100

Legendary songwriter Johnny Mercer was born 100 years ago this week, on Nov. 18, 1909.

495

In Savannah, Ga., there’s a Starbucks at 495 Johnny Mercer Blvd. However, this Starbucks is part of a Kroger, which means that it’s not part of Winter’s itinerary.

4

Academy Awards Mercer won for songs he penned.  He received 18 Academy Award nominations.

1,500

Mercer wrote more than 1,500 songs in his lifetime, but his song that caught my attention this week was a cover — “The Java Jive.”  In a centennial birthday celebration for Mercer, New Orleans jazz & heritage station WWOZ played Mercer’s cover of “Java Jive,” which was written by Ben Oakland and Milton Drake, and probably best known for the Ink Spots‘ version from 1940.  Here are some of the “Java Jive” lyrics:

I love coffee, I love tea
I love the java jive and it loves me
Coffee and tea and the java and me
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup

I love java sweet and hot
Whoops, Mr. Moto, I’m a coffee pot
Shoot me the pot and pour me a shot
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup

Oh, slip me a slug from the wonderful mug
And I’ll cut a rug ‘til I’m snug in a jug
A sliced-up onion and a raw one
Pour one, waiter, waiter, percolator

Since Johnny Mercer performed “Java Jive” but did not write it, we could probably describe him as a Vicarious Coffee Achiever.  Several versions of “The Java Jive” are in the public domain, including the Ink Spots’ version:

Java Jive, by the Ink Spots

Java Jive, by the King Sisters

Sources:

100 Years of Johnny Mercer, Pop Poet Laureate — NPR pays tribute to Johnny Mercer’s centennial birthday

Johnny Mercer Educational Archives

WWOZ — New Orleans jazz and heritage radio station

Tags: bean-counting, ink spots, java jive, johnny mercer, new orleans, savannah ga