Mercer, Johnny (1909-1976), was one of the greatest lyric writers in the history of American popular music. Mercer collaborated with such composers as Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Jerome Kern, Henry Mancini, and Harry Warren. He wrote lyrics to more than 1,000 songs, the best noted for their polished wit. Mercer composed the words to the hit songs “Goody Goody” (1936), “Fools Rush In” (1940), “Blues in the Night” (1941), “That Old Black Magic” (1942), “One for My Baby” (1943), “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive” (1944), “Laura” (1945), “Come Rain or Come Shine” (1946), and “Satin Doll” (1958).
Mercer also wrote lyrics for the stage and motion pictures. He wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway show Top Banana (1951) and the lyrics to the score for the musical St. Louis Woman (1946), among other shows. Mercer won four Academy Awards as lyricist for the songs “On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe,” written with Harry Warren for the film The Harvey Girls (1946); “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” written with Hoagy Carmichael for Here Comes the Groom (1951); and “Moon River” and “Days of Wine and Roses,” written with Henry Mancini for Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and Days of Wine and Roses (1962), respectively.
John Herndon Mercer was born in Savannah, Georgia, on Nov. 18, 1909. He was a cofounder of Capitol Records in 1942 and made many best-selling recordings for the company. He died on June 25, 1976.
See also Arlen, Harold ; Carmichael, Hoagy ; Mancini, Henry .
