Johnny Mercer Photograph Collection
Today marks the 101st anniversary of the birth of Johnny Mercer. Last year, as part of his centennial celebration, an Emmy-nominated documentary film was made about his life and career. The making of this film initiated a project to digitize the photographs in the Mercer Collections. As a result, nearly 1,300 images from the Johnny Mercer Papers and Johnny and Ginger Mercer Papers are now available online as part of the Library’s Digital Collections.
Highlights of the collections include images from a filming of The Bing Crosby Show, the Two of a Kind recording sessions with Bobby Darin, a celebrity-filled Westwood Marching and Chowder Club, and publicity photographs from Capitol Records. In addition to the many images of Johnny Mercer, other notable musicians and composers appear in the collections such as Nat “King” Cole, Ella Mae Morse, Jack Teagarden, Louis Armstrong, Margaret Whiting, Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Mancini, and Paul Weston.
Questions about the music collection in the Special Collections and Archives Department should be directed to Kevin Fleming, archivist, Popular Music and Culture Collection, at 404-413-2880 or archives@gsu.edu.