With Jack Teagarden, a trombonist in Whiteman’s band, Mercer both wrote songs and recorded a few duet records, which did fairly well on the Hit Parade. Soon Mercer was writing words with a wide variety of composers, including Wizard of Oz tunesmith Harold Arlen, and the “King of Swing,” Benny Goodman. Reflecting the southern heritage that both men shared, it was called “Lazybones,” and as recorded by the Whiteman Orchestra with Mercer in the lead, it became the first of many hits these two legends would write together. Johnny quickly did what he did best-he wrote words for it that both accentuated and enriched the existing beauty and arc of the melody. Hoagy wanted to write songs, and gave Mercer a melody he’d been toying with. It was while working with Whiteman at the age of 23 that Mercer first met Hoagy Carmichael, who was ten years his senior. ![]() Soon he was not only singing lead for this popular band, he was also writing new songs for them, emceeing their shows, and charming audiences with his dry, southern wit. That ended in 1932 when bandleader Paul Whiteman staged a contest to find a new vocalist for his band and Mercer was the winner. It wasn’t easy to make ends meet on the income from his acting jobs alone, however, and so he took various day jobs, first as a Wall Street runner, and then as a clerk in a music publishing company. He also met his wife at this time, a New York native who danced with the Garrick troupe named Elizabeth “Ginger” Meehan. He still saw songwriting as a sideline to acting, however, and continued to audition for acting roles, eventually landing small parts in such shows as Valpone, Marco Millions, and House Party. He auditioned with a song he wrote himself called “Out Of Breath, And Scared To Death Of You.” Much to his dismay, the producers loved the song but didn’t love him.Įlla Fitzgerald, “Skylark,” by Hoagy Carmichael & Johnny Mercer, from ‘Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Johnny Mercer SongBook,’ arranged & conducted by Nelson Riddle. Though he was eventually caught, he ultimately made it to his destination, and within days was trying out for a popular stage revue called Garrick Gaities. Though he couldn’t afford train fare, his determination led him to stowaway on a ship bound for New York harbor. Returning home to Savannah, he saw that the Depression had eroded any plans his family had to send him to college, so he decided to return to New York. Joining a local acting club, he went with them up north to New York, where he was instantly entranced by Broadway, and even won an acting competition. In fact, it was because of one of his first failed pursuits at acting that he became a professional songwriter. Growing up, Johnny loved singing in the church choir, but was also interested in acting, a profession he decided to pursue after graduation from high school. If you let it pass, someone else can pick it up and write it down before you do.“ “As soon as you think about a song, its vibration is already in the air. He caught his first song at the age of 15, a little ditty called “Sister Susie Strut Your Stuff,” and went on to write or co-write more than 1500, including such standards as “Blues in the Night,” “That Old Black Magic,” “One For My Baby,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Autumn Leaves,” “Tangerine,” “On The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe,” “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” “Moon River,” “Days of Wine and Roses,” “Lazy Bones,” “Too Marvelous For Words,” “Skylark,” and more. ![]() If you let it pass, someone else can pick it up and write it down before you do.” “As soon as you think about a song,” he said in 1965, “its vibration is already in the air. With diligence you might catch one occasionally, but most of them fly away before you can get them. ![]() Like Mercer’s good friend and collaborator Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny knew that songwriting is an ephemeral process that’s not unlike catching fireflies. “Anyone who can rhyme ‘aurora borealis’ with ‘red and ruby chalice’ is not bad!” When I asked Harry Nilsson who he felt was the greatest lyricist of all, his answer was immediate and absolute: But Shakespeare was no Johnny Mercer!”Įven songwriters who emerged in the lyrically expansive wake of Dylan and The Beatles pointed to Mercer as the master.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |