Editing Johnny Mercer (section)

{{Short description|American lyricist, songwriter, singer (1909–1976)}}
{{other people||John Mercer (disambiguation)}}
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{{Essay-like|date=September 2023}}
{{Original research|date=September 2023}}
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{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Johnny Mercer
| image           = Johnny Mercer, New York, N.Y., between 1946 and 1948 (William P. Gottlieb 06121).jpg
| caption         = Mercer, {{Circa|1947}}
| image_size      = 
| birth_name      = John Herndon Mercer
| birth_date      = {{birth date|1909|11|18}}
| birth_place     = [[Savannah, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_date      = {{death date and age|1976|06|25|1909|11|18}}
| death_place     = [[Hollywood, California]], U.S.
| instrument      =
| genre           =
| occupation      = {{hlist|Songwriter|lyricist|record producer|record label owner}}
| years_active    = 1930–1976
| label           =
| associated_acts = {{hlist|[[Richard A. Whiting]]|[[Bing Crosby]]|[[Margaret Whiting]]|[[The Pied Pipers]]|[[Bobby Darin]]|[[Harry Warren]]|[[Harold Arlen]]|[[Hoagy Carmichael]]| [[Gene de Paul]]|[[Henry Mancini]]}}
}}

'''John Herndon Mercer''' (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded [[Capitol Records]] with music industry businessmen [[Buddy DeSylva]] and [[Wallichs Music City|Glenn E. Wallichs]].<ref name="Georgia">{{cite encyclopedia
|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.com/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-954
|title=Johnny Mercer (1909–1976)
|encyclopedia=The New Georgia Encyclopedia
|access-date=December 9, 2006
|archive-date=March 17, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317191302/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.com/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-954
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

He is best known as a [[Tin Pan Alley]] lyricist, but he also composed music and was a popular singer who recorded his own as well as others' songs from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. Mercer's songs were among the most successful hits of the time, including "[[Moon River]]", "[[Days of Wine and Roses (song)|Days of Wine and Roses]]", "[[Autumn Leaves (1945 song)|Autumn Leaves]]", and "[[Hooray for Hollywood]]". He wrote the lyrics to more than 1,500 songs, including compositions for movies and [[Broadway theatre|Broadway shows]]. He received nineteen [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nominations, and won four [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song Oscars]].