Johnny Mercer
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallichs. He is best known as a Tin Pan Alley lyricist, but he also composed music, and was a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as songs written by others from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. Mercer's songs were among the most successful hits of the time, including "Moon River", "Days of Wine and Roses", "Autumn Leaves", and "Hooray for Hollywood". He wrote the lyrics to more than 1,500 songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Oscar nominations, and won four Best Original Song Oscars. |
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 226-250 of 291 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | D5VB-0337 | 10-in. | 5/26/1945 | In the valley (where the evenin' sun goes down) | Stuart Foster ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D5VB-0730 | 10-in. | 4/13/1945 | Out of this world | Stuart Foster ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D5VB-0824 | 10-in. | 11/5/1945 | Laura | Dick Leibert | Organ with harp | lyricist | |
Victor | D5VB-1016 | 10-in. | 1/19/1945 | Dream | Freddy Martin Orchestra ; Artie Wayne | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | D5VB-1026 | 10-in. | 3/6/1945 | Laura | Freddy Martin Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D5VB-1028 | 10-in. | 3/6/1945 | On the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe | Buddy Cole Orchestra ; Four King Sisters | Female vocal quartet, with jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D5VB-1127 | 10-in. | 9/10/1945 | That old black magic | City Slickers ; Carl Grayson ; Spike Jones | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | lyricist | |
Victor | D6VB-1366 | 10-in. | 3/21/1946 | You must have been a beautiful baby | Perry Como ; Russ Case Orchestra ; The Satisfiers | Male vocal solo, with vocal group and jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | PD6VB-1589 | 10-in. | 1/21/1946 | That old black magic | Jack Lowe ; Russ Case Orchestra ; Arthur Austin Whittemore | Piano duet with instrumental ensemble | lyricist | |
Victor | D6VB-1606 | 10-in. | 1/31/1946 | Come rain or come shine | Sy Oliver ; Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D6VB-2064 | 10-in. | 5/6/1946 | Laura | City Slickers ; Spike Jones ; Other Orchestra [Spike Jones] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo, sound effects, and comic interjections | lyricist | |
Victor | PD6VB-2540 | 10-in. | 7/29/1946 | Dream | Moon Maids ; Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with female vocal group and instrumental ensemble | composer | |
Victor | D6VB-2644 | 10-in. | 8/12/1946 | When a woman loves a man | Dardanelle Trio | Female vocal solo, with instrumental trio | lyricist | |
Victor | D6VB-3015 | 10-in. | 10/15/1946 | And so to bed | Vaughn Monroe's Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with female vocal ensemble, and jazz/dance band | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-0235 | 10-in. | 4/3/1947 | Fine thing | Charlie Spivak Orchestra ; Charlie Spivak | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-0258 | 10-in. | 4/14/1947 | You must have been a beautiful baby | Bob Smith | Male vocal solo, with piano, guitar, and bass | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-0488 | 10-in. | 3/24/1947 | Love's got me in a lazy mood | Page Cavanaugh Trio | Male vocal solo, with guitar, bass, and celeste | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-0500 | 10-in. | 4/18/1947 | Too marvelous for words | Tony Martin | Male vocal solo, with vocal chorus and instrumental ensemble | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-0575 | 10-in. | 6/29/1947 | Every so often | Delta Rhythm Boys ; Frank Comstock Orchestra | Male vocal quartet, with instrumental ensemble | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-1835 | 10-in. | 10/29/1947 | Forever Amber | Earle Hagen Orchestra ; Tony Martin | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | lyricist | |
Victor | D7VB-1843 | 10-in. | 11/7/1947 | My shining hour | Andre Previn | Piano solo, with guitar, string bass, and drums | lyricist | |
Victor | D8VB-3423 | 10-in. | 12/14/1948 | That old black magic | Buzz Adlam ; Masked Spooner | Recitation, with instrumental ensemble | author | |
Victor | D9VB-2786 | 10-in. | 12/16/1949 | The yodel blues | Rosalie Allen ; Elton Britt ; Skytoppers | Female-male vocal duet, with string band and yodeling | lyricist | |
Columbia | W149533 | 10-in. | 12/5/1929 | Welcome stranger | Leroy Williams | Cornet solo, with piano | composer | |
Columbia | [W]150793 | 10-in. | 9/12/1930 | Out of breath (And scared to death of you) | Bill Coty ; Hotel Pennsylvania Music [Lloyd Keating and his Music] | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Mercer, Johnny," accessed October 31, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103688.
Mercer, Johnny. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 31, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103688.
"Mercer, Johnny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 31 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Johnny Mercer
Discogs: Johnny Mercer
Allmusic: Johnny Mercer
Apple Music: Johnny Mercer
Grove: Johnny Mercer
IMDb: Johnny Mercer
Britannica: Johnny Mercer
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Mercer, Johnny, 1909-1976 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82078485
Wikidata: Johnny Mercer - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q363698
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/79167222
MusicBrainz: Johnny Mercer - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b342d50e-401c-4c77-b7e4-2b3e7beaf00a
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