As exotic and titillating as the goings-on looked through the widened eyes of a 17-year-old, Don Robbins could have been cruising the French Riviera or some other naughty playground halfway around the globe. As it was, he and a buddy were in a 1968 Camaro somewhere in the middle latitudes of Georgia, a short jaunt from their home in Forest Park.

By Jewly Hight The shelf life of a contemporary pop song is usually pretty short. People crave it for a season, a year at best, before getting tired of its ubiquitous hook and moving on to the next now thing. Johnny Mercer’s time was much friendlier to the catchy song; one singer’s version might spawn five others. He had plenty of hits that did just that...

By Stanley Booth Songs from “Accentuate The Positive” to “Moon River” bear the stamp of his assured lyrical hand and four Academy Awards testify to his place in Hollywood’s firmament of stars. But while Johnny Mercer’s songs remain well known, the man behind them often remains in the peripheral vision of near-obscurity. So who was Johnny Mercer, the...

Keeper of the brotherhood’s flame still burns bright By Lisa Love Gregg Allman has been portrayed various ways in the press over the years, his actions and motivations interpreted freely by many a music journalist and more than a few tabloid hacks (which is what a relationship with Cher will do to a guy, whether you’re a bagel boy or a rock star). But as a...