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.
Someone
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone really needs you, guess why?
Someone wants to kiss you and hold you tight
Someone wants to love you each and every night
Someone wants to say hello
I know he'll never let you go
When he looks into your eyes, I know that you will realize
I know you'll know that someone is me
Someone wants to kiss you and hold you tight
Someone wants to love you each and every night
Someone wants to say hello
I know he'll never let you go
When he looks into your eyes
When he looks into your eyes, I know that you will realize
And guess just who that someone must be
I know you'll know that someone
I know you'll know that someone is me
The song "Someone" by Johnny Mathis is a romantic melody that expresses the singer's feelings towards his lover. The lyrics are straightforward, and the message is conveyed in a smooth and gentle tone. The song is about a man who is in love with a woman and wants her to know that he is the one who loves her. The opening lines ask the question, "Someone really loves you, guess who?" This question is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the singer's point that he is the one who loves her.
The chorus shows the singer's desire to be close to the woman. He wants to kiss her and hold her tight, and he wants to love her every night. He wants to express his feelings to her, so she knows how much he cares. He wants her to know that he will never let her go, and he hopes that she will realize that he is the one for her. The lyrics express the depth of love that the singer feels for the woman and his hope that she will feel the same way.
In conclusion, "Someone" by Johnny Mathis is a beautiful song that expresses the joy and happiness that love can bring. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, and the melody is sweet and gentle. The song conveys a message of love and hope, and it is sure to touch the hearts of all who listen to it.
Line by Line Meaning
Someone really loves you, guess who?
'Someone' refers to a specific person who has deep feelings of love for you. Can you guess who it might be?
Someone really needs you, guess why?
This person is dependent on you and they really need you around all the time. Can you guess why they feel this way?
Someone wants to kiss you and hold you tight
This person has romantic feelings for you and desires to show their affection by kissing you and holding you tightly.
Someone wants to love you each and every night
This person wants to love you all the time, every single night without fail.
Someone wants to say hello
This person wants to reach out to you and communicate with you through a simple greeting.
I know he'll never let you go
This person is so committed to you that they will never break up or leave you.
When he looks into your eyes, I know that you will realize
When this person gazes deeply into your eyes, you will realize how much they love and care for you.
And guess just who that someone must be
Try to guess who this person is that is described by the previous lines.
I know you'll know that someone is me
I am that 'someone' who is desperate to love you, kiss and hold you tight, and say hello every day and night. You can now stop guessing, you know it’s me.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BILL TENNYSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steven Washington
What a gem of a clip. The incredible Johnny Mathis as a young emerging superstar. And he's still going strong. Just WOW!!!
Kathy Menard
Agreed! Johnny Mathis turned 86 years young on September 30th. I am forever fan.
Betty Joyce
I love this song so much that in the car I have it on repeat. What a voice.....and he can still sing today.........thank you for posting
Kathy Menard
Such a timeless, gifted gentleman. I know he has made my life so much happier. He just has that effect when you hear that amazing voice. ❤️
Ryleigh
I'm 26 and in love with this song... Found his vinyl record at a yard sale! I'm so in love!! This song makes me want to love everyone.. 💖✌🏾️
Sandra Amorim
Certainly you have good musical taste and sensitivity. 🤝
Jerry G
Even when so young Johnny always had the same magical voice, amazing!
Joyce Spark
So unassuming! Did he know then how wonderful he was? This is a real treasure for us Mathis lovers.
Calvin375
And he sill is "Wonderful, Wonderful" at the age of 85 yrs. young!
Deayjay
One of my favorite Mathis songs. What a treat to hear a live performance of it! Thanks so much for posting!