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.
Let Me Love You
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you enjoy being hurt?
I know you smelled the perfume, the make-up on his shirt
You don't believe his stories
You know that they're all lies
Bad as you are, you stick around and I just don't know why
If I was ya man (baby you)
I'd be coming home (back to you)
Every night, doin' you right
You're the type of woman (deserves good things)
Fist full of diamonds (hand full of rings)
Baby you're a star (I just want to show you, you are)
You should let me love you
Let me be the one to give you everything you want and need
Baby good love and protection
Make me your selection
Show you the way love's supposed to be
Baby you should let me love you, love you, love you, love you yeah
Listen
Your true beauty's description looks so good that it hurts
You're a dime plus ninety-nine and it's a shame
Don't even know what you're worth
Everywhere you go they stop and stare
Cause you're bad and it shows
From your head to your toes, Out of control, baby you know
If I was ya man (baby you)
Never worry bout (what I do)
I'd be coming home (back to you)
Every night doin' you right
You're the type of woman (deserves good things)
Fist full of diamonds (hand full of rings)
Baby you're a star (I just want to show you, you are)
You should let me love you
Let me be the one to give you everything you want and need
Oh Baby good love and protection
Make me your selection
Show you the way love's supposed to be
Baby you should let me...
You deserve better girl (you know you deserve better)
We should be together girl (baby)
With me and you it's whatever girl, hey!
So can we make this thing ours?
You should let me love you
Let me be the one to give you everything you want and need
Baby good love and protection
Make me your selection
Show you the way love's supposed to be
Baby you should let me love you, let me love you, give me show love you
Let me love you that's all you need baby
The lyrics to Johnny Mathis's song 'Let Me Love You' talk about a woman who is in a relationship with a man who hurts her. Even though she knows her partner is lying to her and potentially cheating on her, she stays with him. The chorus is Johnny Mathis expressing his love for this woman and his desire to treat her right, give her everything she needs, and show her how love is supposed to feel. He thinks she deserves better and that they should be together. The song is essentially a plea for her to leave the toxic relationship and start fresh with him.
The lyrics of this song highlight the issue of women remaining in abusive or harmful relationships, even when they know that things are not going well. The song encourages women to leave toxic relationships, and it is a prime example of how music can inspire individuals to change their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby I just don't get it
I'm not sure I understand why you put up with being treated poorly
Do you enjoy being hurt?
Do you actually like the pain he causes you?
I know you smelled the perfume, the make-up on his shirt
I noticed the signs that he's cheating on you
You don't believe his stories
You know he's lying to you
You know that they're all lies
You're aware that everything he tells you is untrue
Bad as you are, you stick around and I just don't know why
Even though he treats you badly, you still stay with him and I can't understand why
If I was ya man (baby you)
If I were your man
Never worry about (what I do)
You wouldn't have to be concerned about my loyalty or faithfulness
I'd be coming home (back to you)
I'd always be returning home to you
Every night, doin' you right
I'd make sure to treat you the way you deserve every single night
You're the type of woman (deserves good things)
You're a woman who deserves to be treated well
Fist full of diamonds (hand full of rings)
You deserve expensive and valuable things
Baby you're a star (I just want to show you, you are)
You're amazing and I want to make sure you know that
You should let me love you
You should allow me to treat you with love and respect
Let me be the one to give you everything you want and need
I want to fulfill all your desires and provide for your necessities
Baby good love and protection
I'll give you love and keep you safe and secure
Make me your selection
Choose me as your partner
Show you the way love's supposed to be
I'll demonstrate how love is supposed to feel and be given
Your true beauty's description looks so good that it hurts
You're so beautiful that it almost causes physical pain
You're a dime plus ninety-nine and it's a shame
You're worth more than you realize
Don't even know what you're worth
You don't have a grasp of your own value
Everywhere you go they stop and stare
People can't help but notice and admire you
Cause you're bad and it shows
Because you're amazing and it shines through in everything you do
From your head to your toes, Out of control, baby you know
You're complete perfection and you're aware of it
You deserve better girl (you know you deserve better)
You deserve someone who treats you better than he does
We should be together girl (baby)
We should be together, just the two of us
With me and you it's whatever girl, hey!
We can make anything work between us
So can we make this thing ours?
Can we start a relationship together?
Let me love you that's all you need baby
All you need in life is for someone to love and cherish you, and that's what I want to provide
Writer(s): Bart Howard
Contributed by Colton W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Drakoinjapan
His voice is pure gold
Cat McNichol
omg what a voice and style.
Carol Consolo
Got the lyrics. For whatever crazy reason, this is an all time favorite of mine and I listen to it at least daily!
kweju3
The ultimate in "Smooth"...nobody else sings it...nor should they try.
Victoria Juergens-Renfro
The great performers slot of them are deaf and gone but not Mr Mathis. How l loved Anthony
and his great talent. there are many like Peggy Lee that no one can even come close to.
Carol Consolo
So, I keep trying to find the lyrics to "Let Me Love You" and I keep coming up with a song by someone else. I don't think I had ever heard this before today and I'd l like to keep the lyrics on my computer. I did find a video online so at least now I can listen to it once a day; great music and of course our John is fabulous Can anyone help?
Victoria Juergens-Renfro
🎵🎵🎵back to you🎵🎵🎵🎵