Harold Arlen (1905-1986)        

Johnny Mercer  

How to select any of these wonderful songs? All of them got high standards. I decided to included the two that have lyrics by Johnny Mercer. I also want to point out that the unforgettable “Over the Rainbow” from the film The Wizard of Oz (1939) with Judy Garland is another masterpiece from Arlen (lyrics from Harburg).

• (MT 236) ÅÅÅ      Stormy Weather
• (MT 265) ÅÅÅ1/2 Come Rain Or Come Shine (1946) I’m gonna love you like nobody’s loved you, / Come rain or come shine. / High as a mountain and deep as a river, / Come rain or come shine. And so Mercer goes, and Billie follows with passion.
• (MT 266) ÅÅÅ      I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
• (MT 283) ÅÅÅ1/2 Ill Wind
• (MT 302) ÅÅÅÅ   One For My Baby (1943) one of my favorite songs, the honor goes to the lyrics, look how it starts: It’s quarter to three, there’s no one in the place/ Except you and me/ … / We’re drinking my friend, to the end/ Of a brief episode/ Make it one for my baby/ And one more for the road. Billie wouldn’t do any better.