Johnny was 13 years old when Clem took him to see Connie Cox, a Bay Area voice teacher, who agreed to take on the youngster in exchange for his doing odd jobs around her house. Johnny studied with Connie for six years learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical and operatic skills.
At George Washington High School, Johnny was known not only for his singing ability but his athleticism as well. He became a star athlete on the track and field team as a high jumper and hurdler and played on the basketball team.
In 1954, Johnny enrolled at San Francisco State College with the intention of being an English and Physical Education teacher. While there, Johnny set a high jump record of 6’-5 1/2”. This is still on the College’s Top 15 list and was only two inches short of the Olympic record of the time. Just as when he was in high school, Johnny’s name was frequently mentioned in the sports sections of the Northern California newspapers. He was often referred to as “the best all-around athlete to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area”.
A fellow student whose sextet was working at the Black Hawk nightclub brought Johnny in for a Sunday afternoon jam session. It was at the Black Hawk that Helen Noga, co-owner of the club, first heard him sing. She decided that she wanted to manage his career.
In early September of 1955, Johnny landed a job singing weekends at Ann Dee’s 440 Club. After repeated attempts, Helen convinced George Avakian, then head of Jazz A&R at Columbia, to see him. Avakian came to the club, heard Johnny sing and sent the now famous telegram to his record company: “Have found phenomenal 19 year old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts.”
Avakian left for New York after telling Johnny that he would eventually send for him. Johnny continued his studies at San Francisco State and gained additional fame as a high jumper. In early 1956, Johnny was asked to attend the trials for the 1956 Olympic teams that would travel to Melbourne, Australia that summer. At the same time, Columbia Records requested that Johnny come to New York to start arrangements for his first recording session. Clem helped his son decide that his future and best interests were with the recording company. So, Johnny gave up his chance to become a member of the USA Olympic Team. He went to New York to record his first album in March of 1956.
The first album was a collection of jazz oriented renditions of popular standards entitled: Johnny Mathis: A New Sound In Popular Song. It included jazz musicians Gil Evans, John Lewis and Teo Macero and songs like “Angel Eyes”, “Easy to Love” and “Babalu”. The album enjoyed only moderate success because jazz vocal albums were not good sellers. Nevertheless, Johnny remained in New York and landed bookings at some of the leading nightclubs such as the Village Vanguard, The Blue Angel and Basin Street East.
Soon, Columbia placed Johnny under the supervision of producer Mitch Miller. Mitch favored using Johnny’s voice to sing soft, romantic ballads. At his second recording session, in the fall of 1956, Johnny recorded two singles. These songs were to become among his most popular all-time greatest hits: “Wonderful, Wonderful” and “It’s Not For Me To Say.” Subsequently, MGM Studios signed Johnny to sing “It’s Not For Me To Say” in the film Lizzie . He played a tavern piano bar singer. In 1958, Johnny made another motion picture appearance. This time it was for 20th Century Fox in A Certain Smile. In this movie, he sang the title song playing himself in an elegant nightclub scene. Since then, Johnny’s voice has been used in countless Hollywood movies for theme songs, background music and to enhance a particular setting or segment.
“Wonderful, Wonderful” and “It’s Not For Me To Say” reached their peaks on the BILLBOARD pop chart in July of 1957. These successes were followed by the monumental single “Chances Are” which became Johnny’s first #1 hit.
In June of 1957, Johnny appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show where he was introduced to the record buying public and became a national celebrity and household name. Columbia Records continued to release albums of Johnny singing beautiful and romantic ballads, classic standards and the best songs from Broadway musicals. These albums, like the singles, became immediate successes with sales in the millions. It was not uncommon for Johnny to have as many as four albums on the BILLBOARD Top Albums chart at the same time. In late 1959, Johnny recorded another song that became synonymous with the name of Johnny Mathis, the Erroll Garner composition, “Misty”.
Johnny’s accomplishments are numerous and varied. He holds many records and has set many precedents in the music industry. In 1958, two years after being signed by Columbia Records, Johnny’s Greatest Hits was released. It began a “Greatest Hits” tradition copied by every record company since then. Johnny’s Greatest Hits went on to become one of the most popular albums of all time and spent an unprecedented 490 continuous weeks (almost ten years) on the BILLBOARD Top Albums Chart. This record has been noted in the GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS.
According to record historian Joel Whitburn, Johnny is one of only five recording artists to have Top 40 Hits spanning each of the four decades since 1955. Amazingly, his second #1 Hit Single, “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” (recorded with Deniece Williams), came almost 21 years after his very first #1 Hit Single, “Chances Are”.
Johnny has been honored to make several appearances before various heads of state. Starting in June of 1973, he sang at a State Dinner held in honor of the President of Liberia. In 1978, Johnny sang for the British Royal Family at A Command Performance held at The London Palladium. He performed for President and Mrs. Reagan at the State Dinner held in honor of the Prime Minister of Japan in April of 1987. Four years later in April of 1991, he sang for President and Mrs. Bush in honor of the President of Nicaragua. Most recently, in May of 1994, Johnny sang for President and Mrs. Clinton (along with the other five living First Ladies) at a very special First Ladies Tribute.
Johnny has also been honored by entertainment heads of state. In June of 1972, he was awarded his own star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has participated in the Academy Awards presentation many times to sing the song nominated in the “Best Song” category. He has received two Grammy nominations. The first was for “Misty” in 1960 in the category of Best Vocal Performance Single Record or Track Male. The second came in 1992 for In a Sentimental Mood/Mathis Sings Ellington in the category of Best Traditional Pop Performance.
1996 marked Johnny’s 40th Anniversary as a recording artist. He celebrated by releasing All About Love. He then released The Global Masters (songs from his three year contract at Mercury Records) in 1997, and 1998 saw the release of The Ultimate Hits and Because You Loved Me.
In his free time, Johnny loves to golf. He plays golf almost every day when he’s not traveling and has sung at many golf banquets such as the Ryder Cup. In 1985 and 1986, Johnny hosted his own golf tournament, The Johnny Mathis Seniors PGA Classic which was held in Los Angeles, California.
Johnny’s other favorite avocation is cooking. He is a gourmet cook who cooks for himself and often others when he’s home or traveling. His mother taught him at an early age how to cook up a storm and do it well. He’s enjoyed doing so all his life.
Angel Eyes
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Still it's uncomfortably near
My own heart ain't gainin' no ground
Because my Angel Eyes ain't here
Angel Eyes that old devil sent
They glow unbearably bright
Need I say that my love's mis-spent
So drink up, drink up all you people
And order anything you see
Have fun you happy people
The drink, and the laugh's, on me
Pardon me, but I gotta run
The fact's uncommonly clear
I gotta find who's now number one
And why my Angel Eyes ain't here.
I gotta find who's now the number one
And why my Angel Eyes ain't here.
`Scuse me while I disappear.
In Johnny Mathis's song Angel Eyes, the singer longs for his love but realizes that she is not around. He suggests that love itself may not be present, but the feeling of longing is still uncomfortably near. The singer's heart is not winning in the battle of love because his Angel Eyes are not present. The Angel Eyes are described as a devil sent glow that is unbearably bright. The singer acknowledges that his love for Angel Eyes may be unrequited, and this love is being mis-spent.
The song switches over to a livelier tune and the singer invites the people around him to drink and have fun at his expense. However, even in the midst of festivities, he cannot shake off the feeling of longing. The singer realizes that he must find out who or what is keeping his Angel Eyes away from him. The song ends with the singer saying that he needs to disappear to find his Angel Eyes. The lyrics of the song conveys the feeling of heartache and a longing for love.
Line by Line Meaning
Try to think that love's not around
I am trying not to think about love because it is painful.
Still it's uncomfortably near
Even though I am trying to ignore love, it is still close to me and makes me uncomfortable.
My own heart ain't gainin' no ground
My heart is not making any progress because I am missing my Angel Eyes.
Because my Angel Eyes ain't here
I am feeling incomplete and lost without my Angel Eyes.
Angel Eyes that old devil sent
My Angel Eyes, the one I am missing, is like a devil that has been sent to torment me.
They glow unbearably bright
My feelings for my Angel Eyes are so strong that it is unbearable to be without them.
Need I say that my love's mis-spent
It is clear that my love for my Angel Eyes is not reciprocated or is not leading to anything positive.
Mis-spent with Angel Eyes tonight
I am acknowledging that spending my love on my Angel Eyes is not bringing me any happiness.
So drink up, drink up all you people
I want everyone to enjoy themselves and have a good time.
And order anything you see
Don't worry about the cost, I will take care of it.
Have fun you happy people
I want everyone to be happy and enjoy themselves.
The drink, and the laugh's, on me
I am offering to pay for the drinks and the fun, so everyone can have a good time.
Pardon me, but I gotta run
I apologize for leaving but I have to go.
The fact's uncommonly clear
It is obvious that I cannot stay because I need to find what is missing in my life.
I gotta find who's now number one
I need to find out who is the most important person in my life right now.
And why my Angel Eyes ain't here.
I need to figure out why my Angel Eyes is not with me and what I can do to bring them back.
`Scuse me while I disappear.
I am sorry but I need to leave and find my Angel Eyes, so I can be complete again.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Fintage House Publishing
Written by: ANTHONY BARRO, RUSSELL DIXON, JOEL N FAVIERE, ASHLEY HITTESDORF, JAKE JONES, NICHOLAS OROZCO, ERIK N RON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind