Johnny Mercer on TCM

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Johnny Mercer on TCM; The Dream's On Me
Topic Started: Oct 11 2009, 06:57 AM (165 Views)
Laughing Gravy	Oct 11 2009, 06:57 AM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	Premiering on TCM on Nov. 4 is a new special on Johnny Mercer, commemorating the centenial of his birth. I have an advance copy of the documentary, and will be reviewing it soon. Films shown as part of the month-long festival include Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Blues in the Night (1941), Hollywood Hotel (1937), The Harvey Girls (1946), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), The Americanization of Emily (1964), Li'l Abner (1959) and Belle of New York (1952). TCM will devote all of Nov. 18 to Mercer's films.



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 11 2009, 11:09 AM Post #2
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	This is the best news since the Lubitsch musicals box. Mercer is the greatest American lyric writer, bar none, and was also a fine singer & radio host, good at clowning around. He was also the first artist to have his own label, Capitol Records. I am his biggest fan and always was. Thanks for the heads up, Mr. G.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


JazzGuyy	Oct 12 2009, 07:18 AM Post #3
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,162 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	There is a DVD documentary about Mercer coming out. It appears to be the TCM one. http://www.amazon.com/Johnny-Mercer-Dreams-Bruce-Ricker/dp/B002LII6E6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1255360696&sr=8-1 BTW, Paul, you are not Mercer's biggest fan as long as I'm alive. Edited by JazzGuyy, Oct 12 2009, 07:20 AM.



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 12 2009, 08:29 AM Post #4
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Gene Lees is a pretty big fan: he wrote a book about Mercer. Stanley Booth is another big fan; he's writing one, too. Now what are the chances of America's best jazz writer and best rock writer both writing a book about the same guy?
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


JazzGuyy	Oct 12 2009, 10:17 AM Post #5
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,162 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	Lees is also a lyricist so Mercer might have additional meaning to him.



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 12 2009, 06:34 PM Post #6
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Yeah, I'm sure you're right. I'm not wild about Lees' lyrics though. Are you a Jazzletter subscriber, Jazzy? He really is my favorite jazz critic by a country mile. For one thing, he never, ever, tries to be hip.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


JazzGuyy	Oct 13 2009, 07:30 AM Post #7
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,162 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	panzer the great & terrible Oct 12 2009, 06:34 PM Yeah, I'm sure you're right. I'm not wild about Lees' lyrics though. Are you a Jazzletter subscriber, Jazzy? He really is my favorite jazz critic by a country mile. For one thing, he never, ever, tries to be hip. Nope, never heard of Jazzletter. I only subscribe to one publication "Jazz Improv", mostly for the free CD sampler and the sheet music in each issue. I used to read Lees years ago when I read "Down Beat". He's been around a long time. I used to like Nat Hentoff's writing the best. Don't know if he still writes on jazz at all. I do see his op-ed pieces from time to time.



mort bakaprevski	Oct 13 2009, 08:21 AM Post #8
Soony Roony! Posts: 1,428 Group: Members Member #73 Joined: January 1, 2006	JazzGuyy Oct 13 2009, 07:30 AM I used to like Nat Hentoff's writing the best. Now that goes back a l-o-o-o-o-o-ng way!!
	�You�ve got to take the bitter with the sour.�


JazzGuyy	Oct 13 2009, 09:12 AM Post #9
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,162 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	mort bakaprevski Oct 13 2009, 08:21 AM JazzGuyy Oct 13 2009, 07:30 AM I used to like Nat Hentoff's writing the best. Now that goes back a l-o-o-o-o-o-ng way!! It sure does. To my teens when I first started to read about jazz. It's amazing how long some of those jazz writers have lived. I know they say musicians often live a long time but I didn't know that writing about music might extend your life too.



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 13 2009, 10:30 AM Post #10
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Jazzletter: not cheap but grerat fun. # Gene Lees Jazzletter. Box 240, Ojai, CA 930240-0240. jazzlet@ix.netcom.com. $70 a year for the U.S. & Canada. This newsletter is a must for any jazz ... www.halgalper.com/14_grab/jazzletter.htm #
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


JazzGuyy	Oct 13 2009, 10:41 AM Post #11
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 2,162 Group: Members Member #110 Joined: June 1, 2006	panzer the great & terrible Oct 13 2009, 10:30 AM Jazzletter: not cheap but grerat fun. # Gene Lees Jazzletter. Box 240, Ojai, CA 930240-0240. jazzlet@ix.netcom.com. $70 a year for the U.S. & Canada. This newsletter is a must for any jazz ... www.halgalper.com/14_grab/jazzletter.htm # I looked it up. $70 for a year and it seems to be published on no real schedule according to lots of comments I found around the Web. I had my filll of semipro magazines and newsletters years ago. As much as I like reading about jazz and I trust your judgment, Paul, I think I'll pass on this one.



panzer the great & terrible	Oct 30 2009, 10:45 AM Post #12
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	OK with me. It is expensive, but for my money, now that Whitney Baliett is gone Lees is the best jazz writer. You can probably find one of his books at the library. His piece about Johnny Mercer is fascinating (not to get back on topic or anything). Edited by panzer the great & terrible, Oct 30 2009, 10:59 AM.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


Chandu	Nov 13 2009, 12:57 PM Post #13
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,240 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	panzer the great & terrible Oct 11 2009, 11:09 AM This is the best news since the Lubitsch musicals box. Mercer is the greatest American lyric writer, bar none, and was also a fine singer & radio host, good at clowning around. He was also the first artist to have his own label, Capitol Records. I am his biggest fan and always was. Thanks for the heads up, Mr. G. I watched this documentary last night. Johnny Mercer is a name I've been familiar with since my early childhood. He wrote songs, right? Like Cole Porter wrote songs, the Gershwins, Roger & Hart, etc.? Wrong! This one man has probably written well over 50% of all the songs I've truly adored in my entire lifetime! I simply had no idea!! A well done bio, by Clint Eastwood, of a remarkable man to whom writing songs was only one of his many talents. It totally blew me away!
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


Black Tiger	Nov 13 2009, 02:50 PM Post #14
Charter Member Posts: 1,812 Group: Members Member #50 Joined: September 15, 2005	I read that Sinatra also considered Mercer the best songwriter.



panzer the great & terrible	Nov 14 2009, 07:27 AM Post #15
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	Golly gosh darn, I thought everybody knew it. The professionals sure did. Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Jo Stafford, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett -- all recorded a disproportiate amount of Mercer material. What Mercer had was the ability to write in the vernacular -- what some folks call the common touch. He writes like we all think: just ordinary stuff, with a flash of poetry when you least expect it.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


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