Folks,
I’ve had such great luck getting research help on this list that I thought I would try one more time. For the WWII documentary I am producing, I’d really like to find a public domain recording of Johnny Mercer’s "Accentuate the Positive.” In looking at the Jubilee catalog that I was turned on to by a number of list members from a previous post, I was able to find listings for two programs that appear to have live performances of the song. Program number 95 has a performance by Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers, and program number 146 has the song performed by Louis Armstrong. I haven’t been able to find copies online of either program. If by any chance any of you have either of these programs in your archives, I would love to get a digital copy in whatever format you have available. I was able to find a copy online of a third Jubilee program where Eddie Rochester Anderson sings it, but the audio quality of the original disc is so poor that even with noise reduction applied it’s pretty much unusable. It is in episode 124. However, if no copies of the other two programs are out there but you have access to a cleaner recording of the Anderson version, I’d certainly take that as well. Ditto if anyone knows of another live performance done on another AFRS program, especially by Mercer. I have found it on several AFRS DJ’d programs (like Mail Call and GI Jive), but those just feature the commercial hit recording of it, which isn’t public domain. Lastly, I have seen reference to an AFRS show that Mercer himself hosted called Song Sheet, but I can’t find any reference to any available recordings out there of that show online. If you have any of you have copies of that series and it happens to feature Mercer singing the song, that would be fantastic.
So, if by any chance anyone out there has any live version of it on an any live AFRS program that is in halfway decent shape, I’d love to get a copy.
Thanks a million!
All the best,
Dan
Dan Gediman
Producer
The Home Front: Life in America During WWII
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502.299.2565
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