A mega-star for nearly sixty years, no one has more records sold and memorable songs than Johnny Mathis. But you’d also be surprised at how few #1 hits he’s had over the years. And, was he too prolific for his own legacy?
For all the questions about singer Johnny Mathis over his six-decade career as a recording artist…the rumors, and the seeming endless comebacks to public recognition…there is no question that Mathis is one of the world’s most recorded artists, and that he stands second to no one in terms of his recognized popular songs.
Twelfth Of Never, Gina, Wonderful, A Certain Smile, What Will Mary Say…and Chances Are. And chances are you’re familiar with every one of the afore-mentioned, his career earnings for records sold in the top echelon of recording artists, all-time – estimated to be over 400 million, world-wide!
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His recent appearance on a PBS special aroused the latest interest in the career and span of Johnny Mathis’s legacy, along with his announcement last year that he would retire from touring and public performances due to age (90) and concerns over his memory. But it also made people remember, and appreciate, the talent and achievements of one of the world’s best singers, even if many had never heard him at his best.
How good was Johnny Mathis? And what made his voice so recognizable? Well largely because of quality of his distinct tenor voice that had an almost ethereal quality. And second, his amazing quality for intonation. For the entire span of his career, Mathis had the enviable quality hitting every note in exact tune, regardless range. And there’s no better example than the accompanying performance that you can listen to, below.
How popular was Johnny Mathis at his zenith? Mathis, along with Barbara Streisand, Tony Bennett, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, are the longest-tenured artists in the history of Columbus Records. Except for one brief period in the early 60s when he work with Mercury Records, Mathis has been contracted with Columbus for 57 years, consecutively. His sales have been that consistent…that good!
That good in terms of top-ten records like It’s Not For Me To Say…Chances Are…Wonderful, Wonderful…Misty…and Twelfth Of Never…but when Mathis recorded and charted Chances Are in 1963 little did anyone know that it would be his last #1-hit for a period of fifteen years! It left many in his day to wonder…if was work was simply too good, and too prolific, to be properly appreciated
Nor until 1978 did Mathis reach the top of the US Billboard chart again when he collaborated with friend Deniece Williams to record a Nat Kipner and John Vallins song entitled Too Much, Too Little, Too Late. Released as a single in 1978, it would top Hot 100 chart, the Adult Contemporary chart, the R&B chart, and the World Record singles chart. And outside the United States, the record peaked as the #9 hit in Canada and rose to #3 in Great Britain, where it has always been a tough climb for American artists.
And while Mathis has never outwardly fretted about the competitive quality of his work, his professional pride was said to have been hurt over the fact that with all those top-ten popular songs for so many years since Chances Are…none of them reached #1 until he combined his talents with those of Deniece Williams.
Williams was born in Gary, Indiana, and through her own brief career had won four grammy awards with twelve nominations, described as one of the great ‘soul’ voices by critics around the world.
Ironically, out of high school her ambition was to become a registered nurse, but she dropped out of nursing school because, in her own words, “You have to be a good student to become a nurse, and I wasn’t.”
But she could sing, and before long after bouncing around as a club performer, she became a backup singer for Stevie Wonder, and later, Roberta Flack.
In 1975 she left Stevie Wonder to sign a record deal with Columbia Records, and within two years her voice and her soaring soprano range had caught the admiration of Mathis. Too Much, Too Little, Too Late had been presented to him as a duo project. Mathis, who enjoyed the challenge of duets and combining talents with other contrasting voices, instantly agreed. And when he and Williams put their talents together on Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, producer Jack Gold instantly recognized the recording’s ‘WOW’ factor.
The recording reached #1 in both the United States, and the United Kingdom, and set about a series of duos by Mathis and Williams, including the follow-up single, That’s What Friends Are For. Later, Mathis would combine with Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, and Natalie Cole, but none of those arrangements came anywhere close to the ‘WOW’ factor of Too Much, Too Little, Too Late. It’s still Deniece Williams’ most recognized popular work.
And Johnny Mathis’ second, and last #1 US hit record…47 years ago!
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