Top Banana is a musical with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and book by Hy Kraft which premiered on Broadway in 1951. The show was written as a star vehicle for comedian Phil Silvers, who played the host of a television variety show program. Silvers won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical in 1952.
original cast recording
Silvers as Jerry Biffle
John Herndon Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallichs.
Johnny Mercer, c. 1947
Childhood home of Johnny Mercer, 224-226 East Gwinnett Street
The historic Mercer House in Savannah, Georgia, built for the songwriter's great-grandfather. (Johnny Mercer did not live there.)
Self-portrait and signature of Johnny Mercer from bench at his grave in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.