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.
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everywhere you go
Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see, is the holly that will be
A pair of Hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Soon the bells will start
And the thing that will make them ring, is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Soon the bells will start
And the thing that will make them ring, is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas
Johnny Mathis's classic Christmas song "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is a timeless classic that captures the spirit and joy of the holiday season. The song opens with the announcement that Christmas is starting to take shape around the town, with decorations and lights everywhere you go. The chorus then emphasizes the sights of Christmas and the toys available in every store. The third stanza breaks away to different children's wishes for Hopalong boots, pistols that shoot, dolls that talk and walk, followed by parents who can't wait to put their children back in school. The final two stanzas bring the focus back to the holiday season, with the announcement that the bells will soon start ringing accompanied by the sound of carols from the heart. The final repetition of "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" solidifies this sentiment, leaving the listener with a joyful melody and feeling of impending holiday cheer.
One interesting fact about "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is that it was written in 1951 by Meredith Willson, who also wrote the hit Broadway musical "The Music Man." In addition, the song has been covered by many artists, from Bing Crosby to Michael Bublé, all adding their unique spin to the classic tune. The song also appears in the film "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," where it becomes a key element in the plot. Another fun fact is that the children's wishes mentioned in the song were influenced by the composer's own family — his son hoped for cowboy boots, while his daughter wished for a walking and talking doll. Finally, the song's popularity has led to it being used in advertisements and even parodies, such as a version called "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chick-fil-A" by Tim Hawkins.
The chords for "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" are as follows:
Verse 1:
C
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
G7
Everywhere you go
C
Take a look in the five and ten
G7
Glistening once again
C
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow
Chorus:
F
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
G7
Toys in every store
C
But the prettiest sight to see
G7
Is the holly that will be
C
On your own front door
Verse 2:
C
A pair of Hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
G7
Is the wish of Barney and Ben
C
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
G7
Is the hope of Janice and Jen
C
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again
Chorus:
F
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
G7
Everywhere you go
C
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel
G7
One in the park as well
C
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow
Verse 3:
C
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
G7
Soon the bells will start
C
And the thing that will make them ring
G7
Is the carol that you sing
C
Right within your heart
Chorus:
F
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
G7
Soon the bells will start
C
And the thing that will make them ring
G7
Is the carol that you sing
C
Right within your heart
C
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
G7
Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas.
Overall, "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is a joyful and upbeat classic that perfectly captures the excitement and anticipation of the holiday season. With its memorable melody and lyrics, it's no wonder that this song remains a holiday favorite year after year.
Line by Line Meaning
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
The season of Christmas is officially upon us
Everywhere you go
No matter where you are, the signs of Christmas are visible
Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again
The storefronts of the shops are decorated with shiny ornaments and lights
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow
The shops are bustling with holiday decorations, including bright, glowing lights, and candy canes
Toys in every store
Every store is jam-packed with toys and gifts for the holiday season
But the prettiest sight to see, is the holly that will be on your own front door
Although the store decorations are nice, the most beautiful sign of Christmas is the holly wreath on your own front door
A pair of Hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots, Is the wish of Barney and Ben
Barney and Ben are hoping for cowboy boots and toy guns for Christmas
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk, Is the hope of Janice and Jen
Janice and Jen want dolls that can walk and talk for Christmas
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again
Parents are excited for the Christmas break to be over and for their children to return to school
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well, The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow
Both the Grand Hotel and the local park have Christmas trees that are able to withstand the harsh winter weather
Soon the bells will start, And the thing that will make them ring, is the carol that you sing
The start of the Christmas season is marked by the ringing of bells, and the thing that makes them ring is the singing of carols
Right within your heart
The joy of Christmas comes from within your heart
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, Christmas
The Christmas season is here and fully in swing
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Meredith Willson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@diurpaneus813
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
Take a look at the five and ten, it's glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes that glow
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door
A pair of hop-a-long boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben
Dolls that'll talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Everywhere you go
There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well
It's the sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Soon the bells will start
And the thing that will make 'em ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door
Sure it's Christmas, once more
@corey-bird3489
Mr. McCallister, here’s your very own...cheese pizza.
@marianenglish4364
Lol! :D
@t.jackson
Yeeesssss
@corey-bird3489
Tairo Jackson When I was a kid I thought Tim Curry said “Think” when he says “Bingo” 🤣 I love this movie.
@corey-bird3489
Tairo Jackson When I was a kid I thought Tim Curry said “Think” when he says “Bingo” 🤣 I love this movie.
@t.jackson
@@corey-bird3489 oh yes haha i noticed now, that it just sounds same. 👌😂
@averagegalaxygamer4430
This is definitely the best version of this song
@andrewsstation6436
It’s my favorite version too.
@rizvaldo7209
Yeah, matter of opinion.
@user-qc9bh6pw7f
i also love this verson too!!!