cleve callison’s blog

Yesterday I posted an item about the Mercer House in Savannah G-A and mentioned Johnny Mercer, whose ancestor built it (but Johnny never lived there, apparently). I’ve been thinking about Johnny lately. There was a wonderful tribute to him, produced by Clint Eastwood, on TCM recently. And my sister Margaret gave me two compilations of his Capitol recordings from the 1940s, which I have really been enjoying (he was a co-founder of, and obviously made a pile of money from, Capitol).

Here’s a link to one of our favorite clips — Johnny and Nat King Cole singing “Save the Bones for Henry Jones”. I believe this was from Cole’s variety show. Nat was of course an incomparable singer, and Johnny was no slouch. This is kind of a novelty song, full of the playful rhymes and Southern expressions that make his songs of the period so much fun.

Johnny’s accent here and in similar songs is what any Savannian would recognize as “Geechee.” Used by whites in informal settings, it shows a heavy influx of the rhythms and accents of the region’s African-American population, perfect for the kinds of songs he was writing in this era.

Some of Johnny’s later songs are emotionally and lyrically very rich (“Midnight Sun,” “Days of Wine and Roses,” etc.) but there’s something really bubbly and optimistically American about his songs from the 40’s. They just pop out of the speakers. I love the way he can weave found words and expressions into his lyrics. Who knew that the words “Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe” were so poetic, until Johnny Mercer pointed it out?