NPR’s All Things Considered did a segment on Johnny Mercer yesterday, and the piece led off with mention of his appearance here in 1971:

In May 1971, songwriter Johnny Mercer appeared at New York’s 92nd Street Y to sing and talk about his remarkable career. He told the audience what he tried to listen for when a composer first played the music for a new song.

“You get a little glimmer and you say, ‘Ahhh!’ “ he told the crowd. “You don’t even know if it’s a word. And then it begins to ... you know, it’s like you’re tuning in to a musical instrument that’s miles away. And you say, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s something there. If I just dig hard enough, I know it’ll come.’ ”

You can listen to the segment in full. As well, NPR is offering four audio tracks from Mercer you can stream here, including this incredible audio from his appearance here in 1971. NPR offers the following description:

This is an extraordinary recording: He sings a medley of his hits at the end of the evening that goes on and on and on. But he also performed the very first professional song he ever wrote, which gives you a sense of how accomplished he was as a lyricist, even at 21.

Related: The Turner Classic Movies Channel will be showing the Clint Eastwood produced, Johnny Mercer: The Dream’s on Me. The special celebrates the extraordinary music of Mercer and his career, and is narrated by Bill Charlap, Artistic Director of 92nd Street Y’s Jazz in July Summer Festival.

Take a look at our 2010 Lyrics and Lyricists Series, single tickets are now available.

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