by Ken Barnes, Laureate Company, England, WEB: www.johnnymercercentennial.com

Founder and CEO of Laureate Company, Ken Barnes resides in England. He produced Johnny’s final recording sessions in London. Plans are to release a new 2-CD set of the complete London recordings of Johnny Mercer, originally produced by Barnes in 1974. This anecdote is presented by the JOHNNY MERCER CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE in the series, "100-day Countdown to Johnny Mercer's 100th Birthday -- November 18, 2009."

SAVANNAH, Georgia (September 13, 2009) -– If I were asked to describe Johnny Mercer in a single sentence, I would say he was the most decent man I ever knew.
I had known and loved his songs all my life so it was a joy to actually meet him and to work with him. But I never expected him to be so warm, so generous and so forthcoming as a person.

Of all the great songwriters, he was -- and still is -- the most loved. He was also the only songwriter to successfully scale the difficult peaks of song interpretation. Having had the good fortune in my career to have worked with such luminaries as Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee -- all of whom admired his singing as much as his writing -- I have never encountered anyone who did not regard Johnny Mercer with anything but the greatest affection.

Yes, he was the most decent man I ever knew.


ABOUT THE JOHNNY MERCER CENTENNIAL

Themed Too Marvelous for Words, the JOHNNY MERCER CENTENNIAL honors Johnny Mercer, the man behind the music that the greatest generation grew up to, went off to war to, and returned home to court to. He and Henry Mancini gave us Moon River, a poignant reminder to value family and friends. It is Johnny Mercer who gave us the great lyrics to Acc-cent-tchu-ate the Positive, giving America a great rally song again in 2009.

John Herndon Mercer (1909-1976) is a native son of Savannah, Georgia and a foremost figure of 20th century American popular music. He was co-founder of Capitol Records Company, founding president of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and author of 1700 songs. He was nominated for 18 Academy Awards for Best Song and won 4 Oscars®. His lyrics are significant contributions to the Great American Songbook.

For more information on the Johnny Mercer Centennial -- www.johnnymercercentennial.com.

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