Savannah's Own Johnny Mercer
Lyricist, singer, songwriter, and record producer are among the titles used to describe Johnny Mercer’s career. Born in 1909, Mercer grew up here in Savannah, Georgia, where he spent his early years in life. He was born to George Anderson Mercer, an attorney and real estate professional, and Lillian Elixabeth, who worked as Geoge’s secretary. One of Savannah’s historic landmarks, the Mercer Williams House Museum was constructed for General Hugh Mercer, who George and Johnny are direct descendents of.
His musical career dates back to his early childhood, with his family members reporting his penchant for song and music since he was months old. Mercer participated in church choirs as a pre-teen, and was heavily involved in the music scene. His attempts at learning musical instruments were unsuccessful despite his wishes to become a well rounded composer.
Mercer began attending the Woodbury School in Virginia when he was 17 years old. However, his father’s career took a turn for the worst and he was unable to fund Mercer’s continuing studies. At 19 years old, Mercer moved to New York to pursue a career in acting, but quickly discovered that this was not his specialty.
While getting few and far in between acting gigs, he wrote the lyrics to a song that was sung in Broadway’s “The Garrick Gaieties of 1930." This earned him popularity, and by 1932, he got a job singing for the Paul Whiteman Band. Their hit song “Lazybones” in 1933 earned him critical acclaim, and began his extensive career as a songwriter and lyricist. His love of jazz music and the blues aligned perfectly with the rising popularity of these genres in the city.
Upon relocating to Hollywood in 1933, he began to write lyrics for songs to be used in movies. His singing career continued and flourished, and he went on to record with prominent artists like Jack Teagarden and Bing Crosby. Mercer was known for his charm, and pleasant character throughout his life, but being acquainted with this newfound crowd changed that. In Hollywood, he was known for causing outbursts while heavily drinking, something he did not previously engage in.
As his career progressed, he founded multiple recording studios, including Capitol Records in Hollywood, California and Cowboy Records in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His recording studios saw some of today’s most renowned artists, like Nat King Cole, and he himself recorded some of his own tunes. Mercer won a multitude of awards throughout the years for his lyrics on songs like “Moon River” (1961) and the title song for the film “Days of Wine and Roses”.
Johnny Mercer wrote songs throughout four decades, before learning of an inoperable brain tumor that had been giving him headaches for quite some time. Knowing of his imminent death, he had planned to have his friend Sammy Cahn take over this ongoing projects at the time. On June 25, 1976, Johnny Mercer passed away in Los Angeles, California. Mercer’s legacy has since been honored with high-esteemed awards being attributed in his name, and posthumous award nominations for his work. A bronze statue of the man of many talents stands in Savannah’s Ellis Square.
The Johnny Mercer Memorial Bench is located in the southeast corner of Johnson Square in Savannah.
