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.
Away in a Manger
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No crib for His bed
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down His sweet head
The stars
In the bright sky
Look down where lay
The little Lord Jesus
The cattle are lowing
The baby awakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying he makes
I love you Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle
'Til morning is night
Be near me Lord Jesus
I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray
Bless all
The dear children
In thy tender care
And feen us for Heaven
To live with thee there
The song "Away In A Manger" depicts the humble and peaceful scene of Jesus' birth. The first stanza portrays the simplicity of Jesus' birthplace, with no crib for him to lay in, only a manger filled with hay. The second stanza talks about how the baby Jesus stayed calm and didn't cry despite the cattle lowing around him. The third and final stanza brings attention to the unconditional love that Jesus offers to everyone. The singer asks Jesus to watch over them and bless all the children in his care before concluding with a wish to be ready to go to Heaven.
The lyrics of "Away in a Manger" invite the listener to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, which is about the birth of Jesus and the love he brings to the world. It reminds us of the importance of selflessness, humility, and giving, virtues that the baby Jesus portrays. The song talks about how we need to love and care for one another as Jesus does, and how we need to be ready to be with him in Heaven when the time arises.
Line by Line Meaning
Away in a manger
The infant Jesus is sleeping on a makeshift bed made of hay
No crib for His bed
There was no proper crib or bed available for the baby Jesus to sleep in
The little Lord Jesus
The baby Jesus, who is the Lord incarnate, is lying down in the manger
Lay down His sweet head
The baby Jesus gently placed His head down to rest
The stars
The shining celestial bodies in the sky
In the bright sky
The sky is illuminated with a bright light
Look down where lay
The stars look down on the place where the baby Jesus is sleeping
The little Lord Jesus
The baby Jesus, who is the Lord incarnate, is lying down in the manger
Asleep on the hay
The baby Jesus is asleep on a bed made of hay
The cattle are lowing
The cows and other animals are making noises
The baby awakes
The noise of the animals wakes the baby Jesus up
But little Lord Jesus
The baby Jesus, who is the Lord incarnate, remains calm even after being awakened
No crying he makes
The baby Jesus does not cry or make any noise despite being awakened
I love you Lord Jesus
The singer expresses love for Jesus as Lord
Look down from the sky
The singer asks Jesus to look down from the heavens above
And stay by my cradle
The artist requests Jesus to remain beside his/her cradle
‘Til morning is night
The artist wants Jesus to stay close until the morning comes
Be near me Lord Jesus
The singer requests Jesus to come near and be with him/her
I ask thee to stay
The singer asks Jesus to stay beside him/her
Close by me forever
The artist requests Jesus to remain close to him/her always
And love me I pray
The artist prays that Jesus will always love him/her
Bless all
The artist asks Jesus to bless all
The dear children
The singer requests Jesus to bless all the dear children
In thy tender care
The artist hopes that Jesus will take care of all the children lovingly
And feen us for Heaven
The singer hopes that Jesus will lead them towards Heaven
To live with thee there
The singer hopes to live with Jesus in Heaven
Contributed by Keira G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.