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.
Stranger in Paradise
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tree whisper differently now
And why is the nightingale singing
At noon on the mulberry bough
For some most mysterious reason
This isn't garden I know
No, it's paradise now
That was only a garden a moment ago
Take my hand I'm a stranger in paradise
All lost in a wonderland a stranger in paradise
If I stand starry eyed that's the danger in paradise
For mortals who stand beside an angel like you
I saw your face and I ascended
Out of the commonplace into the rare
Somewhere in space I hang suspended
Until I know there's a chance that you care
Won't you answer this fervent prayer
Of a stranger in paradise
Don't send me in dark despair from all that I hunger for
But open your angel's arms to this stranger in paradise
And tell him that he need be a stranger no more
The lyrics to Johnny Mathis's song "Stranger in Paradise" reflect a deep sense of mysticism and wonderment, as the singer describes his experience of being in a place that he once knew as a simple garden, but which has now transformed into an ethereal paradise. The leaves on the mulberry tree whisper in a new way, the nightingale sings at noon, and everything around him feels enchanted and magical.
The singer then addresses an angelic figure, someone who has descended from the heavens and who has the power to elevate him up from the ordinary world into a space of rare beauty and wonder. This angel is the reason why he has entered into paradise, and he is fully aware of the danger of becoming starry-eyed and lost in this wondrous new world. He urges the angel to answer his prayer and embrace him, so that he can become a part of this heavenly realm and no longer be a stranger in paradise.
The lyrics of "Stranger in Paradise" are a powerful ode to the idea of falling in love and experiencing the otherworldly beauty that comes with it. The song speaks to the sense of awe and wonder that inevitably follows when one is faced with the enormity of true love, and it captures the transcendent feeling of being lifted out of the ordinary and into something that feels truly miraculous.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh why do the leaves of the mulberry tree whisper differently now
The singer is noticing that something in the garden has changed, even the tree leaves whisper differently creating a new atmosphere.
And why is the nightingale singing at noon on the mulberry bough
The singer finds it peculiar how the natural behaviors of birds and the garden seems to have changed since the singer's last visit.
For some most mysterious reason this isn't garden I know
The singer is intrigued by the new atmosphere of the garden and its surroundings since it feels unfamiliar to him.
No, it's paradise now that was only a garden a moment ago
The artist is amazed at the transformation of the garden into something more beautiful, like paradise.
Take my hand I'm a stranger in paradise
The artist wants the angel to guide him on this journey in paradise.
All lost in a wonderland a stranger in paradise
The singer is lost in a magical world that he has never seen before.
If I stand starry eyed that's the danger in paradise
The singer is wary that he can get too overwhelmed with paradise's beauty which might affect his judgment.
For mortals who stand beside an angel like you
The artist recognizes that being with an angel-like being makes him feel mortal and unworthy.
I saw your face and I ascended out of the commonplace into the rare
The artist is overwhelmed with the angel's beauty, and in that moment, he is transported to a place that feels surreal and out of the ordinary.
Somewhere in space I hang suspended until I know there's a chance that you care
The artist is suspended, and he is in limbo until the angel shows the slightest sign of acknowledgment or affection.
Won't you answer this fervent prayer of a stranger in paradise
The singer makes a passionate and desperate plea to the angel to acknowledge him and answer his prayer.
Don't send me in dark despair from all that I hunger for
The artist is desperate not to be left alone and in despair after experiencing paradise.
But open your angel's arms to this stranger in paradise
The singer is hopeful that the angel will open her heart and accept him as he is, a stranger in paradise.
And tell him that he need be a stranger no more
The singer hopes to stop feeling like an outsider in paradise and to assimilate into the world with the help of the angel.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGE CHET FORREST, BOB WRIGHT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mona Oldham
A voice like NO OTHER. My mother played this album..I was 7 yrs old and STILL love it..makes me miss her.
jacmoll9
It’s funny when I was a kid my grandfather always listened to JM and I hated the music. Now I’m my grandfathers age and I love it. It brings back such great memories of my grandparents.
Saffron's World
Amazing that he is in his 80s and still singing.
steve mann
PURE PERFECTION !!
Peter Ashford
of all the various renditions of this song, this is the one I remember most from the 60s; he had a very distinctive voice
Mac Logan
the era of LYRICS....AHHH..PRICELESS
David Moore
He just caresses the notes it sounds like you're in a an outer limits and you're just descending on a planet he nailed it very good thank you Johnny we love you
BeckyLMC
NO ONE LIKE JOHNNY MATHIS. I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO HIM SINCE I WAS TWO. MY VOICE TEACHER DIDN'T LIKE HIM. IT CHANGED MY FEELINGS SOMEWHAT TOWARD HER. EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT STYLE AND A DIFFERENT VOICE...SHE DIDN'T LIKE HIS...I DID AND ALWAYS WILL.
Ben Jonson
Have to switch teachers.
Nia Gee
Since 2...lol.... cute