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The seventh volume in Knopf’s critically acclaimed Complete Lyrics series, published in Johnny Mercer’s centennial year, contains the texts to more than 1,200 of his lyrics, several hundred of them published here for the first time.
Johnny Mercer’s early songs became staples of the big band era and were regularly featured in the musicals of early Hollywood. With his collaborators, who included Richard A. Whiting, Harry Warren, Hoagy Carmichael, Jerome Kern, and Harold Arlen, he wrote the lyrics to some of the most famous standards, among them, “Too Marvelous for Words,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “Skylark,” “I’m Old-Fashioned,” and “That Old Black Magic.”
During a career of more than four decades, Mercer was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song an astonishing eighteen times, and won four: for his lyrics to “On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe” (music by Warren), “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening” (music by Carmichael), and “Moon River” and “Days of Wine and Roses” (music for both by Henry Mancini).
You’ve probably fallen in love with more than a few of Mercer’s songs–his words have never gone out of fashion–and with this superb collection, it’s easy to see that his lyrics elevated popular song into art.
Publisher : Knopf; Illustrated edition (October 20, 2009)
Language : English
Hardcover : 488 pages
ISBN-10 : 0307265196
ISBN-13 : 978-0307265197
Item Weight : 5.74 pounds
Dimensions : 11 x 1.35 x 12.05 inches
Reviewer: bellczar
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Superb collection
Review: This is a superbly edited volume. Two friends of mine wrote biographies of Johnny Mercer, so I suppose I have more of an ax to grind than most. These "complete lyrics" volumes are truly a treasure. Too many of the sheet music collections at the music store these days merely reproduce the same narrow body of songs in repetitive volumes. The editors of Mercer's complete lyrics truly went to a lot of trouble to find unpublished songs, songs deleted from scores, drafts of songs, and the like.They mention that some of Mercer's already-published lyrics were set to new music by a well-known popular composer in the 1980s, but they don't explain how this snafu happened. Too bad that composer didn't have this book when he did it, or he would have known better.
Reviewer: William H. Young
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer
Review: Robert Kimball, usually working with various associates, has undertaken the gargantuan task of presenting the lyrics of such important figures in American music as Irving Berlin, Lorenz Hart, Frank Loesser, and Cole Porter. He has excelled in all these efforts, and the new Mercer collection is no exception. Well organized and clearly written, the volume ranges from from the standards--"Blues in the Night," "I'm Old-Fashioned," "One for my Baby," many others--to little-known ditties like "Mouthful o'Jam" (1931) and "When Sally Walks Along Peacock Alley" (1948). No fan of either Mercer or popular music should be without this beautifully done book
Reviewer: J. Walters
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: So glad I found this!
Review: I've read for years that Ginger Mercer found a trunk full of unpublished lyrics when Johnny Mercer died. FINALLY, someone has printed them all somewhere! This collection includes a lot of little short ditties where the music was recorded but lost, or the words were never put to music, etc. Although I noticed random words that weren't the same as what I got from the charts obtained from the Mercer archives at Georgia State, this is a welcome resource. And I love that they included his Christmas card verses at the back, too. We do a lot of Mercer, and I've done a lot of research. This will help us decide whether the lyrics are as good as the title before we buy new material. It's definitely a coffee table book, tho -- a bit too unwieldy and heavy to carry around much. But a great find. I was so jazzed to get it, and so fast! I got mine new/used [sorry I can't remember the name] and they got it right out to me.
Reviewer: J. C. Sidenbender
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Lyric Lovers Dream
Review: Johnny Mercer lovers will be enthralled with this fabulous book. His lyrics are some of the best on the planet. Although there are those that are just plain silly, some,like,When October Goes, will make you weep.The stories and pictures are just as wonderful as reading the lyrics. I really was surprised when I saw the volume of his work.This is a great choice for all music lovers.
Reviewer: Harry Y
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A True Wordsmith
Review: It's said that some people just have a way with words....there's no doubt whatsoever that Johnny Mercer was at the top of the list. If you saw the TCM special "Johnny Mercer: Too Marvelous For Words", you know what I mean. The man was a lyrical genius, and this book showcases it. A book of true poetry....highly recommended.
Reviewer: Jill Gazzo
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great Service!
Review: I was very pleased that it arrived on time! The gift was for a best friendand he teared up when he received it. Very happy with the book andyour service!
Reviewer: Eileen
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great!
Review: Beautiful book! I got it for my 92 yr old mom who had me look it up. She loves it and sings all the songs.
Reviewer: James Killian
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Five Stars
Review: Mercer was one od the best.
Reviewer: alain robert
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: When someone asks you who was the greatest lyric writer in theTIN PAN ALLEY era,a safe bet would be to answer:JOHNNY MERCER.Why?He wrote more than 1,200 songs during a period of forty years.He wrote songs with composers like HOAGY CARMICHAEL,RICHARD WITHING,HAROLD ARLEN,GENE DE PAUL,HENRY MANCINI and many others.But JOHNNY MERCER was also a popular singer and a co-founder of CAPITOL records.In fact,only BROADWAY eluded MERCER during his life because as an individual lyric writer,he was a master.If you love AMERICAN popular music of the previous century,you need this book.
Reviewer: M. P. Swerdlow
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: For any lover of the American popular song, this book of lyrics by one of the most important 20th century lyricists, is a must. Some of Mercer's collaborators like Harold Arlen had an uncanny knack of bringing out amazing lyrics from Mercer who would claim they had been locked away in his brain for months or years but the mere sound of the notes would release them. This book should be on your bookshelf alongside the others by Robert Kimball on Hart, Gershwin, Porter and Berlin. Expensive but worth every penny. Make sure your children read them.
Reviewer: AL D
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A wonderful book, full of surprises like 'I didn't realise he wrote that' Very comprehensive, and enlightening, with a good choice of photographs. The only downside is, that it is so heavy, I have to leave it on the dining room table to read it!
Reviewer: OldCove99
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is a specialist book, very comprehensive. Not sure where to put it, as it's large and very heavy - but, very worthwhile if you are a Johnny Mercer nut! I was astonished to find out how much he'd written, a lot of lyrics unpublished and many obscure, even at the time. You might want to see if you can look at a library copy (if you can find one) before ordering. But this is a really great documentation of JM's work
Reviewer: BE
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: If you are a Johnny Mercer fan this is a must have. I bought it for my husband for Christmas and he is delighted with it. Expensive but beautifully produced.