Happy 100th Birthday, Johnny Mercer

One of the joys of being a wedding DJ is the opportunity to share with people the glorious musical repertoire known as the "Great American Songbook." Those are the classic, jazzy songs written in the 1920s through 1950s and made famous by singers like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Fred Astaire. They continue to charm audiences in new renditions by contemporary crooners like Michael Buble and Diana Krall and through their insertion in so many Hollywood romantic movies. This was in fact THE popular music in America in the pre-rock'n'roll era.

Today marks the 100th birthday of one of the greatest songwriters from those Tin Pan Alley days:  Johnny Mercer, born November 18, 1909 in Savannah, Georgia.  Best known as a lyricist, he was also a popular singer in his day, and he co-founded Capitol Records.

You can thank Johnny Mercer for such romantic favorites as "Satin Doll" (co-written with Duke Ellington), "Moon River" (co-written with Henry Mancini), "Come Rain or Come Shine" (co-written with Harold Arlen), and "Too Marvelous for Words" (co-written with Richard Whiting).

He also wrote such of the best "torch" songs -- sad ballads like "Blues In the Night," "One for My Baby (One More for the Road," and "Autumn Leaves," which I'm less likely to play at your wedding but which are beautiful, haunting tunes.

Overall, he wrote or co-wrote over 1,200 songs, hundreds of them hits or featured prominently in movies and Broadway shows. He must have died a very rich man, but I don't begrudge him his millions in song royalties --he enriched our lives forever, and his tunes continue to enrich wedding receptions to this day.

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