Johnny Mercer was not a typical songsmith, being a country boy from Savannah rather than a city slicker, and no slouch either at putting over the lyrics. That's well demonstrated by this generous compilation, which spans the years 1935 to 1952, with the emphasis on the forties. He's in good company, dueting with Ginger Rogers, Bing, Judy Garland, Jo Stafford, Nat King Cole, and Margaret Whiting, with accompaniments which include Victor Young, Benny Goodman, Freddy Slack, and Paul Weston. He also helped found Capitol Records, at which point the Pied Pipers left Tommy Dorsey to join him, and they're present on four 1945 tracks. Track details are as follows:
1. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive (With The Pied Pipers)
2. Eeny Meeny Miney Mo (With Ginger Rogers & Victor Young's Orchestra)
3. Cuckoo In The Clock (With Benny Goodman On Clarinet & His Orchestra)
4. Show Your Linen, Miss Richardson (With Benny Goodman On Clarinet & His Orchestra)
5. Mister Meadowlark (With Bing Crosby & Victor Young's Orchestra)
6. On Behalf Of The Visiting Firemen (With Bing Crosby & Victor Young's Orchestra)
7. Friendship (With Judy Garland & Victor Young's Orchestra)
8. Strip Polka (Take It Off!) (With Freddie Slack (speech) & His Orchestra)
9. The Air-Minded Executive (With Freddie Slack & His Orchestra)
10. They Didn't Believe Me (With The Mellowaires & Freddie Slack's Orchestra)
11. I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City (With Freddie Slack & His Orchestra)
12. The Dixieland Band (With The Pied Pipers)
13. Lazy Mood (With Eddie Miller's Orchestra)
14. Conversation While Dancing (With Jo Stafford)
15. On The Atchison, Topeka And Santa Fe (With The Pied Pipers)
16. A Gal In Calico (With The Pied Pipers)
17. Personality (With The Pied Pipers)
18. My Sugar Is So Refined (With The Pied Pipers)
19. I Do Do Do Like You
20. Sugar Blues
21. My Baby Likes To Bebop (With Nat `King' Cole & His Orchestra)
22. Baby, It's Cold Outside (With Margaret Whiting)
23. The Thousand Islands Song
24. The Glow Worm (With The Blue Reys & Alvino Rey's Orchestra)
25. Hello, Out There, Hello! (With Vocal Quartet & Billy May's Orchestra)
26. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)