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 Will Survive
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Kept thinkin' I could never live without you by my side;
But then I spent so many nights
Thinkin' how you did me wrong
And I grew strong
And so you're back from outer space
I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face
I should have changed that stupid lock
If I'd've known for just one second you'd back to bother me
Go on now, go walk out the door
Just turn around now
('cause) you're not welcome anymore
Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
Did I crumble
Did you think I'd lay down and die?
Oh no, not.I. I will survive
Oh as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive;
I've got all my life to live,
I've got all my love to give and I'll survive,
I will survive. Hey hey.
It took all the strength I had not to fall apart
Kept trying' hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart,
And I spent oh so many nights
Just feeling sorry for myself. I used to cry
But now I hold my head up high
And you see me somebody new
I'm not that chained up little person still in love with you,
And so you feel like droppin' in
And just expect me to be free,
Now I'm savin' all my lovin' for someone who's lovin' me
Go on now
, go walk out the door
Just turn around now
('cause) you're not welcome anymore
In Johnny Mathis’s song “I Will Survive”, the singer talks about how they initially felt like they couldn't live without their former lover, but over time, they developed a sense of strength and resilience. The opening lyrics are centered around the emotions of fear and loss, with the singer feeling petrified at the prospect of living without their lover. However, over time, they realize that they don't need their lover to survive. They grow strong and become more independent.
When the former lover attempts to come back into the singer’s life, they feel a sense of empowerment, as they have learned to stand their ground and move on. The lyrics reveal that the singer has found someone new and is no longer interested in their former lover. They have changed and grown beyond that relationship, and the former lover's attempts to “just expect [them] to be free” are met with a firm rejection of their advances.
Overall, “I Will Survive” is a song about personal growth and resilience. It shows that even after experiencing heartbreak, it's possible to come out stronger and move forward with life.
Line by Line Meaning
At first I was afraid I was petrified
I was terrified when I first thought about living without you.
Kept thinkin' I could never live without you by my side;
I always believed that I couldn't survive without you in my life.
But then I spent so many nights
Over time, I spent many sleepless nights reflecting on how you treated me wrong.
Thinkin' how you did me wrong
I thought about all the hurtful things that you have done to me.
And I grew strong
Those experiences helped me become a stronger person.
And so you're back from outer space
You have returned unexpectedly and uninvited.
I just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face
I entered the room and saw your unhappy expression.
I should have changed that stupid lock
I regret not changing the lock to prevent your return.
I should have made you leave your key
I should have made sure you didn't have a key that could let you back in.
If I'd've known for just one second you'd back to bother me
If I had even a slight suspicion that you would return to bother me.
Go on now, go walk out the door
Please leave now and don't come back.
Just turn around now ('cause) you're not welcome anymore
You are not welcome here anymore, so please leave.
Weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye
You are the one who tried to hurt me by leaving.
Did I crumble
Did I fall apart after you left?
Did you think I'd lay down and die?
Did you expect me to give up on life after you abandoned me?
Oh no, not.I. I will survive
I refuse to let your actions destroy me. I will survive.
Oh as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive;
As long as I have love in my heart, I know I can survive anything.
I've got all my life to live,
I still have my entire life ahead of me.
I've got all my love to give and I'll survive,
I have so much love to give, and I know I can persevere through any challenges that come my way.
I will survive. Hey hey.
I will survive, and that's a fact.
It took all the strength I had not to fall apart
It took every ounce of my being to not crumble under the weight of my heartbreak.
Kept trying' hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart,
I worked tirelessly to piece my broken heart back together.
And I spent oh so many nights
I spent countless nights feeling sorry for myself.
Just feeling sorry for myself. I used to cry
I would only wallow in self-pity and cry.
But now I hold my head up high
Now, I am confident and unashamed of who I am.
And you see me somebody new
I have become a transformed person, and you might not recognize me anymore.
I'm not that chained up little person still in love with you,
I am no longer the person who was once held captive by my love for you.
And so you feel like droppin' in
You show up unannounced, feeling like you can just drop in whenever you feel like it.
And just expect me to be free,
You assume that I will always be available to you whenever you want.
Now I'm savin' all my lovin' for someone who's lovin' me
But now, I am reserving all my love for someone who loves me in return.
Go on now
Please leave now.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CALVIN BROADUS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind