Mystery and music fight for space in my life, and music is gaining. I was fortunate enough to be sent an early copy (by Nicolas Latimer at Knopf, one of the best book publicists and enthusiasts in the business) of The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer.
And the icing on my cake was Johnny Mercer: The Dream’s on Me , co-produced by Clint Eastwood, written and directed by Bruce Ricker, and featuring interviews with Tony Bennett, Julie Andrews, Blake Edwards, John Williams and others, which ran on Turner Classic Movies last Friday, on what would have Mercer’s 100th birthday. (He died in 1976.)
His lyrics set the highest standards in the American songbook. Collaborating with Hoagy Carmichael, Harry Warren, Harold Arlen and Jerome Kern, among many others, he set unforgettable words to some of the most memorable melodies in popular music, including “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” “Fools Rush In,” “I Remember You,” “That Old Black Magic,” “Laura,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Midnight Sun,” “Satin Doll,” "Moon River" and “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road).”
Some may think that Eastwood produced this marvelous program for TCM to give his daughter Alison a chance to sing on camera. But she's actually very good, seems to understand the lyrics perfectly, and gives a moving, nuanced performance.
I've been singing Mercer songs ever since, looking up lyrics on the invaluable Lyricsmania site. The details of the Eastwood biog (and other Mercer music) are at TCM's site
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