and Mercer reeled off a string of hits for his label, including "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe," "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive," "Candy" and "Personality." "Atchison" is an especially good example of Mercer's flip, catchy, vocal style. While running Capitol, Mercer the talent scout attracted the likes of Nat Cole, Stan Kenton, Jo Stafford, Peggy Lee and Margaret Whiting to the label, where they had their greatest successes. Among Mercer's most durable lyrics -- a highly abbreviated list -- are those for "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)," "Blues in the Night," "Come Rain or Come Shine," "My Shining Hour," and "Early Autumn," and his many collaborators have included Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern, Gordon Jenkins, and Harry Warren. He also contributed to the scores of seven Broadway musicals and several films. Following an album with Bobby Darin and collaborations with Henry Mancini in the early '60s, Mercer's career slowed down under the onslaught of rock & roll, but time has since reconfirmed his status as an American popular music giant.
Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide |
Send "Johnny Mercer" ringtones to your cell