Like his father and grandfather before him, Johnny was expected to go on to college at Princeton University. But while Johnny was in high school, his father’s real-estate business lost nearly $2 million in the collapse of the Florida real-estate boom. The family was deeply in debt and his father could no longer afford to send him to college.  Johnny was able to finish his last year at boarding school at Woodberry in Virginia, after which he returned home and went to work for his father to help him reestablish his business.

Plaque at the Tybee Island Pavilion

Back in Savannah, Johnny continued listening and learning about music, taking advantage of live concerts and performances that came to the coastal town. His favorites were the dances out on Tybee Island, east of the city on the Atlantic Ocean. Tybee Island had a large open-air pavilion with a dance floor and crystal balls hanging from the roof that reflected the different-colored lights hung from the ceiling.

The summer after he returned home from high school was a magical time for Johnny, but he began to feel the draw of new places. His best friend was performing on ships that ran between Savannah and New York City. He hatched a plan to stowaway in his friend’s cabin to make it to New York City. He decided to tell his mother who subsequently told his uncle who was the ship’s purser. Not long after the ship was underway, Johnny was discovered and spent the remainder of the trip working below-decks to pay his way, but he was on his way at least!

It was a whole new world in New York City. Jazz and blues music were being played in Harlem, and Broadway had vibrant musicals. He bought his first set of sheet music, another step towards his future career. Johnny soon returned home to Savannah, but he continued to dream about returning to New York.

Back home in Savannah he found a new job and decided to join the cast of a small theatre group. He overcame his stage fright, and did so well the theatre group asked him to perform in their next production. This performance, called Hero Worship, was entered into a contest and Johnny and the rest of the cast traveled to New York City to compete against other small-town theatre groups. When they won the competition, the acting bug bit Johnny; he again went home to Savannah but was determined to return to New York City and try to find success as an actor.

Johnny made a deal with his father; he would spend two weeks in New York City trying to find work as a stage actor. He worked quickly and soon had bit parts in a touring company that traveled to cities around the U.S. to perform. After several months traveling and performing, Johnny returned to New York City. He continued to look for work but spent his spare time playing music and writing lyrics. He would continue to try to act, but was able to earn income from songwriting.

During his first two years in New York City, Johnny lived very differently than the well-to-do childhood he had in Savannah. He occasionally found acting work but never had much income, often living on oatmeal. During this time he always continued writing songs and lyrics, and as he continued to try and succeed in show business he made contacts that helped him start and continue his career as a songwriter and lyricist.

Vocabulary

Cast – the set of actors in a dramatic production

Harlem – a historically African-American area of Manhattan in New York City, known for the Harlem renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s, which was the center of African-American artistic works

Melody – a succession of notes to create a song

Purser – a ship official responsible for papers and accounts

Sheet music – printed version of music, as opposed to a recorded or performed version

Stowaway – one who secretly hides on a train or boat in order to get free passage to a new location

Theatre production – a performance taking place in front of a live audience in a theatre

Sources

Gene Lees, Portrait of Johnny: The Life of John Herndon Mercer, (Pantheon, 2004)

Philip Furia, Skylark: The Life and Times of Johnny Mercer (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003), 32-44

New Georgia Encyclopedia, Johnny Mercer