Remembering Savannah's favorite songwriter
Exactly 43 years ago today, Academy Award-winning songwriter and proud Savannah native Johnny Mercer died in Los Angeles following complications from surgery for a malignant brain tumor. Fortunately, Mercer’s music continues to play on, decades after his untimely passing at the age of 66.
Death, it seems, could not silence such a remarkable talent. Mercer taught generations of Savannahians to “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” and immortalized Savannah’s Moon River in song, making it a metaphor for life itself.
A gifted songwriter
Mercer wrote some of the most iconic songs of the 20th century, including “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” “Fools Rush In,” “Moon River,” “Skylark,” “That Old Black Magic,” “Satin Doll” and “Days of Wine and Roses.” His songs have been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Barry Manilow and dozens of top artists over the years.
A gifted songwriter, Mercer enjoyed incredible success during his lifetime. His compositions earned four Academy Awards and graced legendary movies ranging from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to “Days of Wine and Roses.” He also co-founded Capitol Records in 1942, which became a highly influential label, supporting a wide range of artists.
A member and co-founder of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Mercer was posthumously inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Georgia Writers Hall Of Fame in 2011.
Over the course of his career, Mercer wrote 1,400 original songs, contributing lyrics to more than 100 movies. His impact on American music has been significant, and his legacy as one of the nation’s greatest songwriters is secure.
Huckleberry friend
Born and raised in Savannah, Mercer spent his formative years in the Hostess City, where he developed a love of music, particularly jazz, at a young age. His father, attorney and real estate investor George Anderson Mercer, Jr., and his mother, Lillian Ciucevich Mercer, lived on East Hall Street and, later, on Gwinnett Street. Mercer drew creative inspiration from concerts he attended in Forsyth Park, on Isle of Hope and on Tybee Island.
Mercer attended boarding school in Virginia and moved to New York at the age of 19. Seven years later, he relocated to Los Angeles, where he earned acclaim as a songwriter.
Today, Mercer is memorialized with a lifelike bronze sculpture, created by Susie Chisholm, in Ellis Square in the heart of downtown Savannah and with a granite bench inscribed with his own song lyrics at his gravesite in Bonaventure Cemetery. Mercer’s burial site continues to attract fans who pay homage to this legendary lyricist by sipping martinis in his memory, as detailed in John Berendt’s bestseller “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
In light of the recent decision to raze the Savannah Civic Center and redevelop the land where Elbert Square once stood, the future of the Johnny Mercer Theatre remains uncertain. This popular venue, named for Savannah’s native son, has hosted innumerable performances over the years and has played a vital role in the city’s cultural life. Hopefully there will be another opportunity to commemorate such a tremendous talent in his hometown and the curtain will rise on a new theater named after this iconic songwriter.
As Mercer wrote in one of his most enduring compositions, “You’ve got to accentuate the positive/Eliminate the negative/And latch on to the affirmative/Don’t mess with Mister In-Between/You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum/Bring gloom down to the minimum.”
Mercer had the wisdom to understand that attitude has the power to shape reality. Many longtime Savannahians still miss their “huckleberry friend” and his witty wordplay.
On this somber anniversary, let’s salute the poetic genius of Johnny Mercer, one of Savannah’s most enduring talents, even as we continue to mourn his loss.
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