- Collection:
- Johnny Mercer Collections
- Title:
- Nick Mamalakis oral history interview, 1997-05-15
- Creator:
- Mamalakis, Nick
- Contributor to Resource:
- Paton, Christopher Ann, 1956-
- Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia State University Library
- Date of Original:
- 1997-05-15
- Subject:
- Lyric writing (Popular music)
Lyricists
Lyricists--Biography
Lyrics and lyricists
Popular music - People:
- Mercer, Johnny, 1909-1976
- Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
- Medium:
- oral histories (document genres)
- Type:
- Sound
- Format:
- audio/mpeg
- Description:
- Nick Mamalakis went to work for the Mercer Insurance Agency in 1932, the year he graduated from Savannah High School. Except for a period of four and a half years in naval intelligence in World War II, he remained in the employ of Johnny Mercer's father, G. A. Mercer, for fifty years.
After a brief discussion of his youth and early years with the Mercer Insurance Agency, Mamalakis provides a quick sketch of Johnny Mercer's family background. The conversation then turns to Mamalakis' friendship with Johnny Mercer. Mamalakis mentions several anecdotes regarding his visits to Johnny Mercer in New York, Mercer's visits to African-American churches in Savannah, and Mercer's trips to Savannah as an adult. Mamalakis also speaks about Ginger Mercer, and about Amanda Mercer's debut in Savannah. He talks at some length about Johnny Mercer's repayment of his father's debts and Mercer's generosity to Savannah charities. Near the end of the interview, Chris Paton and Mamalakis discuss Mercer's last visit to Savannah. - Metadata URL:
- http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/music/id/1942
- Language:
- eng
- Additional Rights Information:
- Copyright to items in this collection is owned by Georgia State University Library. Georgia State University Library has made this digital collection available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. Please see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ for more information.
- Bibliographic Citation (Cite As):
- M034_MamalakisN, Johnny Mercer Oral History Project, Popular Music and Culture Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
- Original Collection:
- Popular Music and Culture Collection
Johnny Mercer Papers - Holding Institution:
- Georgia State University. Special Collections
- Rights:
-
