Johnny Mercer
Johnny Mercer set a standard for writing lyrics for popular songs that will never be equalled. His output was enormous
He was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1909 and moved to New York in 1928. He became
a writer for the stage in 1930 with his first score for the "Garrick Gaieties of 1930" and was then vocalist
with the Paul Whiteman band. His acting-singing background made him a natural in movie
musicals of the time such as "Old man Rhythm" and "To Beat The Band". In radio he was a winner with
Benny Goodman, then with Bob Crosby and then his own shows including "Johnny Mercer's Music Shop" in the mid
forties. It was at this time he co-founded Capitol Records in Hollywood. And always there were the songs - "Lazybones",
"I'm An Old Cowhand", "Goody Goody", "Hooray For Hollywood", "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby", "Fools Rush In",
"Blues In The Night". "Tangerine", "That Old Black Magic", "Laura".
By the 60s Mercer concentrated on movie music such as "Moon River", "Charade", and "Days of Wine and Roses".
By 1946 Johnny Mercer had been a vocalist for eight years. The previous year had been his most successful
giving him two number one hits - "Candy" with The Pied Pipers and Jo Stafford on Capitol, and "On
The Atchison, Topeka, and The Santa Fe" on Capitol. The year 1946 began with Johnny Mercer producing his
third number one hit in a row for his own label "Personality" (from the Crosby-Hope film "Road To Utopia") on.
In 1946 he returned to the hit parade with "My Sugar Is So
Refined" and "Ugly Chile (You're Some Pretty Doll)" which both charted on. By the end of the year Mercer had a
huge two sided hit with movie tunes. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" from Disney's "Song of the South" and "A Gal In Calico" from
"The Time, The Place,And The Girl" both were top ten hits. During the winter "Winter
Wonderland" got into the top five.
In 1947, he started out with another top ten hit record for Capitol called "Huggin' And
A-Chalkin'". In 1949 a duet with Margaret Whiting with "Baby, It's Cold Outside" from the film "Neptunes Daughter"
was a huge national hit on. A recording made of "Glow Worm" with new lyrics by Mercer, was his last chart appearance.
A great treasure trove of music and lyrics that will live on forever, and his vocalising was a great
addition to his life's work. He also made a difference in the recording industry by his part in the formation of a
record company, Capitol Records which has been a major player in the presentation of the music of our time
from Nat Cole, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, and Beach Boys. All segments of music owe a debt of
gratitude to Johnny Mercer.
David Raksin
David Raksin, whose theme for the 1944 film noir Laura became one of the most recorded songs of all time, died
on Monday, August 9, 2004 in Los Angeles, CA.
He was born on August 4, 1912 in Philadelphia and following graduation from college, he moved to New York, where he
worked in radio and on Broadway and arranged music for various record companies.
In 1935 he went to Hollywood to work with Charlie Chaplin on his film Modern Times.
Raksin first worked for Universal Studios and then Columbia Pictures before landing a job at
Twentieth Century Fox.
He received his break when he was offered the opportunity to score for the film Laura.
For the film he wrote a haunting melody which plays repeatedly on the film's soundtrack.
The film was a hit and Johnny Mercer was enlisted to write lyrics for the main theme. The resulting song "Laura" would
went on to hit the top spot on the Hit Parade. The song "Laura" was recorded over 400 times, with only Hoagy
Charmichael's "Stardust" being recorded more.
He received two Academy Award nominations for "Forever Amber" and for "Separate Tables", and also wrote
scores for films "The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty", "Pat And Mike" and "Suddenly".
Raksin also worked in television supplying the themes for Wagon Train, Ben Casey and Medical Center. He served eight
terms as the president of the Composers and Lyricists Guild of America from 1962 to 1970.
Laura
Words & music by:-
Johnny Mercer & David Raksin
Laura is the face in the misty lights.
Footsteps that you hear down the hall.
The love that floats on a summer night,
That you can never quite recall.
And you see Laura on a train that is passing through.
Those eyes how familiar they seem
She gave your very first kiss to you,
That was Laura but she's only a dream.