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.
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little lamb,
Do you see what I see?
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite,
With a tail as big as a kite.
Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea,
With a voice as big as the sea.
Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
Do you know what I know?
In your palace warm, mighty king,
Do you know what I know?
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold,
Let us bring him silver and gold.
Said the king to the people everywhere,
Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere,
Listen to what I say!
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light,
He will bring us goodness and light.
The song "Do You Hear What I Hear?" by Johnny Mathis is a classic Christmas carol that tells the story of a conversation between a night wind, a little lamb, a shepherd boy, a mighty king, and the people. The song begins with the night wind asking the little lamb if it sees the star in the sky with a tail as big as a kite. This is a reference to the Star of Bethlehem, which the Wise Men followed to find the baby Jesus.
The little lamb then asks the shepherd boy if he can hear the song that is ringing through the sky with a voice as big as the sea. The song is believed to be the message of the angels who proclaimed the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in the field.
The shepherd boy then asks the mighty king if he knows what he knows, referring to the message of the angels. The king, who is living in luxury in his warm palace, is not aware of the Child who is shivering in the cold. The shepherd boy tells the king that they must bring him silver and gold.
In the last verse, the king addresses the people and tells them to listen to what he has to say. He urges them to pray for peace everywhere and announces that the Child sleeping in the night will bring them goodness and light. This is a reference to the hope and salvation that Jesus brings to the world.
Overall, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a song that celebrates the birth of Jesus and the message of hope and peace that he brings to the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Said the night wind to the little lamb,
The wind speaks to the lamb inquiring if the lamb can notice the event happening in the sky.
Do you see what I see?
The wind asks the lamb if it is aware of the bright star in the sky, noticeable even from the earth.
Way up in the sky, little lamb,
The wind reminds the lamb that the event is unfolding far in the sky, where it can hardly see.
Do you see what I see?
The wind repeats its query hoping the lamb will comprehend the importance of the star.
A star, a star, dancing in the night
The wind describes the star, highlighting its vibrant movement and the fact that it is visible at night.
With a tail as big as a kite,
The wind creates a vivid image of the star with its tail comparable to the size of a kite.
With a tail as big as a kite.
The wind repeats its earlier description of the star to emphasize its peculiar appearance.
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
The lamb shares the observation with the shepherd boy, assuming he might be aware of the star's importance.
Do you hear what I hear?
The lamb asks if the shepherd boy can hear the beautiful music echoing through the sky.
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
The lamb highlights the music's continuity and transcendence, reaching over the entire sky.
Do you hear what I hear?
The lamb repeats the same question, hopeful that the boy has perceived the beauty of the sound.
A song, a song high above the trees
The lamb characterizes the music as a beautiful tune surpassing even the trees' height.
With a voice as big as the sea,
The lamb describes the sound as enormous and grand, as massive as the vastness of the sea.
With a voice as big as the sea.
The lamb emphasizes the music's grandeur, hoping the shepherd boy is moved by it too.
Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
The shepherd boy shares the event with the king, eagerly telling him the news he heard from the lamb.
Do you know what I know?
The boy asks the king if he is aware of the upcoming event that he found out about.
In your palace warm, mighty king,
The boy reminds the king of his comfortable palace, highlighting his power and wealth.
Do you know what I know?
The boy repeats the earlier question, hoping the king understands the importance of the news he is about to receive.
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
The boy tells the king about the baby who is currently cold and in need of help.
Let us bring him silver and gold,
The boy asks the king to give away his riches and provide the necessary resources to help the baby.
Let us bring him silver and gold.
The boy repeats his plea for the boy's sake, hoping the king would act upon his words.
Said the king to the people everywhere,
The king passes on the message to his subjects, sharing the news with his people.
Listen to what I say!
The king commands everyone to listen carefully to his message, realizing the importance of his words.
Pray for peace, people, everywhere,
The king urges his people to pray for peace and well-being all around the world.
Listen to what I say!
The king emphasizes the importance of his final message, hoping his people will take it seriously.
The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
The king tells his people about the baby who is currently sleeping and vulnerable.
He will bring us goodness and light,
The king describes the baby as a source of hope, light, and goodness, who can benefit everyone.
He will bring us goodness and light.
The king repeats his final message, hoping to ingrain the importance of this idea into his people's minds.
Lyrics © REGENT MUSIC CORPORATION
Written by: Noel Regney, Gloria Shayne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind