Maestro of Moon River
QUESTION Was Johnny Mercer the most prolific songwriter of all time? Johnny MERCER (1909-1976) wrote at least 1,400 songs including hits such as Jeepers Creepers and That old Black Magic. however, the title of most prolific songwriter must belong to Irving Berlin (1888-1989), who was responsible for more than 3,000 songs including many that define the U.S., such as God Bless America and White Christmas.
They were both part of Tin Pan Alley, the group of new york City-based songwriters who dominated popular music in the U.S. in the early 20th century.
Mercer was also a composer and fine singer who recorded his own material. While his name is not as well-known as the likes of oscar hammerstein II, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, most people will recognise his songs.
hooray For hollywood, which featured in the 1937 movie hollywood hotel, is the soundtrack for the Academy Awards ceremony. his stunning Moon River, with music by henry Mancini, as sung by Audrey hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany’s, won best song at the 1962 oscars as well as the Song of the year Grammy.
other Mercer classics include one For My Baby (And one More For The Road), Days of Wine And Roses, on The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe, And The Angels Sing and Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive.
he wrote for 100 films, won four Best Song oscars and was nominated 18 times. he wrote 23 theatre shows, including St Louis Woman and Li’l Abner, and was cofounder and president of Capitol Records.
his performance of his own composition Somethin’s Gotta Give was recently aired on BBC4’s . . . Sings The Great American Songbook.
Irving Berlin was one of the few in Tin Pan Alley who wrote lyrics and music. Though he never learned to read music beyond a rudimentary level, he composed hits including Anything you Can Do and There’s no Business Like Show Business. Describing his work ethic, Berlin stated: ‘Sometimes I turn out four or five songs a night, so you can imagine how many bad ones I write.’
Simon B. Bowdler, London SW15. QUESTION Into what caste would a convert to Hinduism be put? ThE question is irrelevant as you can only be born into the hindu faith, though you can follow the hindu way of living.
I am a hindu and during my university days, I had the chance to spend some time in the Geeta Bhawan temple at Rishikesh on the shores of the River Ganges in India.
There I met a renowned professor in religious studies. I asked him whether a person of another religious faith could convert to hinduism. he said that if you are born hindu, you will always remain hindu and will die a hindu, according to the Shastras (sacred scriptures).
you could not become hindu from other faiths. Though you could choose to follow the hindu way of living, you would not be treated as a hindu.
I married a practising Christian and was advised later in life by gurus that if she wanted, my wife could follow hinduism, but could not become hindu.
on the other hand, my children can be classified as hindus.
Dr Prem Ohri, Bangor. QUESTION Does the Queen own all the swans in Britain? ThE Queen owns any unclaimed mute swan ( Cygnus olor) in open water in England and Wales.
From the 12th century, swans were considered a mark of nobility. They were eaten as a special dish at feasts, particularly at Christmas. Forty swans were ordered for henry III’s Christmas celebrations in 1247 at Winchester.
To protect swans as an exclusive commodity, unavailable to commoners, Edward IV approved An Act For Swans in 1482, which set out that only the king or wealthy landowners could own them.
The legislation held that any swan held by a commoner could be seized by a member of the aristocracy ‘whereof the King shall have one half and he that shall seize, the other half’.
An aristocrat’s ownership of a swan was confirmed by carving his family emblem on the bird’s upper beak.
The right to own swans was also granted to the Vintners and Dyers, major livery companies in the 15th century. This was probably used to strengthen the relationship between the Crown and the powerful trade guilds.
The monarch appointed an officer as Master of the Swans. The name was later changed to the Queen’s Royal Swan Marker and the current office holder is David Barber.
Every year in the third week of July, in a colourful 800- year- old ceremony, representatives of the Crown, Vintners and Dyers sail up the Thames in a flotilla of skiffs, traditional wooden rowing boats, in a week-long census known as Swan Upping. Swans are rounded up, caught, ringed and then released.
Simon B. Bowdler, Sudbury, Suffolk. QUESTION Other than cricket, are there other examples in sport of ball tampering? FURThER to the previous answer, which highlighted the use of the spitball in baseball, there was a corporate ball tampering scandal in Japan, where baseball is the national sport.
In 2012, all the balls in Japanese professional baseball were tampered with. Ryozo Katothe, commissioner of nippon Professional Baseball, resigned when it was discovered the league had conspired to ‘adjust’ the official balls.
During that season, the number of home runs increased by 40 per cent. It soon emerged that the match balls had been designed to have more bounce.
Paul Lewis, Sheffield.
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