Sadie Vimmerstedt Papers, ca. 1957-ca. 1963 and n.d.

Georgia State University

Descriptive Inventory

Biographical Note:

Sadie Vimmerstedt, who was a resident of Youngstown, Ohio, wrote a letter to Johnny Mercer in February of 1957 suggesting that Mercer write a song entitled “When Somebody Breaks Your Heart,” suggesting the theme “I want to be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart.”  In February of 1959, Mercer responded to Mrs. Vimmerstedt’s suggestion, and wrote the song, ultimately sharing authorship with her on a 50/50 basis.  Tony Bennett’s recording of the song “I Wanna Be Around” was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1963.

Scope and Content of the Collection:

Mrs. Vimmerstedt’s collection includes Mercer’s letter first letter to her, a few Christmas cards from Mercer, photographs taken at the 1963 Grammy Awards banquet, an acetate demonstration recording of Mercer singing “I Wanna Be Around,” a 45 rpm copy of Tony Bennett’s recording of the song, and a Grammy nomination plaque.

The recordings have been shelved with the Popular Music Collection sound recording collection; the plaque has been shelved with other music artifacts; a list of songs by Johnny Mercer has been added to the ephemera files.

Several pieces of correspondence from Mrs. Vimmerstedt to Johnny Mercer, including a photocopy of her first letter to him, can be found in the Johnny Mercer Papers.  The finding aid to the Mercer Papers contains a correspondent index to assist in locating the letters.