1909–1976 · American Lyricist & Composer
Mercer wrote with the wit and ear of a poet who had grown up listening to the blues, country music, and Broadway — and it shows in every syllable. His lyrics crackle with vernacular American life: slangy, warm, funny, and heartbreaking in equal measure.
Johnny Mercer was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1909 and carried that Southern storytelling sensibility into every lyric he ever wrote. He came up through Tin Pan Alley writing words for composers as different as Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Mancini, and Jerome Kern — absorbing each collaborator's musical language while stamping his own unmistakable voice on the result. In 1942, together with Buddy DeSylva and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Records, shaping American popular music for decades. By the time of his death in 1976, he had written over 1,500 songs and won four Academy Awards.
This workshop gathers eight of Mercer's most singer-friendly songs, spanning swinging up-tempo numbers, gorgeous ballads, and late-night confessionals. Singers will find range across tempos and moods — from wry humor to genuine ache — all bound together by Mercer's gift for words that feel as natural as conversation and as precise as poetry.
Mercer was also an accomplished singer himself, and that performer's instinct lives in his lyrics: the syllables land on the beat the way a drummer would want them to, the vowels open up on the high notes, and the phrases breathe. Singing Mercer is one of the best educations a jazz vocalist can give themselves.
Each song includes lead sheet and lyric sheet in both a men's and women's key, plus a practice backing track. In addition, there are YouTube links to a variety of artist renditions to inspire you.