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Title: Skylark: The Life and Times of Johnny Mercer by Philip Furia ISBN: 0-312-28720-8 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 August, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Informative, but unfocused
Comment: I bought this book on the basis of having read Philip Furia's excellent IRA GERSHWIN - THE ART OF THE LYRICIST. In fact, I probably wouldn't have taken Johnny Mercer very seriously if Philip Furia hadn't deemed him worthy of biography. I found this book very informative and insightful, but unfocused. The book is at its best when Furia analyzes Mercer's lyrics. Mr. Furia is a diligent student of the lyricist's craft and has the ability to express his criticism in a clear and logical way. He nailed Mercer's lyrics as "untheatrical," which I think is why I never really took to them. It explains Mercer's lack of having a hit song come from one of his Broadway scores. When Furia writes of Mercer's professional life, the book is interesting and insightful. The story of his personal life is only intermittently interesting and the amateur psychoanalysis is laughable. I found it odd that considering how effeminate Mercer was and how his life fits the homosexual case history in many ways (close to the mother, went into showbiz, married the first woman he had sex with) that there is no mention of his having been at least bi-sexual. Instead the book seems to go out of its way to butch him up. Where the book really jumps the track is when it touches upon the long-running, on-again-off-again love affair between Mercer and Judy Garland (who, Furia doesn't mention, often had affairs with homosexuals and, as Furia does mention, whose father and first husband were gay). At this point Furia jumps into HOLLYWOOD BABYLON territory and goes into a rather detailed and sleazy depiction of Judy Garland's sex life. It's enough to know that Mercer and Garland had an affair. I don't want to speculate on what they did in bed.
The backstage stories of the Broadway, Hollywood and British work are so good that I wish there were more of them and that they were more detailed. I also found the story of the creation of Capitol Records a fascinating one. Very interesting too were the descriptions of Mercer's work habits and his working relationships with his collaborators. SKYLARK is a Jeckyll-and-Hyde kind of book. The professional part of the story is excellent. The personal story is murky and questionable. Furia obviously dislikes Mrs. Mercer and depicts her as a gold-digging, spendthrift manipulator. There are too many unasked questions, for example, Why did Johnny Mercer put up with her if she was so awful? He must have been getting something out of the deal, despite the fact that they had separate bedrooms and adopted their children. Furia draws too many conclusions based on nebulous evidence. I don't know what audience this book is aimed at. Those interested in the craft of the song and the musical may be turned off by the sleazy elements. Those interested in the sleaze might be bored by the song analyses.
Rating: 4
Summary: Too marvelous for words
Comment: At last! A real biography of arguably the best lyricist in popular music. Sadly for me it is a"warts and all" book. I admire him so much that I felt hurt to see how human he was. After some time passed, I realized those "warts" were probably responsible for the quality of his later masterpieces. I am now listening " I Remember You " and "One for My Baby" and "This Time the Dream's on Me" with much more insight. Thanks Mr. Furia.
Rating: 3
Summary: Overdue recognition for a genius of song
Comment: A true example of why they don't write 'em like they used to, Johnny Mercer has written some of the catchiest, longest remembered and honored songs of the 20th century, many of which the average listener has little clue as to who put the words to the tunes that remain timeless in their appeal. As a collaborator with some of the finest tunesmiths ever (Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael to name two) Mercer could dance with words as effortlessly and as beautifully as a prima ballerina while maintaining a roots, folksy manner both charming and disarming in its playfulness.
Philip Furia's biography is well recearched and referenced, using the recollections of friends, family, and cohorts, and finds a treasure trove in Mercer's own unreleased autobiography. Mercer's bouts with feelings of unworthiness as a composer were unexplained periods of doubt in a career that spanned the thirties through the sixties. While not the financial or acclaimed success of friend and rival Bing Crosby, Mercer became a standard for composition that has yet to be matched even by modern contemporaries like McCartney (who, the book indicates, explored a partnership in Mercer's latter years).
This book explores as best it can the song writing magic of Mercer, although the explanations of his seemingly effortless method of composition appears (as the author indicates) a tad glib and self-effacing. Were they available, additional tales of his creative inspirations would have been appreciated; any man who comes up with a couplet like "If for the stork you pine, consider the porcupine" deserves to be studied if only for the glee apparent in coming up with such delicious bits of rhyme and rhythm, certainly at a level equal or surpassing today's best.
Mercer's life was also painted in broad strokes of unhappiness, and the contrast between the joyous singer of "Zip-a dee-doo-dah" with the alcoholic and unsatisfied husband provides a remarkable set of circumstances.
This book was an enjoyable read in exploring the life and career of Johnny Mercer. Like the subject of these pages, I think I could have easily been fascinated with the book had it been twice as long, as this southern gentleman's tales and stories, against the background of his life and times, would have been captivating reading for any fan of the genre of the popular song and of show business personalities (and Johnny certainly had personality to spare). I would recommend this book along with an accompanying copy of "Capitol Collector Series - Johnny Mercer" or any good compilation of his songs. Be they his renditions or the more popular cover versions, Johnny Mercer is timeless, priceless, and almost "Too Marvelous for Words". Thank you Philip Furia.
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Title:Capitol Collectors Series ASIN: B00000DR9Z Publisher: Capitol Pub. Date: 26 July, 1989 List Price(USD): $11.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $10.99 |
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Title:The Complete Johnny Mercer Songbook ASIN: B00000DLUK Publisher: Polygram Records Pub. Date: 03 November, 1998 List Price(USD): $35.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $32.49 |
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Title: The Complete Lyrics of Frank Loesser by Robert Kimball, Steve Nelson ISBN: 0679450599 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 28 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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Title:Two of a Kind ASIN: B000002JL6 Publisher: Atlantic Pub. Date: 17 September, 1990 List Price(USD): $11.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $10.99 |
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Title: Colored Lights : Forty Years of Words and Music, Show Biz, Collaboration, and All That Jazz by John Kander, Fred Ebb, Greg Lawrence, Liza Minnelli ISBN: 057121133X Publisher: Faber & Faber Pub. Date: 05 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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