Johnny Mercer – Self-Titled

The House That George Built, Wilfrid Sheed’s remarkable new examination of America’s great pop composers, justifiably devotes an entire chapter to John Herndon Mercer, the Savannah, Georgia, native who as both singer and lyricist was arguably a true pioneer of Americana. Sheed’s words make the case: “If Johnny Mercer wrote it or sang it, it automatically became country and western and north and south, too.” Heady stuff. Similar, in fact, to viewpoints about a later Johnny, whose music also transcended boundaries.

It not that Mercer has been ignored. Two biographies delved into his genius and complex manic-depressive, alcoholic personality. Great Mercer moments aren’t easily forgotten. In the Navy during World War II, Hank Thompson so loved his big-band rendition of “Wreck Of The Old 97” on a wartime V-Disc that he recorded a similar version 55 years later. Two Of A Kind, Mercer’s stunning 1961 album with Bobby Darin, attests to his ability to bridge generations. As a co-founder of Capitol Records, Mercer was its original, insurgent creative spirit.

The man’s compositional pedigree says it all. The sardonic lampooning of drugstore sodbusters on “I’m An Old Cowhand”, the barroom confessional “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)”, the elegant yet visceral lyric of “Blues In The Night”, the hip spoof of World War II Army life in “G.I. Jive”, the vivid eroticism of “That Old Black Magic”, and the atmospheric melancholy of “Moon River” all emanated from the same pen. Merle Travis, himself no minor songsmith, admitted being informed by Mercer’s compositional approach.

Like Bing Crosby, Mercer apprenticed with Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra and emerged a vocal master, blending his authentic Georgia drawl with effortless swing and an irreverence that allowed him to own anything he sang, whether he wrote it or not. Regularly heard on network radio, Mercer’s vocals occasionally confused listeners. In 1944, a Chicago social club proclaimed him their “favorite colored singer on radio.”

Mercer collections have long been hit-and-miss or schizoid. This three-disc set concentrates on 1942-47 “jazz tinged” Capitol material, including tunes recorded with Jack Teagarden, Wingy Manone, Cootie Williams, Benny Goodman, and the Nat King Cole Trio. Vocally, Mercer easily held his own with Teagarden (a trombone virtuoso and peerless Texas blues singer), Cole, or pop chanteuse Jo Stafford. His recorded repertoire, however, was hardly Mercer-centric. He tackled Hoagy Carmichael’s “The Old Music Master” and Irving Berlin’s “The Freedom Train” with the same verve he used to swing “Someone’s In The Kitchen With Dinah”. One downside: the collection omits his important 1940s hits “Personality” and “Candy”.

The set includes 59 tracks plucked from Capitol sessions, plus 20 more from the Capitol transcriptions sold to radio stations, featuring him with frequent studio accompanist Paul Weston’s Orchestra and vocal group the Pied Pipers. Again, musical ecumenism sent him romping gleefully through whatever struck his fancy, be it the Roaring ’20s favorite “Louisville Lou” or an explosive “Sweet Georgia Brown”. Regardless of the accompaniment, Mercer’s flair for earthiness jumps out at the listener even on the likes of the Tin Pan Alley ditties “Country Boy Blues” or “Possum Song”.

It’s unlikely we’ll see Americana acts assembling Mercer tributes (though with the right songs and acts, it could be done brilliantly). If this collection conveys anything, it’s how at a time music was compartmentalized, someone solidly in the mainstream blew by all that. Over 60 years later, Johnny Mercer’s songs and performances can still exhilarate and move a listener, all the while leaving an undeniable sense of heartland, a sentiment echoed in one of his and Harold Arlen’s greatest collaborations: “Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home”.