well, That's Show Biz, 11-01-2026 5-31 Johnny Mercer Tribute 2026

Johnny Mercer Tribute 2026

“Well, That’s Show Biz!”

11-01-2026

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• Welcome to “well, That’s Show Biz!”. I am your host, Jeremy Freedman, and this is the show that brings you music from Broadway, Movies, and Entertainers along with some anecdotes, information, and commentary all based on a theme.

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• Today is the first Sunday in November, the day for our annual tribute to Johnny Mercer. You just heard Barry Manilow sing his song, “When October Goes” with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

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• Mercer was born in Savannah and was known mainly for writing lyrics that used everyday Southern speech and natural idioms. He could easily switch between light novelty songs and haunting songs that could touch deep  into your soul.

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• Johnny Mercer also could compose songs even though he didn’t know standard musical notation. He was also a popular singer and co-founded Capitol Records. Mercer is buried in Savannah’s Bonaventure Cemetery.

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• For our first set of Mercer songs, we begin with Sammy Davis Jr, singing “Something’s Gotta Give”. Then Kristin Chenoweth gives us “I Wanna Be Around”. And we end the set with Barbra Streisand and John Meyer duetting on “Come Rain or Come Shine”. Here’s “Something’s Gotta Give”.

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• Today is our annual tribute to lyricist and composer Johnny Mercer and you just heard Sammy Davis Jr, with “Something’s Gotta Give”, Kristin Chenoweth singing “I Wanna Be Around”, and Barbra Streisand and John Meyer duetting on “Come Rain or Come Shine”.

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• For our next set of Johnny Mercer songs, we begin with Frank Sinatra singing “Too Marvelous for Words”. We follow that with Toni Tennille bringing us “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby”. Then Andy Williams sings the title song from the film Charade. And we will end with Bette Midler performing “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) on the final episode of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Here’s “Too Marvelous for Words”.

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• You just heard Frank Sinatra singing “Too Marvelous for Words”, Toni Tennille and “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby”, Andy Williams singing Charade, and Bette Midler performing “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road), as we pay tribute to Savannah’s own Johnny Mercer today on “well, That’s Show Biz!”.

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• You are listening to “well, That’s Show Biz!” on [Station ID].

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• Today is our annual tribute to composer, lyricist, and singer, Johnny Mercer, co-founder of Capitol Records, and recipient of 18 Oscar nominations, winning four.

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• For this set, we begin with Nancy Wilson singing “Satin Doll”. Then Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire beguile us with “In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening”. We follow that with Louis Armstrong crooning “Jeepers Creepers”. And we will end this set with Louis Prima with Keely Smith singing about “That Old Black Magic”. Here’s “Satin Doll”.

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• We are celebrating composer Johnny Mercer today and you just heard Nancy Wilson singing “Satin Doll”, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire with “In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening”, Louis Armstrong crooning “Jeepers Creepers”, and Louis Prima with Keely Smith singing “That Old Black Magic”.

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• For our last set, we have Frank Sinatra singing “Tangerine”. Then Ella Fitzgerald sings the title song from the movie Laura. We will follow that with Judy Garland performing “Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home”. And we will have one additional song following this set. Here’s “Tangerine”.

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• You just heard Frank Sinatra singing “Tangerine”, Ella Fitzgerald with the title song from the movie Laura, and Judy Garland performing “Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home”.

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• Perhaps his most famous lyrics are to the song “Moon River” with composer Henry Mancini. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It became the theme song for Andy Williams and his version of the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress. Here’s Andy Williams and “Moon River”.

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• You just heard Andy Williams and “Moon River” which concludes this year’s tribute to Johnny Mercer.

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• And that concludes this week’s edition of “well, That’s Show Biz!”. If you would like to assist with a future show, send your theme and song suggestions to me at wruushowbiz@gmail.com. And if you enjoyed today’s show, please contact the station at WRUU.org and let them know. And don’t forget to tell your friends to join us every Sunday at 1pm for more of “well, That’s Show Biz!” on WRUU-LP, Savannah, GA, 107.5FM and WRUU.org.  We are Savannah Soundings, Community Radio with Global Soul.

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• Please stay tuned for “Music At The Movies”, coming up next, hosted by Aiden Peck and I will see you next week. So long.

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