Birthday Salute to Johnny Mercer

Accentuating the Positive, Come Rain or Come Shine

Birthday shout-out to the Great American singer-songwriter Johnny Mercer (1909-1976). Among his many, many hit songs are now-standards such as “Autumn Leaves,” “Days of Wine & Roses,” “I’m an Old Cowhand From the Rio Grande,” and “Moon River.” All told he wrote lyrics for 1500 published songs. Besides winning many awards, he also co-founded Capitol Records, the first “indie label” of the 20th Century not dependent on the film industry or other corporate interests.

Mercer was one of those fabled “napkin writers,” meaning he’d grab any scrap of paper handy, throw down lyrics, then have a demo ready within hours. He co-wrote “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive” in 1944 with another great American songwriter, Harold Arlen.

Then Mercer took it to the studio, crooning it in the style of a singing preacher. He described his inspiration for the lyrics: "[My] publicity agent went to hear a sermon by Father Divine, and his subject was 'you got to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.’ …and I said 'Wow, that's a colorful phrase!'""

Normally he’d pitch the song to other singers but it was perfect for his voice. His recording became a Top 10 hit and has been covered many times in diverse styles, from country to jazz to punk. It reached me through the 1997 film soundtrack of L.A. CONFIDENTIAL.

Here’s my take—I’ve grown fond of it and it’s a touchstone of my “assisted living home set.”

Meanwhile, Happy Heavenly Birthday Johnny—and thank you for songs that still keep reaching people with positivity.

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