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Johnny Mercer

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Johnny Mercer (1909 to 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer, and co-founder of Capitol Records together with Buddy DeSylva and Glenn Wallichs. He was born in Savannah, Georgia. His mother sang sentimental ballads, his father old Scottish songs, and as a child he listened to fishermen and street vendors who spoke and sang in Gullah. The services in Black churches also drew him in. He had no musical training, could not read a score and used a notation system of his own, but at six he sang in a choir. At eleven or twelve he knew almost every song he had heard and wanted to know who had written them.

Music and breakthrough

Mercer wrote the lyrics for more than twelve hundred songs, for films, Broadway shows and well-known standards. They include Autumn Leaves, Days of Wine and Roses, Hooray for Hollywood, I'm an Old Cowhand, for which he also wrote the music, and Moon River. He received eighteen Oscar nominations and won the Oscar for Best Song four times. He sometimes composed as well, even though he did not play the piano. As a singer he recorded his own and other people's songs from the mid-1930s to the mid-1970s, for example on Songs by Johnny Mercer in 1944.

Influence

His place in pop history is that of Tin Pan Alley's master of words, the man who gave other people's melodies lyrics that stuck. With Capitol Records he also founded a record label that became of great significance to the American music industry.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Moon River and notice how the lyric, with short, simple words, evokes a feeling of wistfulness and longing.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists