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Bobby Darin & Mercer and Mancini
Bobby Darin respected and admired the popular songwriting team of Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini. Besides making a LP with the legendary Johnny Mercer ("Two of a Kind") and co-writing the albums title song with Mercer , Bobby recorded many Mancini & Mercer collaborations. He also praised both men highly in this interview with Willis Conover for "The Voices of Vista" in the mid 1960's, which was used as an introduction to Bobby's recording of their beautiful song "The Sweetheart Tree."
Conover : I can assume Bobby that you have the usual widespread industry and audience appreciation of that top songwriting team Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer.
Bobby :Yeah, I tell you they could write songs for me every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I've never heard anything that falls short of sensational that they've done. "Moon River" obviously, "Days of Wine and Roses," "Charade" and this one, of course "The Sweetheart Tree".
Audio file
Henry Mancini was quoted as saying about Darin:
"He has a way with a song that seems to be able to hit, because he's got an inherent sense of dramatics. It's in his singing, it's in his writing, and it's in his acting. Being around Bobby when he's performing or when he's getting ready to perform is like being in buzz saw factory, because he just has so much energy, energy and excitement, that he has to let it out--it's just that infectious."
Both Mancini and Johnny Mercer were in attendance of Bobby's sell-out performance at the Coconut Grove in March 1966.
Audio excerpt of "Moon River" (from Unreleased Capitol Sides)
SOURCES: Voices of Vista interview and booklet of Rhino's
The Bobby Darin Collection: As Long as I'm Singin' CD Box set.
Thanks to Jimmy for his assistance with the interview
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