Johnny Mercer, songwriter

John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was a popular American songwriter and singer. As a songwriter, he is best known as a lyricist but also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others. From the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s, many of the songs Mercer wrote and performed were among the most popular hits of the time. He wrote the lyrics to more than a thousand songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows.


"Lazybones"
Words by Johnny Mercer, Music by Hoagy Carmichael
Performed by Dr Teeth & The Electric Mayhem


"Goody Goody"
Words by Johnny Mercer, Music by Matty Malneck
Performed by Frankie Lymon


"I'm an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande"
Words and Music by Johnny Mercer
Performed by Lucy Lawless


"Too Marvelous for Words"
Words by Johnny Mercer, Music by Richard A. Whiting
Performed by Ella Fitzgerald


"Jeepers Creepers"
Words by Johnny Mercer, Music by Harry Warren
Performed by Louis Armstrong


"Fools Rush In"
Words by Johnny Mercer, Music by Rube Bloom
Performed by Ricky Nelson

Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, songwriters

Nickolas Ashford (born May 4, 1942, in Fairfield, South Carolina) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946 in The Bronx, New York) are a successful husband and wife songwriting/production team, as well as being recording artists in their own right. This performing and songwriting team met in the choir of Harlem's White Rock Baptist Church.


"Lets Go Get Stoned"
Words & Music by Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson, & Josephine Armstead
Performed by Joe Cocker


"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
Words & Music by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson
Performed by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell


"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"
Words & Music by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson
Performed by Aretha Franklin


"Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)"
Words & Music by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson
Performed by Diana Ross


"You're All I Need/I'll Be There for You"
Words & Music by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson
Performed by Mary J. Blige & Method Man


"Solid"
Words & Music by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson
Performed by Ashford & Simpson

Jerry Chesnut, songwriter

Jerry Donald Chesnut (born May 7, 1931) is an American country music songwriter. His hits include "A Good Year for the Roses" (recorded by George Jones) and "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" (recorded by Elvis Presley). Born and raised in Harlan County, Kentucky he moved to Nashville in 1958 to pursue his career. In 1968 Jerry Lee Lewis' hit recording of Chesnut's "Another Place, Another Time" was nominated for a Grammy Award. Chesnut is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.


"A Good Year For The Roses"
Words & Music by Jerry Chesnut
Performed by Alan Jackson & George Jones


"Another Place, Another Time"
Words & Music by Jerry Chesnut
Performed by Don Williams


"It's Four In the Morning"
Words & Music by Jerry Chesnut
Performed by Faron Young


"Oney"
Words & Music by Jerry Chesnut
Performed by Johnny Cash


"T-R-O-U-B-L-E"
Words & Music by Jerry Chesnut
Performed by Elvis Presley

Irving Berlin, songwriter

Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born naturalized American composer and lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters in history. Berlin was one of the few Tin Pan Alley/Broadway songwriters who wrote both lyrics and music for his songs. He also published his own songs. Although he never learned to read music beyond a rudimentary level, with the help of various uncredited musical assistants or collaborators, he eventually composed over 3,000 songs, many of which (e.g. "God Bless America", "White Christmas", "Anything You Can Do", "There's No Business Like Show Business") left an indelible mark on American music and culture. He composed seventeen film scores and twenty-one Broadway scores.


"Oh, How I Hate to get up in the Morning"
Words & Music by Irving Berlin (1918)
Performed by Irving Berlin


"Always"
Words & Music by Irving Berlin (1925)
Performed by Billie Holiday


"Blue Skies"
Words & Music by Irving Berlin (1927)
Performed by Willie Nelson



"Puttin' On the Ritz"
Words & Music by Irving Berlin (1928)
Performed by Fred Astaire

Harry M. Woods, songwriter

Henry MacGregor Woods (November 4, 1896 - January 14, 1970) was a Tin Pan Alley songwriter and pianist. Born in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Woods' mother, a concert singer, encouraged him to play the piano, in spite of being born with no fingers on his left hand. His musical training would help when he attended Harvard University and supported himself there by singing in church choirs and giving piano recitals. After graduation, Woods settled on Cape Cod and began life as a farmer. He began cultivating his talent for songwriting while in the Army during World War I. After his discharge, Woods settled in New York and began his successful career as a songwriter.

According to legend, Woods once exchanged heated words with a man in a nightclub after consuming a large quantity of alcohol. The argument escalated into a physical fight with Woods pinning the man to the floor while hitting him with his right hand and bashing him in the face with the stump of his left hand. When police arrived at the club and arrested Woods, a woman entered the club and asked, "Who is that horrible man?". Still seated at the bar, a friend of the composer proudly announced, "That's Harry Woods. He wrote 'Try a Little Tenderness'."

(Editor's note: I found this anecdote a couple of places on the internet, including Wikipedia. I first read it in Philip Furia and Michael Lasser's excellent book: America's Songs: The Stories Behind the Songs of Broadway, Hollywood, and Tin Pan Alley. If you like this website, you will love this book.)


"Try A Little Tenderness"
Words & Music by Harry M. Woods & Irving King
Performed by Otis Redding


"Side By Side"
Words & Music by Harry M. Woods
Performed by The Ames Brothers & The McGuire Sisters


"What A Little Moonlight Can Do"
Words & Music by Harry M. Woods
Performed by Billie Holliday


"When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbing Along"
Words & Music by Harry M. Woods
Performed by Ethel Merman & Perry Como