A N a C T Iv It Iy G U Id E F O R K Id S

This publication is based on the life and work of lyricist Johnny Mercer. The content of The Life and Works of Johnny Mercer edition of LyricNOTES™ is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America and all other countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights regarding publishing, reprint permissions, public readings, and mechanical or electronic reproduction, including but not limited to, CD-ROM, information storage and retrieval systems and photocopying, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved.

Printed in the United States of America First printing, June 2002

For more information on Johnny Mercer and The Great American Songbook, contact: The Johnny Mercer Foundation (212) 835-2299 http://www.johnnymercerfoundation.org

For more information on LyricNOTES™ and other arts related programs for students, contact: Camp Broadway LLC 145 West 45th Street, 7th Floor New York, NY 10036 Telephone: (212) 575-2929 Facsimile: (212) 575-3125 Email: [email protected] www.campbroadway.com LyricNOTESTM AN ACTIVITIY GUIDE FOR KIDS Johnny Mercer Table of Contents Namely You: Who Is Johnny Mercer? ...... 4 A short life story of Johnny Mercer, from Savannah to Hollywood

Too Marvelous For Words: Johnny Mercer's Collaborators ...... 8 Johnny’s thoughts on songwriting, inspiration and teamwork – and which comes first, the words or the music

Hooray For Hollywood: Mercer’s Point of View ...... 12 High points of Johnny Mercer’s career, his Oscars, and his take on Hollywood

It’s A Great Big World: Growing Up: A Timeline ...... 14 What was going on in the world during Mercer’s lifetime

I Thought About You: Mercer’s World and Ours ...... 16 What was “hep” in the 30s, 40s, and 50s? Compare then to now. 2 Come Rain or Come Shine: Mercer Today ...... 18 Johnny Mercer’s songs in TV and movies -- and rap

Spring, Spring, Spring: Nature Lyrics ...... 20 Johnny Mercer wrote about nature and the seasons – now you can too.

I’m An Old Cowhand: Character Lyrics ...... 22 Capturing a character in song

Let That Be A Lesson To You: Mercer Facts ...... 24 Everything you always wanted to know about Johnny Mercer

A CrossLyric Puzzle ...... 26 A crossword all about Johnny Mercer — test your solving skills!

More Mercer Lyrics ...... 28

Accentuate the Positive: Music and Lyrics ...... 30

Resources ...... 32 How to learn more about Johnny Mercer and the Great American Songbook Log on to tion.org cerfounda ohnnymer www.j the great n to all of to liste hout ngs throug Mercer so this book.

m The next time you’re listening to your favorite song on a CD or on the radio, imagine a boy in Savannah, Georgia, listening to his own favorite music, dreaming of being a singer and songwriter. That boy did more than dream — he grew up, traveled to New York, sang on the radio, wrote songs for a Broadway and for the movies, founded a record company, won Academy Awards, and published hundreds of songs (one of his favorites was called “Dream.”) He was

e named Johnny Mercer.

I first met Johnny Mercer when I was seven years old. He'd come out to Hollywood

r to write songs with my father, Richard Whiting, and my mother wanted me to sing for him. Well, I did. And when I was finished he called me over to him and he said, “Kid, I want to give you two words of advice. ‘Grow up!’” So I did. And later on, Johnny became my mentor and best friend. He signed me to my first record contract at Capitol Records, because he was the boss. That's the way I remember Johnny.

To the rest of the world he was a poet. A spinner of dreams. Johnny's love affair with D music didn't come from the glitter of Broadway or Hollywood, but from growing up 3 in Savannah near a small park, where on Sundays he would go listen in wonder to a local band play ragtime. His lyrics came naturally from the colorful way people talked. “You Gotta Accentuate the Positive,” “Anyplace I Hang My Hat is Home,” and the sounds -- the clickety clack of the railroad track, the wind whistling through the Spanish Moss, and the rain, like silver slivers racing across the horizon.

When Johnny Mercer came on the scene, with his distinctive brand of impish Southern charm, he made an impact just as strong as any of today’s MTV favorites. But, musical tastes change. Styles change. Hits come and go. So why do we still sing Johnny Mercer’s songs and listen to his words? He was able to do what only a small number of songwriters can: with his words, he tapped into something deep, universal, and timeless. Singers keep singing his songs because the words hit home as strongly today as they did the day he wrote them. Song lyrics are the poetry of the people – and Johnny Mercer spoke for us all. Johnny Mercer with Margaret Whiting We hope this book helps to introduce you to Johnny Mercer and the Great American Songbook. You can take the next step, and write lyrics of your own – just like Johnny Mercer did, you can put words to a dream. Margaret Whiting The Johnny Mercer Foundation u Who is Johnny Mercer?

o Savannah, GA When he was 17, his father’s real estate Award winning lyricist John Herndon business failed. The family couldn't afford Mercer was born in Savannah, Georgia, to send Johnny to college, so he head- Y

November 18, 1909. ed to New York City to try his luck in the theater.

y By the time he was three,

l Johnny already loved to New York, NY

e sing. As a teenager, he fell In New York, Johnny wrote in love with jazz. He was songs and tried out for shows. also drawn to gospel He auditioned for “The m music and other African- Garrick Gaieties,” a popular American folk music he a music and comedy revue.

heard when he was grow- ' in h is ing up. f The producers told him they s e o N g y didn't need any more actors, but nn Johnny was sent to the Woodberry oh 4 d J they did need more songs. He gave r ol Forest School in Virginia. He took piano 8 yea them one called “Out of Breath.” and trumpet lessons, and sang in the chapel choir. When he was 15, he wrote his first Mine’s a hopeless case song, “Sister Susie Strut But there’s one saving grace, Your Stuff.” Anyone would feel as I do; Out of breath and scared to death of you. “I think the three greatest moments in a songwriter’s life are when he writes his first song, even when he’s fifteen, in my case. The second time is when he gets his first song published. And then the third time is when he gets his first hit, a real hit song that you hear – you go down the street and people are singing it that don’t know who you are, they just love the song – and that’s really a thrill.”

Johnny (far left) at Woodberry Forest School. Johnny also met a dancer in the (left) Johnny show, Ginger and Ginger on Meehan their honey- , who moon. (below, became his wife. from left) John Later, they had a Jefferson, Ginger, Johnny, daughter, and Amanda. Amanda, and a son, John Jefferson. Johnny wrote a lyric about his little girl, nicknamed “Mandy.”

Mandy is Two You ought to see her eyes 5 of cornflower blue; They really look as if they actually knew That she’s a big girl now.

Johnny won a singing contest, and was noticed by his idol Paul Whiteman, “The King of Jazz.” Johnny was hired to write songs and sing with Whiteman’s band, using his Southern drawl in sings like “Pardon My Southern Accent.” Try This Who Wrote It? Pick your mo FAVO st RITE son EVER know g ! Do you who wrote it? W ho is the lyrici who is the st and composer? Once br you know for su ing a recording o re, f your favorite s your clas ong into s and play it for your classmates. Now, you can quiz them! Do they realize the artist who is that singing or playi song m ng your favorite ay not be the s ame person who the lyrics and wrote the music? It’s YOUR teach the turn to m! Johnny with band leader Paul Whiteman u Who is Johnny Mercer? (cont’d)

o Hollywood, CA He wrote lyrics for many different composers, In 1934 Johnny headed to Hollywood to write but sometimes wrote his own music for his songs for movie musicals (and even appear in a lyrics – like the 1942 song “Dream.” Y

few!). His song “I’m An Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande” was a hit in the movie Dream when you’re feelin’ blue y Rhythm on the Range. Four years later, his Dream, that’s the thing to do l song “Jeepers Creepers” was nominated for Just watch the smoke rings rise in the air

e an Academy Award. You’ll find your share He won an Oscar on Of memories there his ninth nomination, m for the song “On The Besides being a songwriter and singer, Johnny Atchison, Topeka and

a Mercer was also a businessman. He helped the Santa Fe,” sung found Capitol Records in 1942 (the name by Judy Garland in the was suggested by his wife, Ginger). He was

N movie The Harvey always on the lookout for new singing and 6 Girls in 1946. writing talent.

My Huckleberry Friend One of Johnny’s most famous lines is in the song “Moon River”: my huckleberry friend. Johnny wrote those words thinking of his cousin, Walter Rivers. When they were kids, on lazy summer days they would pick huckleberries together, facing brambles, briars and sometimes snakes to fill their buckets with berries. For people who knew Johnny Mercer, my huckleberry friend describes him Johnny (right) with Buddy Desylva, co-founder of Capitol Records perfectly. (You can find the lyrics to “Moon River” on page 10.) From the Thirties to the Seventies (over forty years!), Johnny Mercer wrote many popular songs that went to the top of the Now you know... charts. He contributed songs to more than 90 movies, and wrote Composer: Someone who writes the music to a song. seven Broadway musicals. Lyricist: Someone who writes the words to a song. Revue: a variety show of humorous songs and sketches. Johnny Mercer died on June 25, Savannah: The oldest city in Georgia, founded in 1976, in Beverly Hills, California, but 1773 near the mouth of the Savannah River. his words and music live on. His unforget- Oscar®: The award given by the Academy of Motion table personality comes through in his lyrics, the Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in movies. laid-back Savannah boy with the jazzy rhythms of New York.

So you sing your song, I'll sing my song, We may even share a touch of Auld Lang Syne, 7 Then you go your way, through your golden doorway, And wish me luck as I go mine. T Snap ry This shot Lyr 2. Wri ic te all the details Just as Johnny you can think of wrote a song abo this person d about “Man ut his little girl, own on a piece dy,” you can wr of paper. ite a song about 3. Now c you love too someone hoose three inter , like a "snapsho esting words tha t" in words. describe this per t son’s personality. 1. C 4. Now, take all hoose a family the words you've member or reall so far, written down friend. C y close and use as many lose your eyes an as you can in a d picture them lyric about t short clearly as you ca as hat person. n in your mind. VERY Details are important when writing lyrics. D This is the way see the color o o you great lyricists be f his/her hair an best w gin to gather the sho d eyes? Are they ords they can fi rt or tall? Do the nd to describe w y make you laug trying to wr hat they’re you pictur h? Can ite about! It inv e them in a certa th olves a lot of o in color shirt or ought and hard f pants that the pair work, but once y y may wear often down, a ou’ve got it ? nyone who listen s to your lyrics w able to imagine ill be just what you in tended them to! s Johnny Mercer’s Collaborators d You hear songs every day, on TV, on the radio, Some of Johnny Mercer’s r but you don’t always know who wrote them. Sometimes the same person writes both words o and music – Johnny Mercer wrote music for a few of his lyrics. But most of the time, a composer and a lyricist collaborate to write a

W song.

r Which Comes First, Words or Music? Every songwriting team works differently, but o Johnny Mercer liked to fit his words to a f melody. The lyrics of his first big success,

“Lazybones,” were written to go with the tune s of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Washboard Blues.”

u Johnny Mercer on What Makes a 8 Good Collaborator Johnny with Harold Arlen (left) o integrity, Collaborators l “First of all, great talent and that’s what I like. I like a guy who writes his way e Harold Arlen and his way is so high that it starts where (February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) v other guys leave off. They’re all different. Born in Buffalo, Harold Arlen began performing Every one is different.” r ragtime piano at age 15. He moved to New York Why He Likes to Write Words to go City in the mid-Twenties, and had a hit with the a with the Music song “Get Happy” in 1930, around the same time “I feel music like a composer ... I understand that Johnny Mercer was becoming known. Johnny the music. I know where the accents should Mercer introduced Harold Arlen to E.Y. “Yip” M come. I don’t mean to sound conceited when Harburg, another lyricist. Together Arlen and

I say this, but I’ve often had a lot of good Harburg wrote the songs for the 1939 movie “The

o lyrics loused up by writing them first because Wizard of Oz.” Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer the guy doesn’t understand the meter that I began writing songs together in 1941, including o wrote. I’d rather try and catch the mood of “Blues in the Night.”

T his tune.” Now you know... Collaborate: To work together Integrity: Keeping to a strong moral code of behavior: honesty Johnny with Hoagy Carmichael (right)

from Blues in the Night music by Harold Arlen

The evening breeze’ll start The trees to cryin’ And the moon’ll hide its light When you get the blues in the night

Take my word, the mocking bird’ll Sing the saddest kind of song Hoagy Carmichael He knows things are wrong (November 22, 1899 – December 28, 1981) And he’s right Hoagy Carmichael’s mother played piano in silent-movie theaters. Hoagy was playing piano at age six. In his twenties, he was playing and writing jazz. After getting his law degree from Indiana from In the Cool, Cool, University, he moved to New York. He had a hit song, “Lazybones” 9 Cool of the Evening with Johnny Mercer in 1933. In 1936, he moved to Hollywood to music by Hoagy Carmichael write songs for the movies. He was very popular through the Forties, even appearing in films (usually as a piano player.) He won an Oscar In the cool, cool, cool of the evenin’, with Johnny Mercer in 1951 for their song “In The Cool, Cool, Tell ‘em I’ll be there. Cool of the Evening.” In the cool. cool, cool of the evenin’, Better save a chair. When the party’s gettin’ a glow on Try ‘N singin’ fills the air This In the shank o’ the night Silent Colla You n boratio When the doin’s are right eed one pen, on n e piece of paper and one friend. You can tell ‘em I’ll be there. Pass the pen back an d forth, and take shape at a t turns drawing o ime on the piece ne di of paper, each a fferent shape to dding on a the one previous is ‘NO T ly drawn. The k ALKING’. Let ey here the picture you out telling eac create grow with h other what to - tryin draw. Keep in m g to create one p ind, you’re icture, not two separate things. Meter: A rhythmic pattern You'll notic e that after a wh “ ile, it’s like you’r Ragtime: An early style of jazz music popular at the thinking with o e both ne brain” — tha beginning of the 20th century t’s collaboration! Shank: The main or early part. The shank of the evening. s Mercer’s Collaborators (cont’d) d Duke Ellington

r from (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) Satin Doll music by Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in Washington, D.C. He o had piano lessons at age seven, but at that age was more interest- Cigarette holder ed in playing baseball. When he was in his teens, he was fasci- Which wigs me nated by ragtime music and took up the piano again, playing Over her shoulder W professionally by 17. Nicknamed “Duke,” he moved to New She digs me York in 1923. Along with his band, The Washingtonians, Duke Out cattin' r was heard “Live from the Cotton Club” on radio across the That satin doll

o nation. He became one of the world’s greatest jazz composers and performers, writing hundreds of songs, and playing with jazz Baby, shall we go f

greats all over the world. Johnny Mercer wrote words to several Out skippin' of Duke Ellington’s jazz compositions, including “Satin Doll.” Careful, amigo s You're flippin'

u Speaks latin 10 Henry Mancini That satin doll

o (April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994)

l Born Enrico Nicola Mancini in Cleveland, Ohio, he was raised

e in the mill town of West Aliquippa, PA. He studied flute and Moon River piccolo, and eventually went to the Juilliard School in New York. music by Henry Mancini v While in the Army during World War II, he played in military Moon River,

r bands. After the war, he worked as a freelance musician, eventu- Wider than a mile ally getting hired at Universal writing background music. He I'm crossin' you in style a became known for Some day. writing jazz-inspired Old dream maker, movie and TV You heart breaker,

M themes, including Wherever you're goin', the famous “Pink I'm goin' your way: Panther” theme. o The songs “Moon Two drifters,

o River” and “Days of Off to see the world There's such a lot of world

T Wine and Roses,” written with Johnny To see. Mercer, won the We're after the same Oscar for Best Song Rainbow's end two years in a row, Waitin' round the bend My huckleberry friend, 1961 and 1962. Henry Mancini (left) and Johnny Mercer pose with Debbie Reynolds and their “Moon River” Oscars Moon River And me. Harry Warren (December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) Harry Warren was born Salvatore Guaragna, but his parents changed their last name (as most immigrants to America did then), and he chose the new first name “Harry.” He dropped out of school at 16 to become a drummer. He began working at a silent-movie studio in Brooklyn, playing “mood music” for the actors. Later, he moved to Hollywood to write for movie musicals. He wrote “Jeepers Creepers” with Johnny Mercer, which was nominated for an Oscar. They won an Oscar for “On The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” in 1946. Now you know... from On the Atchison, Topeka Onomatopoeia: Words that sound like and the Santa Fe what they mean: buzz, fizz, pop, murmur music by Harry Warren

Do yuh hear that whistle down the line? 11 I figure that it’s engine number forty nine She’s the only one that’ll sound that way Harry Warren (at piano) with another collaborator, Al Dubin On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe See the ol' smoke risin' round the bend, T I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend, r Lyrics in Motio y This Folks around these parts get the time o'day Johnny n Mercer wrote gr From the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe eat lyrics about a Atchison, Tope train in "On th ka and the Sant e up w a Fe." Now you here he left off. can pick Choose your favorite form of a ca transportation. r, a bike, a skate For example board, a hot-air rollerblade balloon, a jetski, s or even the sub ‘s way. Choose thr Johnny shows ound like’ the ve ee words that hicle you have c off the just- buzz or hosen. Does it pressed record chugga chug whirl, ga? These words of the Oscar- thing you that ‘sound like are describing ar ’ the winning “On T e examples of onomato the Atchison, he more spe poeia cific your words . Topeka and are, the better! the Santa Fe” Read your list of words to a k friend — can th ind of transporta ey guess what tion you picked. N ow use that list of words to wri transpo te a lyric. Put th rtation you pick e form of ed in the title, an d go from there! d Mercer’s Point of View

o This song, written in 1936 with composer Richard A. Whiting, has become the unofficial theme song of Hollywood. To match the feel of this jazzy, energetic song, Johnny Mercer wrote a snappy, o witty lyric. He mentions people and places that were in the headlines in 1936. Read the lyric out loud. What is Johnny Mercer saying about Hollywood? Does Hollywood have the same kind of w reputation today?

y Hooray for Hollywood!

l ballyhoo a panic That screwy bally hooey Hollywood, noisy shouting, an uproar l exciting, see p. 16; Where any office boy or young mechanic Slang of the Thirties Can be a panic, o With just a good looking pan, And any bar maid Can be a star maid, H

If she dances with or without a fan.

r Hooray for Hollywood! Where you’re terrific if you’re even good, 12 o Where anyone at all from Shirley Temple Shirley Temple

f Child star of the 30s. Became a Aimee Semple To Aimee Semple US Ambassador as an adult. McPherson Is equally understood, Glamorous Hollywood evangelist known for her Go out and try your luck, y theatrical personality You might be Donald Duck! Donald Duck Hooray for Hollywood! Walt Disney character first intro- a duced in 1934, voiced by Clarence Nash

r Hooray for Hollywood! Coney Island That phony super Coney Hollywood, r New York resort district They come from Chillicothes and Paducahs Chillicothe famous for its amusement City in southern Ohio. Formerly park With their bazookas Ohio capital in early 1800s. o To get their names up in lights, All armed with photos from local rotos, rotos Paducah With their hair in ribbons and legs in tights. Short for rotogravure, an early H City in western Kentucky technique for printing newspa- near Illinois border per photographs using an etched Hooray for Hollywood! copper cylinder You may be homely in your neighborhood, Tyrone Power But if you think that you can be an actor, Dashing Hollywood leading Max Factor See Mister Factor, man, most famous for “The Polish-born Hollywood He’d make a monkey look good, Mark of Zorro” makeup artist who started (1940) his own salon and line of Within half an hour, cosmetics You’ll look like Tyrone Power! Hooray for Hollywood! The World According to Mercer

Easiestlyric to write (in Johnny’s opinion) Days of Wine and Roses T 9 minutes ry This Word Colla Johnny wrote ge one of America’ about H s favorite songs o ollywood. Coul f all time New d you write a sim The Days of Wine and Roses York City? ilar song about music by Henry Mancini Flip through pages of magazi The days of wine and roses out wor nes and newspap ds and images th ers and cut Laugh and run away Cit at you think rep y today. The pi resent New York ctures could be o Like a child at play, fashion, culture f buildings, peop , art, music, any le, go along thing! Choose Through a meadowland with the photos. words to Toward a closing door, Now m ake a collage on bo a piece of heav A door marked "Nevermore," ard with all of t y paper or card- hese images. Th That wasn’t there before. own view of ere you have it! New York City t Your "word co oday, just like Jo llage" of 1936 H hnny's The lonely night discloses ollywood. An ext 13 ra tip: If you pa Just a passing breeze bo ste everything on x, you’ll have a g an empty shoe- Filled with memories reat container to things in or a put all your spe cool gift to give cial Of the golden smile that introduced me to to someone else! The days of wine and roses and you.

Johnny’s Hardestlyric to write Skylark Now you know... Stanza: A division or section of a lyric or Over a year poem. A stanza is usually four to eight lines long.

Chorus: A stanza that is repeated throughout Skylark a song. Usually the title of a song is in the cho- music by Hoagy Carmichael And in your lonely flight, rus. In “Jingle Bells,” the chorus is the part that begins “Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the Skylark, Haven’t you heard the music in the night, way...” Have you anything to say to me? Wonderful music, Won’t you tell me where my love can be? Faint as a "will-o-the-wisp", Verse: Sometimes used as another word for stanza. A verse also means the stanzas that Is there a meadow in the mist, Crazy as a loon, come in between the choruses. In “Jingle Where someone’s waiting to be kissed? Sad as a gypsy serenading the moon (Oh) Bells,” the verse begins “Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh...” Skylark, Skylark, Have you seen a valley green with Spring I don’t know if you can find these things, Where my heart can go a-journeying, But my heart is riding on your wings, Over the shadows and the rain So if you see them anywhere, To a blossom covered lane? Won’t you lead me there? 1909 1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969

d Growing Up: A Timeline l In the Life of Johnny... In the U.S.A.... r November 18, 1909 1909 1911 Irving Berlin writes "Alexander’s o Johnny Mercer born in Savannah, GA Ragtime Band" 1914 World War I begins

W 1915 New Orleans jazz thrives

1917 First jazz recordings made g

i 1918 Armistice signed, ending World War I

B 1919 1919 The 18th Amendment outlaws Johnny Mercer turns 10. the sale of alcohol (Prohibition) t Buys jazz recordings, including Paul 1920 Paul Whiteman, “The King of

14 a Whiteman Jazz” tours Europe

e 1921 The radio era begins 1922 Enters Woodberry Forest School

r in Orange, VA 1924 2.5 million radios in U.S. homes 1927 First “talkie” (movie with sound), 1927 Leaves Woodberry Forest “The Jazz Singer” G

1929 Johnny Mercer turns 20. 1929 1929 Stock market crashes, Great

a Family business fails. Johnny moves to Depression begins NYC 1930 U.S. population 122 million. s ’ 1930 Writes “Out of Breath” for 115 million attend movies weekly. t Garrick Gaieties 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt elected I 1931 Marries Ginger Meehan, June 8 President

1933 Has first hit, "Lazybones" 1933 Adolf Hitler comes to power in Germany 1934 Moves to Hollywood

1938 First Oscar nomination for Best Song, “Jeepers Creepers”

1939 Johnny Mercer turns 30 1909 1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969 1909 1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969

In the Life of Johnny... In the U.S.A...

1939 1939 World War II begins 1942 Co-founds Capitol Records, serves as 1942 Magnetic recording tape invented the first president

1944 Writes “G.I. Jive”

1945 Has three records at #1 1945 End of World War II 1946 End of “Big Band Era” as many groups 1946 Wins first Oscar on ninth dissolve nomination, for “On The Atchison, 1948 Long-playing record (LP) invented Topeka and the Santa Fe” 1949 1949 Johnny Mercer turns 40 1950 1.5 million TV sets in U.S. 15 1951 Wins second Oscar for 1951 15 million TVs in U.S. “In the Cool, Cool, Cool 1956 Elvis Presley and rock-and-roll become of the Evening” popular 1958 Stereo recordings introduced 1959 1959 Johnny Mercer turns 50

1961 Wins third Oscar for “Moon River” 1961 Alan Shepard makes first U.S. spaceflight

1962 Back River in Savannah renamed “Moon River” 1963 President John F. Kennedy assassinated

1962 Wins fourth Oscar for “The Days of Wine and Roses” 1966 Color TV becomes popular; 78 million TV sets in U.S.

1969 Johnny Mercer turns 60 1969 1969 U.S. astronauts land on moon 1976 Dies July 25 1976 U.S. celebrates Bicentennial 1909 1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969 u Mercer’s World and Ours

o Johnny Mercer’s career lasted for more than forty years. Fads and fashions change from year to year, but Johnny Mercer kept writing hit after hit, always staying up with the times. Y

Here is a sampling of what was "in" during the decades when Johnny Mercer was most popular. t u o b A

t 30 s 40s 50 s Stars Thirties Forties Fifties 16 h Shirley Temple Bing Crosby Jimmy Stewart

g Clark Gable Betty Grable Marilyn Monroe Fred Astaire and Humphrey Bogart John Wayne u Ginger Rogers o All wet: wrong Amscray!: leave! Bash: a good party h Slang Clam: a dollar Canary: a female Bread: money Drip: boring or jazz singer Cool: very good T

Cat: annoying person a jazz musician Cool it: relax I Chatterbox: Hep: hip, in the a car Flick: a movie know radio Hang out: lay Crab patch: Hepcat: a stylish per- a strict around son parent Kick: a fun thing Jeepers Creepers!: Cut a rug: to dance No sweat: no prob- Wow! or jitterbug lem A panic: exciting Dig: to understand Pile up Z’s: get some Ginger: A scream: hilarious energy, spirit sleep Jive: Sore: angry nonsense Sides: vinyl records Swell: great Pepper shaker: a good dancer

All wet • A panic • Sore Swell • Chatterbox • Cut a rug • Ginger • Pepper shaker • Bash • Bread • Cool it • Hang out • No sweat 30 s 40 s 50 s

Fads and Games Backgammon, Sorry, Roller rinks, slumber Flying saucer watch- the Jitterbug, parties, the lindy hop, ing, stamp collecting, Monopoly, bingo, soda shops, pep ral- Silly Putty, Scrabble, dance marathons, lies, pizza Hula Hoops, roller skating. The Hawaiian shirts word “teenager” is invented. S M E 1 1 Fill in your own chart: who are the stars you 3 G A 1 admire? What slang do you and your friends 2 use? What games and fads are popular? Draw or paste in pictures. Try This Time Capsule Stars Imagine you an d your class wer capsu e going to create le for this year. a time 17

Pic k ten items that surround you th know it t at represent life oday. Were thes as you e items around o twenty or even r available ten, thirty years ago? Slang You’ll be surpris ed how many th develo ings were create ped not much m d and ore before you w after! ere born, if not

Fads and Games Compare today’s slang with the slang of the past. Are there words you still use today?

What fads and games from the past are still around? What do you think makes some things last?

ger • Pepper shaker • Bash • Bread • Cool it • Hang out • No sweat 8888

e Mercer Today

n Johnny's songs “Too Marvelous for Words” and “Hit the Road to Dreamland” both had something i called a patter section. In a patter section, the singer would riff on the lyrics of the song the way a

h rap artist does today. Check out these “raps.” S

Too Marvelous Too Marvelous RAP e for Words (1937) for Words Music by Richard A. Whiting

m I search for phrases, Adorable and amorous and glorious and glamorous To sing your praises, Are insufficient when applied to you/

o But there aren't any magic adjectives To be euphemistical To be eulogistical To tell you all you are. I 'riginate a million words that no one ever knew/ I-try-to-be logical and sensible but I'm incomprehensible

C You're just too marvelous, Whenever I begin to find a phrase/ Too marvelous for words, For they never say enough and they never tell enough Like glorious, glamorous

r I've all -- ready told you no vocabulary's swell enough 18 And that old standby, amorous, What'll-I-do to say// the things I have in mind?/ 18

o It's really absurd// there isn't a word to fit you/

It's all too wonderful, No matter where I look// I always seem to find/ I'll never find the words, Delectable, delicious, magnificently mysterious

n That say enough, You're simply too spectacular to be in my vernacular i Tell enough, And so you see I'm forced to-go-to-the-birds/ I mean, they just aren't swell enough, The reason must be quite apparent that you are just too/ a You're much too much, Absolutely wonderful and marvelous for words! And just too very very! To ever be in Webster's Dictionary, R

And so I'm borrowing A love song from the birds,

e You can hear Johnny Mercer To tell you that you're marvelous, Too marvelous for words. songs almost everywhere you turn these days. m

o Johnny’s songs Mercer songs have also been used have been heard in TV shows such as:

C in the movies: ER, The Sopranos, The X-Files, JAG, Ed, Third Watch, Gilmore Girls, Saturday Pearl Harbor, What Women Night Live, As The World Turns, and The Want, You've Got Mail, Devil's Young and the Restless Advocate, For the Love of the Game, Michael, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil 8888

Hit the Road to Hit the Road to AP Dreamland (1942) Dreamland R Music by Harold Arlen Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle goes the star, King Solomon once in his wisdom said, Twinkle, twinkle, twinkle, there you are. “There’s nothin’ quite like a good feather bed” Time for all good children to hit the hay. That may not be just the written word, Cock-a-doodle, doodle, doodle, brother, So don’t quote me cause I only heard, It's another day, And then — I coulda misunderstood, We should be on our way! But if he didn't say that, then he certainly should. Cause in this world with its killin’ pace, Bye bye, baby A man's got to find a good restin’ place. Time to hit the road to dreamland, It's early to bed, early to rise — You're my baby Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Dig you in the land of Nod. YES, YES, GOOD CHILDREN Hold tight, baby, TIME TO HIT THE ROAD We'll be swinging up in dreamland, 8 All night, baby, With everything connected and mechanized. 19 Where the little cherubs trod. If you do get nervous I ain't surprised, Look at that knocked-out moon, But listen, good people, you can't cure ills — Been a-blowin' his top in the blue, With capsules, tablets, and vitamin pills. Never saw the likes of you; And the only thing to rest your head, (What an angel) Is a good nights sleep in a quilted bed, So just resolve to be good and firm, Bye, bye, baby, Cause the early bird is gonna catch the worm. Time to hit the road to dreamland, YES, YES, GOOD CHILDREN, Don't cry, baby, TIME TO HIT THE ROAD! It was divine But the rooster has finally crowed, Time to hit the road.

Johnny in a Co Try Th recording session. mmercial Br is Pick one eak of your favorite song s. As you listen to t think of a produc he lyrics, try to t (a favorite game, fo that od or piece of cloth the lyrics of the song ing) could also describe. For exam ple, Johnny Mercer ’s song, “Spring, Spr about the season ing, Spring” is , but the word ‘sprin jum g’ could remind you ping. The song coul of d be used in a TV co your favorite mmercial about brand of sneakers. Using that idea, write a commercial w or y ith members of you our friends at home. r class 7777 g

n Nature Lyrics i Johnny Mercer was described as an “outdoor writer” because many of his lyrics use images from

r nature (places, plants, animals, etc.). He used these images to describe a particular mood or feeling in each song. Here are samples from lyrics Johnny Mercer wrote using three of the seasons: p

S from from Spring, Spring, Spring Early Autumn , music by Gene de Paul music by Ralph Burns and Woody Herman g Oh, the barnyard is busy When an early autumn walks the land

n In a regular tizzy, And chills the breeze And the obvious reason And touches with her hand r Is because of the season. The summer trees,

p Ma Nature’s lyrical Perhaps you’ll understand With her yearly miracle, What memories I own. S Spring, Spring, Spring!

, There’s a dance pavilion in the rain 20 All the henfolk are hatchin’ All shuttered down, g While their menfolk are scratchin’ A winding country lane all russet brown,

n To insure the survival A frosty window pane shows me a town

i Of each brand new arrival. grown lonely Each nest is twittering, r They’re all baby sittering,

p Spring, Spring, Spring! S

from Summer Wind music by Henry Mayer

The summer wind came blowing in across Two sweethearts and the summer wind. the sea, Like painted kites the days and nights went It lingered there to touch your hair and walk flying by. with me. The world was new beneath a blue umbrella All summer long we sang a song and strolled sky. the golden sand. Then, softer than a piper man One day it called to you. 7777 A Lyrical Miracle Why do so many song lyrics rhyme? Rhymes make lyrics easier to understand and remember Johnny Mercer paints “word pictures”: when you hear them. Rhymes also give words a a blue umbrella sky, a dance pavilion in the rain all shuttered musical quality. Try reading "Spring, Spring, down. Spring!" out loud. Even if you don’t know the melody of the song, you can hear how the words He also uses words that sound like the have a "tune" of their own. subject: busy, tizzy, twittering, baby-sittering all have the sound of spring’s energy and life. There are single rhymes (sea/me, sky/by), double rhymes (busy/tizzy, reason/season) "All summer long we sang a song and strolled the golden and triple rhymes (lyrical/miracle). sand" – all the "s" sounds make the sound of the summer wind. Rhyming words don’t need to be spelled alike: true/do/new. Can you add more rhymes to He even turns a season into a person – this list that spell the "oo" sound in a different autumn “walks the land” and “touches the trees.” way? 21 Try T Outdoo his Some words that are spelled alike don’t rhyme: r Lyrics Bough/enough, pant/want. Can you think Ima gine Johnny Me rcer sitting outsi of other examples? roundings de, listening to as he wrote lyri his sur- cs about the seas the same thing. ons. You can do Sit outside for 3 minutes withou t saying a word. Now, write down all t he things you se hear? What e. What do you do you smell? H ow do you feel? Now try writing a ly ric using all of t described he things you in your three mi nute experience. If you’re feeling brave, try singi you ng a melody wi just wrote. Don th the words ’t think about th comes natu e notes, just wh rally to you. Yo at h u may have jus it song! t written a smash d Character Lyrics n Some of Johnny Mercer’s lyrics describe a

a from particular character – a “photograph Lazy Bones Music by Hoagy Carmichael

h in words”: Long as there is chicken gravy on your rice, w from I’m An Old Cowhand Ev’rything is nice.

o (From the Rio Grande)” Long as there’s watermelon on the vine, Music by Johnny Mercer Ev’rything is fine. You got no time to work C I’m an old cowhand You got no time to play

From the Rio Grande Busy doin’ nothin’ all the live long day But my legs ain’t bowed d You won’t ever change no matter what I say,

l And my cheeks ain’t tanned You’re just made that way I’m a cowboy who never saw a cow 22 Never roped a steer ‘cause I don’t know how, And I sho’ ain’t fixin’ to start in now. O Yippy I O Ki Ay.

Yippy I O Ki Ay. n

a from

Laura Music by David Raksin

m Laura is the face in the misty light ’ Footsteps that you hear down the hall I The laugh that floats on a summer night That you can never quite recall Try Th C is haracter Lyrics Write a ly ric about your fa vorite character show or movie. from a book, TV

First step: Make th ree words lists: • Adjecti ves that describe • the character. Nouns that are c onnected with h pieces im or her (objec of clothing, etc.) ts, places, • Verbs tha t describe what 1 he or she likes to do Second step: Make a l ist of words that he or she uses a she have a favo ll the time. Do 23 rite saying or ph es he or or sh rase? Try to ca e speaks. pture the way he

Third step: Writ e your lyric. Som 2 e possible ideas • a lyric th to start with are: at is in the perso n’s own words, Cowhand.” H like “I’m An Old ow does he or sh • a lyric e describe him/h that describes th erself? e person using a hear down th list (“footsteps y e hall”/”laugh th ou • a lyr at floats on a sum ic that gives that mer night”) person advice, l ike “Lazybones.” 3 xxxx

And the Academy Award

u Mercer Facts Goes to...

o Johnny was nominated for the Oscar® eighteen times, and won four times Johnny Mercer wrote more than 1,500 songs. If you listened to a Y Jeepers, Creepers, 1938

different Johnny Mercer song every I’d Know You Anywhere, 1940 day, it would take you more than o Love Of My Life, 1940 four years to listen to them all. t Blues In The Night, 1941

Dearly Beloved, 1943

n In the 1940s, he My Shining Hour, 1943 had his own radio That Old Black Magic, 1943 o Johnny Johnny Mercer show, Accentuate the Positive, 1946 s Mercer's Music liked to paint with *On The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, 1946

s Shop watercolors to *In The Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening, 1951 24 e relax. Something’s Gotta Give, 1955 The Facts of Life, 1960 L

Johnny Mercer never *Moon River, 1961 learned to read music, *Days of Wine and Roses, 1962 a and played the piano Charade, 1963

with one finger. The Sweetheart Tree, 1965

a Whistling Away The Dark, 1970

Life Is What You Make It, 1971 e

B When he first

Mercer liked to tell the story moved to New t that when his kids were York, Johnny worked as a

a young, Ginger would tell messenger on them to be quiet because

h Wall Street. “Daddy's working” -- and he would be lying down on T

the couch , with his eyes shut

t and a legal pad on his chest. e Mercer at work. L xxxx

20 of Johnny’s Biggest Hits... Try T Accentuate the Positive Say his Blues in the Night “Ah” Come Rain or Come Shine The doctor te lls you to say “ah Days of Wine and Roses look ” when he or sh down your thro e wants to Dream at because the “ throat ope ah” vowel make n wide. Look in s your Fools Rush In i a mirror and m ng sounds: ah ake the follow- Goody Goody ee oh oo Hooray for Hollywood Notice how your mouth In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening is open wider w and “oh” than hen you say “ah when you say “e ” Jeepers Creepers time e” or “oo.” Mo , “open” vowels st of the Laura are easier to sing Lyricists tr than “closed” v y to use as many owels. Moon River c open vowels as an be hard to do they can. This My Shining Hour , because a lot o “me” an f songs use the w d “you” – and “e ords On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe e” and “oo” are “closed” vowels. One For My Baby (And One More For the Road) 25 Satin Doll Skylark Something's Gotta Give Johnny Mercer on What It’s Like to That Old Black Magic Write Lyrics Too Marvelous For Words What is a Hit? “There’s something funny about songs – it’s like you’re going out looking for something that you’ve never heard of. You don’t A GOLD RECORD is one that sells know where it is, it’s just up there somewhere and you 500,000 copies. If it sells a million can tune in on it. You get a little glimmer – it’s like you’re tun- copies, it is PLATINUM. (Platinum is a ing in to a musical instrument that’s miles away, and you say, oh, silvery precious metal used in jewelry.) there’s something there, if I just dig hard enough, I know it’ll come.”

“Usually a title or simple idea comes first, and then the rest Capitol Records was of the words just seem to fall into place.” Johnny Mercer liked founded during World to write in the War II, and shellac (the “It's all as easy as chopping up ten cords of wood per day!” morning, after a material that records good night's were made out of) was sleep scarce. So, the company recycled scrap records. 1. 2.

5. 6. 7.

9. 10.

11.

12. 13.

15. 26 14. 16. 17.

18.

19. 20.

21. 22.

23. 24.

25. 26.

27.

28.

29.

30. Cross Lyric Puzzle Now that you've had a chance to read through and participate in all of the exercises in the book, review all of your glossary term bubbles and try to complete the puzzle! Have fun! ACROSS 1. An early style of jazz music, well known in the 1920s 3. When one word sounds the same as another because they share the same vowel sound 4. A building where you go to see great performances like plays, musicals and dance 8. Words that sound like the object they describe (ie, fizz, whirr, buzz) 9. Honesty. When you do the right thing you have ______. 10. Thirties slang for “exciting.” Any “young mechanic can be a ______.” 12. Someone who writes the words to a song 13. Johnny Mercer's middle name 14. Another word for stanza, or the part of a song that comes before the chorus 15. ______for Hollywood (backwards) 18. Johnny Mercer worked with many different ______(plural, people who write music) 19. The nickname for Johnny Mercer's daughter. “______Is Two.” 27 22. Section of a lyric or poem, usually 4 to 8 lines long 23. “Just watch the smoke rings rise in the _____” (from “Dream”) 24. Mercer collaborator ______Whiting 27. A variety show 28. “A blossom covered ______” (from “Skylark”) (backwards) 29. The main or early part. “The ______o' the night” (backwards) 30. Mrs. Mercer DOWN 1. A rhythmic pattern (backwards) 2. “It’s a ______Big World” 5. The famous lyricist and composer who this book is about 6. Where 5 Down was born 7. Record company founded in 1942 11. A repeated section of a song 16. The nickname for the Academy Award 17. To work with someone else is to ______20. Thirties star ______Temple (backwards) 21 Composer Harry ______25. Composer Harold ______26 Donald ______Little Johnny Mercer s Dream when you’re feelin’ blue,

c Dream, that's the thing to do.

i You Must Have Just watch the smoke rings rise in the air,

r Been a Beautiful (1938) You'll find your share Baby Of memories there. y Music by Harry Warren

So dream when the day is thru, L Does your mother realize,

Dream and they might come true, The stork delivered quite a prize, The day he left you on the fam’ly tree, r Things never are as bad as they seem, So dream, dream, dream. e Does your dad appreciate That you are merely super great, c The miracle of any century,

r That Old Black If they don't, just send them both to me. e Magic (1942) You must have been a beautiful baby, Music by Harold Arlen You must have been a wonderful child, 28 That old black magic has me in its spell.

M When you were only startin’ That old black magic that you weave so well.

To go to kindergarten, Those icy fingers up and down my spine.

e I bet you drove the little boys wild. The same old witchcraft when your eyes meet mine.

r The same old tingle that I feel inside And when it came to winning blue ribbons, And then that elevator starts its ride You must have shown the other kids how. o And down and down I go, I can see the judges’ eyes ‘Round and ‘round I go As they handed you the prize, Like a leaf that's caught in the tide. I bet you made the cutest bow.

M I should stay away, Oh! You must have been a beautiful baby, But what can I do? ‘Cause baby, look at you now. I hear your name And I'm aflame, Aflame with such a burning desire That only your kiss Dream (1944) Can put out the fire. Music by Johnny Mercer For you're the lover I have waited for, Get in touch with that sundown fellow, The mate that fate had me created for, As he tiptoes across the sand. And ev'ry time your lips meet mine He's got a million kinds of stardust, Darling, down and down I go, Pick your fav'rite brand, and: ‘Round and ‘round I go In a spin, Loving the spin I'm in xUnder that old black magic called love! I remember too a distant bell And stars that fell like rain, I'm Old Fashioned (1942) Out of the blue. Music by Jerome Kern When my life is through I am not such a clever one And the angels ask me to recall About the latest fads. The thrill of them all, I admit I was never one Then I shall tell them Adored by local lads; I remember you. Not that I ever try to be a saint, I'm the type that they classify as quaint.

I'm old fashioned, I love the moonlight, Fools Rush In (1940) Music by Rube Bloom I love the old fashioned things — The sound of rain Upon a window pane, "Romance is a game for fools," The starry song that April sings. I used to say. This year's fancies A game I thought I'd never play. Are passing fancies, "Romance is a game for fools," 29 But sighing sighs, holding hands I said and grinned; These my heart understands. Then you passed by, And here am I x I'm old fashioned, But I don't mind it, Throwing caution to the wind. That's how I want to be, As long as you agree Fools rush in To stay old fashioned with me. Where angels fear to tread, And so I come to you, my love, My heart above my head. Though I see I Remember You (1942) The danger there, Music by Victor Schertzinger If there's a chance for me, Then I don't care. Was it in Tahiti? Fools rush in Were we on the Nile? Where wise men never go, Long, long ago, say an hour or so, But wise men never fall in love I recall that I saw your smile. So how are they to know? When we met I remember you. I felt my life begin; You're the one who made my dream come true So open up your heart, A few kisses ago. And let this fool rush in. I remember you You're the one who said: "I love you, too." I do. Didn't you know? Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive Words by Johnny Mercer Music by Harold Arlen

m b 3 m6 b F D F D 3 3 ˇ & bc ˇ ˇ bˇ ˇ œ ˇ ˇnˇ ˇ œ ˇ ˇ ˇ

Gath-er 'round me, ev - 'ry - bod - y, Gath- er

m7 m6 3 b m 7 b 3 F F D F 3 C B ˇ & bbˇ ˇ œ ˇ ˇ nˇ ˇ œ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ œ ˇbˇ nˇ

3 round me while I preach some Feel a ser - mon com - in'

Ebm C 7 F G m7 Bb9 C 9 3 & bˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ œ. ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ 6 on me. The top - ic will be sin and that's what I'm "a - gin" If you 30 31 FDm 3 F m7 7 Bb7 ˇ j & b ˇ ˇ œ ˇ ˇ nˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ. ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ bˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ

9 wan - na hear my sto - ry Then set - tle back and just sit tight

C 7 Bbm Bb+Cm G m7 C 7 & bœˇ. nˇ ˇˇnˇ bˇ j ˇ ˇ #ˇ ˇ C J ˇ bˇ nˇ ˇ ˇ 12 While I start re - view - in' the at - ti - tude of do - in'

F G m7 F G m7 FF+ & bC ˛ • ˇ ˛ ˇ ˛ w œ. ˇ ˇ ˇ 15 right. You've got to Ac - cent - b b b Dm F 7 B B m D 11 G +(b9) C 9 FF+ b ˇ ˇ ˇ ˛ ˛ bˇ nˇ ˛ ˇ ˛ & ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ 20 tchu- ate the pos - i - tive, e - lim my - nate the neg - a - tive Latch on Dm F 7 G m7 F FF+ j j & bˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˛ ˇ ˛ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ œˇˇ ˇ ˇ 24 to the af-firm - a tive, Don't mess with Mis - ter In - be - tween. You've got to spread joy b b b Dm F 7 B B m D 11 G +(b9) C 9 FF+ b ˇ ˇ ˇ ˛ ˛ bˇ nˇ ˛ ˇ ˛ & ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ 28 up to the max - i - mum, bring gloom down to the min - i - mum Have faith Dm F 7 G m7 F FC+ j bˇ ˇ ˇ j ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˛ˇ ˇ ˇ & ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ œˇ 32 or pan- de - mo - ni - um li' - ble to walk up - on the scene. To il-lus - trate my last re - F 9 F 7 Bb C 9 F FF9 b ˛ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ & ˇ bˇ ˇ œ nˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ œˇ œ J 36 mark Jo - nah in the whale, No-ah in the Ark, what did they do just when 31 b 31 D +(b9) G 9 C 7 F 9 D 11 C 9 FF+ bˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ j ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ & b ˇ w ˇ J ˇ ˛ ˇ ˛ 40 ev - 'ry thing looked so dark? "Man," they said, "We bet - ter Ac - cent - b b b Dm F 7 B B m D 11 G +(b9) C 9 FF+ & b ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˛ ˇ ˛ ˇ ˇ bˇ nˇ ˛ ˇ ˛ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ 44 tchu -ate the pos - i - tive, E - lim - my - nate the neg - a - tive, Latch on Dm F 7 G m7 FD+(b9) b ˇ ˇ ˇ j j ˇ bœ & ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ œ 48 to the af - firm - a - tive, Don't mess with Mis - ter In - be - tween!" No! G m7 C 9 F b ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˛ & J J ˇ ˇ ˇ œ ˇ 51 Don't mess with Mis - ter In - be - tween. Books: Two of a Kind, Bobby Darin and The Harvey Girls starring Judy Garland Bach, Bob and Ginger Mercer, eds. Johnny Mercer – Atlantic, 1990 (origi- and directed by George Sidney II, Our Huckleberry Friend: The Life, nal release date 1961.) 1946. Released by Warner Home s Times, and Lyrics of Johnny Mercer. Video. (Not rated)

e Lyle Stuart, 1982. Capitol Collectors Series: Johnny Mercer – Capitol, 1989. Rhythm on the Range starring Bing

c Furia, Philip. The Poets of Tin Pan Crosby and directed by Norman Alley. Oxford University Press, 1990. Videos Featuring the Music Taurog, 1936. Released by Universal r of Johnny Mercer: Studios. (Not rated) Gavin, James. Intimate Nights: The Pearl Harbor starring Ben Affleck and u Golden Age of New York Cabaret. Grove directed by Michael Bay, 2001. Weidenfeld, 1991. Released by Walt Disney Home Video. Web Sites: o (Rated R) www.johnnymercerfoundation.org

s Gordon, Lois and Alan Gordon. The The official site to learn more about the Columbia Chronicles of American Life, What Women Want starring Mel Gibson life and work of Johnny Mercer e 1910-1992. Columbia University and Helen Hunt and directed by Press, 1995. Nancy Meyers, 2000. Released by www.johnnymercer.com Paramount Studio. (Rated PG-13) An educational archive site for Johnny Mercer R Lewine, Richard and Alfred Simon. Songs of the American Theater. Dodd, For Love of the Game starring Kevin Mead and Company, 1973. Costner and directed by Sam Raimi, www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/music 1999. Released by Universal Studios. The site for the Johnny Mercer Mancini, Henry with Gene Lees. Did (Rated PG-13) Collection, Special Collections They Mention The Music? Department at the Pullen Library at 32 Contemporary Books, Inc., 1989 You’ve Got Mail starring Tom Hanks Georgia State University and Meg Ryan and directed by Nora Mercer, Johnny with Carol Cuellar, edi- Ephron, 1998. Released by Warner www.amazon.com tor. Too Marvelous for Words: The Magic Studios. (Rated PG) To purchase any of the merchandise of Johnny Mercer. Warner Bros., 1999. listed Devil’s Advocate starring Al Pacino and Thomas, Tony. Harry Warren and the directed by Taylor Hackford, 1997. Hollywood Musical. Citadel Press, 1975. Released by Warner Studios. (Rated R) Answers to the crossword on page 26 Music Featuring Johnny Midnight in the Garden of Good and

1. 2. Mercer: Evil starring John Cusack and Kevin RAGTIME 3. RHYME R Midnight in the Garden of Good and Spacey and directed by Clint 4. THEATER 5. 6. 7. Evil: Music from and Inspired by The Eastwood, 1997. Released by Warner J E A S C 8. Motion Picture, Various Artists – Studios. (Rated R) ONOMATOPOEIA A P H V Warner Brothers, 1997. 9. 10. INTEGRITY P ANIC 11. Michael starring John Travolta and N C N T 12. 13. Ella Fitzgerald Sings Johnny Mercer – directed by Nora Ephron, 1996. LYRICIST HERNDON L M O A Polygram Records, 1997 (original Released by Tuner Home Video. 14. 15. 16. VERSE Y AROOH (Rated PG) 17. release date 1964.) R C U S 18. COMPOSERS C 19. 20. The Days of Wine and Roses starring E L MANDY Blues in the Night: The Johnny Mercer E R L R 21. 22. L Songbook, Various Artists – Polygram Jack Lemmon and directed by Blake W STANZA 23. 24. Records, 1997. Edwards, 1962. Released by Warner AIR B RICHARD 25. 26. Studios. (Not rated) R A O D I 27. H R R REVUE 28. S Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Various ENAL A C 29. Artists - Rhino Records, 1996. N E T KNAHS 30. GINGER LyricNOTES™ AN ACTIVITY GUIDE FOR KIDS

A Camp Broadway LLC Publication

Editor: Jodi Simon Stewart Associate Editor: Lesley Mazzotta, Roseanne Saraceno Art Director: Joseph M. Pisarchick

Contributors:

Robert Hartmann: composer/lyricist and Assistant Professor, New York University Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program

Eden White: composer/lyricist/Master’s candidate in Music, Education and Marketing at New York University

Nancy Valentino: editor specializing in theater, film and fashion

Printed by: Royal Fireworks Press, Unionville, NY

Special Thanks: The Johnny Mercer Collection Pullen Library - Special Collections Department Georgia State University 100 Decatur Street, SE Atlanta, Georgia 30303-3202 http://www.library.gsu.edu/spcoll/

Photo Credits Page 3: Johnny with Margaret Whiting – courtesy of Margaret Whiting Page 4: Johnny at 8 years old - family photograph Johnny at Woodberry Forest School, VA – Woodberry Forest yearbook Page 5: Johnny and Ginger on their honeymoon – G. Dobkin Studio, Atlantic City, NJ Family photo – Hebe Stackpole, 1948 Johnny with Paul Whiteman – NBC Studios Page 6: Johnny with Evelyn Poe – Radio Pictures, publicity still from RKO production Johnny with Buddy Desylva – Gene Lester, Capitol Records Page 8: Johnny with Harold Arlen – no information Page 9: Johnny with Hoagy Carmichael – no information Page 10: Johnny with Henry Mancini and Debbie Reynolds – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Page 11: Johnny with record – Capitol Records Harry Warren and Al Dubin – no information Page 19: Johnny in recording session – Charlie Mihn Page 24: Johnny at work – Robert S. Hanah Page 27: Johnny with pencil – Capitol Records Page 28: Little Johnny Mercer – family photograph Front Cover: Individual photos credited above www.johnnymercerfoundation.org