# Robert Mersey

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{{Short description|American musician, arranger, and record producer}}
{{Redirect|Bob Mersey|text="Bob Mersey" was also one of the pseudonyms of Finnish singer [Irwin Goodman](/source/Irwin_Goodman)}}
'''Robert David Mirsky''' (April 7, 1917 – December 14, 1994), known as '''Robert Mersey''',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10002/us-social-security-death-index-ssdi?itemId=7433681&action=showRecord |title=Robert D Mirsky - U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) - MyHeritage |access-date=2016-04-17 |archive-date=2016-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425235734/https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-10002/us-social-security-death-index-ssdi?itemId=7433681&action=showRecord |url-status=dead }}</ref> was an American musician, [arranger](/source/arrangement), and [record producer](/source/record_producer).

==Life and career==
In the 1950s, Mersey worked as an arranger with [Leiber and Stoller](/source/Leiber_and_Stoller).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9WKBHCxRocC&dq=%22robert+mersey%22&pg=PT59|title=Phil Spector: Wall Of Pain|first=Dave|last=Thompson|date=4 March 2010|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=9780857122162|access-date=8 October 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WKaQgGo9USYC&dq=%22robert+mersey%22&pg=PA75|title=He's a Rebel: Phil Spector--Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer|first=Mark|last=Ribowsky|page=75|date=2 May 2000|publisher=Cooper Square Press|isbn=9781461661030|access-date=8 October 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1959, he recorded "[Tracy's Theme](/source/Tracy's_Theme)", an [instrumental](/source/instrumental) written by Robert Ascher which was used in a new [NBC](/source/NBC) production of ''[The Philadelphia Story](/source/The_Philadelphia_Story_(play))''. The production company thought the tune had hit potential, so they worked out a deal with [Columbia Records](/source/Columbia_Records) to issue it as a single. However, Mersey was under contract with the new [Big Top](/source/Bigtop_Records) label as its musical director and had already released a single, "Bittersweet September," on the label. Devon Music, the publishing firm of Talent Associates owned by [David Susskind](/source/David_Susskind) and [Howie Richmond](/source/Howie_Richmond) at the time, created a fictitious artist named Spencer Ross, and retained ownership of the pseudonym for potential future use. Mersey's recording, under the pseudonym "'''Spencer Ross'''", peaked at number 13 on the [Billboard Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100). After "Tracy's Theme" became a hit, Mersey received permission to use the name Spencer Ross on his next Big Top single, "Theme of a Lonely Evening", but after that, the rights to the Ross name reverted to Devon Music.<ref name=bigtop>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/Archive-Billboard-IDX/IDX/60s/1960/Billboard%201960-03-28-OCR-Page-0017.pdf
|
title=Bob Mersey to Big Top|magazine=Billboard|date=March 28, 1960|page=17|access-date=28 July 2015}}{{dead link|date=May 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Mersey married English lyricist [Pam Sawyer](/source/Pam_Sawyer) in May 1956; they later divorced.<ref name=betts>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RG_LAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22pam+sawyer%22+writer+motown&pg=PT543|title=Motown Encyclopedia|first=Graham|last=Betts|date=2 June 2014|publisher=AC Publishing|isbn=9781311441546|access-date=8 October 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref> From the early 1960s he was employed as an arranger and producer at Columbia Records, where he was responsible for records by singers such as [Andy Williams](/source/Andy_Williams), [Barbra Streisand](/source/Barbra_Streisand), [Bobby Vinton](/source/Bobby_Vinton), [Dion](/source/Dion_DiMucci), [Johnny Mathis](/source/Johnny_Mathis), [Julie Andrews](/source/Julie_Andrews), [Mel Tormé](/source/Mel_Torm%C3%A9), [Patti Page](/source/Patti_Page) and [Ray Peterson](/source/Ray_Peterson).<ref>[http://www.45cat.com/45_arranger.php?ta=Robert+Mersey Robert Mersey at 45cat.com]. Retrieved 19 February 2014</ref><ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/robert-mersey-mn0000282911/credits Credits at Allmusic.com]. Retrieved 19 February 2014</ref><ref name=space/> In 1960, he conducted the orchestra in the song "[Good Timin'](/source/Good_Timin'_(Jimmy_Jones_song))", sung by [Jimmy Jones](/source/Jimmy_Jones_(singer)). The song also later became a hit for [Kyu Sakamoto](/source/Kyu_Sakamoto). He was also responsible for many of [Aretha Franklin](/source/Aretha_Franklin)'s early recordings at Columbia, including her 1964 tribute album to [Dinah Washington](/source/Dinah_Washington), ''[Unforgettable](/source/Unforgettable%3A_A_Tribute_to_Dinah_Washington)''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5uyLgEfk34C&dq=%22robert+mersey%22&pg=PT90|title=Higher Ground: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rise and Fall of American Soul|first=Craig|last=Werner|date=18 December 2007|publisher=Crown|isbn=9780307420879|access-date=8 October 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref> According to writer Ursula Rivera, Mersey "was able to provide musical arrangements that highlighted Aretha's unique voice whether she was singing a noisy blues number or a heartbreaking ballad."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eBUjNNuVNmwC&dq=%22bob+mersey%22&pg=PT40|title=Aretha Franklin|first=Ursula|last=Rivera|date=15 December 2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|isbn=9780823936397|access-date=8 October 2021|via=Google Books}}</ref> Mersey also arranged and composed for [CBS Television](/source/CBS_Television) and films, and produced several albums of incidental music, including ''Great Jazz from Great TV'', credited to "Det Moor".<ref name=space>[http://www.spaceagepop.com/mersey.htm Bob Mersey at SpaceAgePop.com]. Retrieved 19 February 2014</ref>

He died in [Baltimore, Maryland](/source/Baltimore%2C_Maryland), at the age of 77.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mersey, Robert}}
Category:1917 births
Category:1994 deaths
Category:American music industry executives
Category:American music arrangers
Category:Columbia Records
Category:20th-century American musicians
Category:20th-century American businesspeople

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robert Mersey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mersey) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mersey?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.