2009 two CD collection. Of all the great American songwriters, Johnny Mercer was the ONLY one who could have made a living as a singer - and, from time to time, he did sing professionally. During the 1940s and '50s he had his own radio show which competed in popularity with such stars as Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. As a recording artist, he notched up 28 chart records and was four times number one on Billboard's Top 100.  Johnny Mercer's career was unique. He was old enough to have been a major force in the Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood of the 1930s and '40s yet young enough to have competed in the 1960s and '70s with the likes of Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach and the Beatles. In 1974 when he was in London making these recordings and working on a musical with Andre Previn, he received an invitation to write with Paul McCartney but was too busy to accept. Soon after, he suffered the brain tumor from which he died in 1976. 28 tracks. Sanctuary.