Johnny Mercer wrote lyrics or music for more than 1,500 songs in a career spanning nearly 50 years, making him one of the most successful songwriters of the twentieth century. One of the most versatile lyricists ever, he penned catchy words for everything from bouncy numbers “Goody Goody” and mysterious mood setters “That Old Black Magic” to romantic love songs “Moon River”. During the 1930s and 1940s Mercer was also a popular singer who performed on a number of radio shows with top bands. He was a master at the business of music as well, as evidenced by his co-founding of the highly successful Capitol Records.

Well-turned Mercer phrases for such classics as “Too Marvelous for Words,” “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive” and “Fools Rush In,” and scores of other songs have been forever locked into the memories of millions of listeners. Mercer also wrote memorable melodies for such songs as  “Dream” and “Something’s Gotta’ Give,” composing them by using one finger on the piano because he couldn’t read a note of music. Mercer was once quoted as saying that his songwriting success was due to his “feeling for tunes, no matter where they come from. ” This feeling” helped him forge effective partnerships with a wide variety of composers over the years, among them Hoagy Carmichael, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Henry Mancini, Rube Bloom, and Michel Legrand.