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.
I'll Be Home For Christmas
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the lovelight gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
I'll be home for Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the lovelight gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the tree tops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all
Your Christmases be white
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the tree tops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases
May all your Christmases
May all your Christmases
May all your Christmases be white
I'm dreaming of a white
Christmas with you
Jingle Bells
All the way, all the way
The song "I'll Be Home for Christmas" was written by Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, and Buck Ram in 1943 during World War II. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of a soldier stationed abroad who is longing to be home for Christmas. The song quickly became a hit and has since become a classic Christmas song that is still popular today.
The song begins with the soldier's promise to be home for Christmas and his request for traditional Christmas decorations such as snow, mistletoe, and presents under the tree. The soldier then describes his ideal Christmas Eve with the "lovelight" glowing, presumably in his home with his family. The soldier acknowledges that he may not be able to make it home for Christmas but that he will be there in spirit, even if it is only in his dreams.
The second half of the song shifts to a more general Christmas theme, with the soldier dreaming of a white Christmas and reminiscing about Christmas memories from his past. He wishes his loved ones a merry and bright holiday season and hopes that they have white Christmases, just like in the movies. The song ends with the soldier expressing his longing to spend Christmas with a loved one and the singalong chorus of "Jingle Bells."
Overall, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is a poignant song that captures the emotions of soldiers and families separated during the holiday season. Its popularity over the years has made it a Christmas standard, and its message of hope and longing continues to resonate with people of all ages.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll be home for Christmas
I will come home for Christmas
You can plan on me
You can count on me to be there
Please have snow and mistletoe
I hope there is snow and mistletoe for me to see
And presents on the tree
I hope you put presents on the tree for me
Christmas Eve will find me
I will be there on Christmas Eve
Where the lovelight gleams
I will be wherever there is love and warmth
I'll be home for Christmas
I will come home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
If I cannot make it, I will dream of being home
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
I hope for a Christmas with snow
Just like the ones I used to know
Like the memories of Christmases past
Where the tree tops glisten
When the snow on trees shines like stars
And children listen
When children hear the sleigh bells and feel the magic
To hear sleigh bells in the snow
To hear the sound of the sleigh bells in the still night
With every Christmas card I write
In every card, I wish for snow
May your days be merry and bright
I wish you happiness and light this season
And may all your Christmases be white
May all your Christmases be snowy and perfect
I'm dreaming of a white
I hope for a white Christmas
Christmas with you
And I hope to spend it with you
Jingle Bells
I hear the sound of Jingle Bells ringing
All the way, all the way
Throughout the holiday season
Lyrics © GANNON & KENT MUSIC CO, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Buck Ram, Walter Kent, Kim Gannon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John Kidder
This song truly makes me think of my mom. She is gone now, Christmas will never be the same. Love you Mom.
El Cruiser
I AGREE 100% John. Lost My Mother As Well [She Loved Christmas Sooo Much] That For Me Christmas Yearns For Her To Sing To Me Ave Maria.
John doremi
you made my eyes whater.
Deb Lockwood
My Dad adored Johnny Mathis. We had his music playing in our house 24/7/365. I always get a lump in my throat listening to this beautiful voice. I agree GOAT!!!♥️♥️♥️
Kristin Apuzzo
Johnny Mathis's Christmas album was part of my childhood. His music was always playing. He has one of the most beautiful voices. ♥️🎄
Marc Info
Same here, such nostalgia, beautiful music
Shirley Adams
David Ritchie CC TF uh uh
NorCarMedia
Same with me back in the 60’s growing up in Manila,Philippines🇵🇭.His music brings back good n bad memories with my father.Mery X’mas everyone
John Kidder
My very favorite Christmas song of all time. The only Christmas song that makes me feel so sad and thinking of all the Christmas Past with my family when I was young.
susie yu
Same herr.