#Johnny Mercer

[diana-andraste]

Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart in Dark Passage, 1947

Too Marvelous for Words

[citizenscreen]

Henry Mancini (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) with their Oscars for “Days of Wine and Roses” in 1963.

[guessimdumb]

Blossom Dearie - I'm Shadowing You (1973)

This song would be pretty creepy if it weren't Blossom Dearie singing.

There′ll be no escape, I'm getting out the tape and video too

[doyouknowthismusical]

[serpentinesheldonserpentine]

I live in a constant state of Pronoia.

Give it a try.

[ryanshaneowen]

'Dream' by Johnny Mercer, from my new album available on all platforms

[psyduckraidsagain]

Taken from a 2003 charity concert benefitting AIDS Service Organizations.

Well, this is it. I hope you're all as excited as I am about finally getting to hear Scarecrow sing.

[transfemgeorgecostanza]

Very in love with this cover of "It Had Better Be Tonight" by the song's original singer, Fran Jeffries (in 1963's The Pink Panther)

I love the little inclusion of the film's theme, and I think this arrangement for a smaller band works really well with the song, better than the initial arrangement. Unfortunately I couldn't pin down who arranged it, as the album credits list multiple arrangers (including Marc Shaiman, and Peter Matz, who at the very least seems to have conducted the entire record)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Song of the Day - “Come Rain or Come Shine”

Today is the birthday of this fantastic song.

On March 30th, 1946, the Broadway show “St. Louis Woman” opened.

The musical’s tunes were written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer and the gem of the bunch was “Come Rain or Come Shine”.

In the show, this song was delivered by Ruby Hill and Harold Nicholas, sung as a duet.

The musical didn’t do that great, but this song rose up and became one of the most popular and most-recorded jazz standards of the era…

My dad had a big swing jazz band, and for a while, the lead singer was Jane Barbe, who is legendary for also being the voice that told you what time it was …”… at the tone, the time will be…”

I would sit in on all of the rehearsals and any recording sessions in the studio, and I idolized Jane like mad… so I learned this song at age five and tried to belt it out in my room the way Jane could…

Of the hundreds of covers, I suppose, after Jane with my dad and his band, Billie Holiday would get my vote as best.

Ray Charles is pretty phenomenal with this song too.

I think Judy Garland would’ve owned this one but for having the most god-awful arrangement of it that anyone could ever devise - with really fast bongo drums…

Dinah Washington is right up there.

Just a gorgeous tune....

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM6RQxVmGEI]

[Thanks Mary Elaine LeBey]

[darkmovies]

The Jester (2023) Date de sortie : 07/11/2023 Réalisateur : Colin Krawchuk, Johnny Mercer Scénario :   Colin Krawchuk, Johnny Mercer Avec : Matt Servitto, Lelia Symington, Jesse L. Green Pays : États-Unis

[anotherfanofhers]

« Judy Garland, in effect, had become Johnny Mercer’s muse, as Maud Gonne had been for William Butler Yeats, and he loved the “pilgrim soul” in her with a passion that lifted—and plunged—him to new levels of lyrical rapture and anguish. Without her, his lyrics might be remembered today as clever, vernacular, jazzy evocations of the swing era. Because of his love affair with Judy Garland, and his timely collaboration with Harold Arlen, the lyrics of Johnny Mercer endure as timeless standards that register romantic agony as poignantly as any songs in the history of American popular music.

(…)

Mercer gave voice to his longing for Judy Garland in “Skylark,” celebrated her sensuality in “That Old Black Magic,” and stoically bemoaned her loss in “One for My Baby,” but it was to a simpler melody by Victor Schertzinger, “I Remember You,” that he wrote most openly about his love for her. “I wrote it for Judy Garland,” he told a Savannah friend. “I always had such a crush on Judy Garland I couldn’t think straight, so I wrote this song.”

I remember you,

You’re the one who made my dreams come true,

A few kisses ago. »

(Philip Furia, Skylark: the life and times of Johnny Mercer)

[citizenscreen]

Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer at the piano, 1940s.

[upontheshelfreviews]

A Country Song

Oh the world will sing of a treasonous king a thousand years from nowAnd not just ’cause he broke some laws or where or why or howWhile waiting for some peace after Barack Obama had gone,We all had to suffer under that good-for-nothin’ DonDespicable as he is inept, whenever the history books are kept,They’ll call him the Felon Prez of the US A pox on the Felon Prez of the US! Don’t tell us…

[odk-2]

Tony Bennett - I Wanna Be Around (1962) Johnny Mercer / Sadie Vimmerstedt from: "I Wanna Be Around" / "I Will Live My Life for You" (Single) "I Wanna Be Around..." (LP)

Traditional Pop | Jazz | Vocal Jazz

JukehostUK (left click = play) (320kbps)

Personnel: Tony Bennett: Vocals Ralph Sharon: Piano

Arranged and Conducted by Marty Manning Produced by Ernest Altschuler

Recorded: @ The CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City, New York USA on October 19, 1962

Single Released: November 16, 1962

Album Released: on February 18, 1963

Columbia Records

[singeratlarge]

SONG OF THE WEEK: “Ac​-​Cent​-​Tchu​-​Ate the Positive.” https://johnnyjblairsingeratlarge.bandcamp.com/track/ac-cent-tchu-ate-the-positive This song was written by the great American songwriters, Harold Arlen & Johnny Mercer in 1944. Mercer sang it in the style of a sermon. He described his inspiration for the lyrics: "[My] publicity agent went to hear a sermon by Father Divine, and his subject was 'you got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.’ …and I said 'Wow, that's a colorful phrase!'" The song has been covered many times in diverse styles, from country to jazz to punk. It reached me through the film soundtrack L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.

This track is from my collection of songs I play in assisted living homes. For some time I've been performing for people in various stages of dementia and disability. I've seen miraculous things happen while singing to people who are considered to be "disconnected"—suddenly they're singing, clapping, tapping, dancing...all because of these familiar tunes. There is proof-positive that music reaches into more areas of the brain than language, math, and other forms of communication. You can help me to continue this work. Your download my music helps to underwrite my expenses to keep doing musical service in these homes. Thanks for tuning in and stay positive!

#Positivity #JohnnyMercer #GreatAmericanSongbook #HaroldArlen #popmusic #standards #jazz #FatherDivine #LAConfidential #RussellCrowe #assistedlivinghome #carehomes #dementia #Alzheimers #disability #JohnnyJBlair #Singeratlarge