When October Goes
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"When October Goes" is a ballad based on a lyric Johnny Mercer had written but did not complete before his 1976 death. It was matched up to a melody by pop singer Barry Manilow and published in 1984, becoming one of the top Adult Contemporary hits of that year in the United States.
In his last year, as he was dying from brain cancer, Mercer became extremely fond of Manilow, in part because Manilow's first hit record was of a song titled "Mandy," which was also the name of Mercer's daughter. After Mercer's death, his widow, Ginger Mehan Mercer, arranged to give some unfinished lyrics he had written to Manilow to possibly develop into complete songs. Among these was "When October Goes," a melancholy remembrance of lost love. Manilow applied his own melody to the lyric and issued it as a single in 1984. The song has since become a jazz standard, with notable recordings by Rosemary Clooney, Nancy Wilson and Megon McDonough, among other performers.
This song first appeared on the album 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe.
