2nd & 3rd December, 2004
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Rod in “The Best is Yet to Come” 11/6/04
Photo by Shira Greenburg ©2004 by Broadway.com. Used by Permission
A Thought for Today
I may be sad at times but I’m still
dancing.
A FLIGHT FROM6THE
PAST
NOVEMBER 18, 1998
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHNNY
Those of you familiar with Stanyan (Thank You Very Much) know by now
that I use any and every chance to expound on Johnny Mercer and Jo
Stafford [We celebrated Jo’s Birthday on November 12th and Johnny’s on
the 18th ]. Some people are addicted to booze and horses, I get
downright cranky without my daily fix of Jo and Johnny.
I idolized Johnny Mercer long before I ever met him. To my mind Johnny
is the greatest songwriter America ever produced and this country has
given the world some giants, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields,
Larry Hart, The Gershwins. We used to grow 'em here like wildflowers.
We've got a few great ones still with us and some are friends of mine so
I won't mention names of the living for fear of slighting even one I
know and admire. And let's not even get into the immigrants like Irving
Berlin who came to this country and wrote more real American songs than
most of the native writers.
Mercer over Kern you say and over Cole Porter and Ira Gershwin? I admit
it's a close call. Who could deny the melodic genius of Kern, the wit of
Porter and Ira Gershwin, the master of words? But Mercer was unique, he
could write anything. Most of the time he wrote lyrics to other peoples
songs.
Mercer wrote the words to Laura, Moon River, You Must Have Been A
Beautiful Baby, Something's Gotta Give, On The Atchiston, Topeka & The
Santa Fe, Come Rain or Come Shine, I'm Old Fashioned, Accentuate The
Positive, One For My Baby & One More For The Road, That Old Black Magic,
P.S. I Love You, Jeepers Creepers, The Strip Polka, Hooray For
Hollywood, The GI Jive, I'm an Old Cowhand, Anyplace I Hang My Hat Is
Home, Tangerine, I Want To Be Around, The Days of Wine & Roses, Lazy
Bones, Satin Doll, Too Marvelous For Words, Skylark, When A Woman Loves
A Man, The Summer Wind, Autumn Leaves, Fools Rush In, Day In – Day Out,
I Remember You, Bob White, Once Upon A Summertime, And The Angels Sings,
This Time The Dream's On Me, Goody Goody, When The World Was Young . .
.. Well, you get the picture.
The hundreds of songs he wrote include collaborations with Henry
Mancini, Harold Arlen, Harry Warren, Andre Previn, Ziggy Elman, Hoagy
Carmichael, Jerome Kern, Duke Ellington, Ralph Burns, Lionel Hampton,
Jimmy Van Heusen, Victor Schertzinger, Rube Bloom, Bernie Hanighen,
Andre Previn, Victor Young, Gordon Jenkins, Robert Emmit Dolan and on
and on.
Every day his songs become more popular than they were the day before. A
cliché, perhaps, but true. In addition to his prolific output as a
wordsmith, during the 1930's, 40's & 50's, Mercer had a major career as
a singer. He influenced among others, Chet Baker, Bobby Troup, Fred
Astaire and a whole group of so called "non-singers." His style and
vocal prowess was every bit as versatile and compelling as the crooners
with real pipes Crosby, Sinatra & Nat King Cole who helped immortalize
him as a songwriter.
Johnny would have been 89 today (95 in 2004). Stanyan has released 3
Mercer albums; Great American Songwriters, Some of the Best & More of
the Best with another 4 mastered but as yet unreleased. Lots of noise in
this world. Mucho misunderstanding, and let's not forget that ugliest of
all contemporary phrases, "in your face," that helps to contribute to it
all. Don't get Mad, get Johnny Mercer.
- RM 11/16/98
To our Jewish friends best wishes for a happy, healthy Hanukkah week.
Join me again on the weekend for poetry from The Sound of Solitude and
Celebrations of the Heart. Sleep warm.
RM 12/1/2004 8:48PM PST
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