The fourth of seven children, John Royce Mathis was born on September 30, 1… Read Full Bio ↴The fourth of seven children, John Royce Mathis was born on September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, TX to Clem and Mildred Mathis. As a small boy, the family moved to Post Street in San Francisco. It was there that he learned an appreciation of music from his father who taught him his first song, “My Blue Heaven”. At age eight, his father purchased an old upright piano for $25. When he brought it home, it wouldn’t fit through the front door. So that evening, Johnny stayed up all night to watch his father dismantle the piano, get it into the small living room of their basement apartment and then reassemble it. Clem Mathis, who worked briefly as a musician back in Texas playing the piano and singing on stage, would continue to teach his son many songs and routines. Johnny had proven to be the most eager of the children to learn all about music. He sang in the church choir, school functions, community events, for visitors in their home as well as amateur shows in the San Francisco area.
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.
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.
There Goes My Heart
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There goes my heart, there goes the one I love
There goes the girl I wasn't worthy of
There goes my happiness, it couldn't be
There goes somebody else in place of me
Goodbye romance, it couldn't last somehow
I had my chance but it's all over now
I never thought that she could pass me by
There goes my heart and here am I
I never thought that she could pass me by
There goes my heart and here am I
There goes the girl I wasn't worthy of
There goes my happiness, it couldn't be
There goes somebody else in place of me
Goodbye romance, it couldn't last somehow
I had my chance but it's all over now
I never thought that she could pass me by
I never thought that she could pass me by
There goes my heart and here am I
In Johnny Mathis's "There Goes My Heart," the singer expresses his heartbreak and profound sense of loss as he watches the love of his life walk away from him. The first two lines of the song describe the girl, who was the singer's entire world, leaving him behind. He acknowledges that he was not deserving of such a wonderful love, and it is one of his biggest regrets. The third line portrays the singer's deep sadness as he watches his happiness go away with her. He realizes that there is nothing left to hold on to. Lastly, the singer accepts that someone else has taken his place in the heart of his love.
In the next verse, the singer acknowledges that their love had been short-lived, and he knew it was only a matter of time before it ended. He regrets not making the most of the time they had together, and now he is left with nothing but sorrow. The singer never imagined that she would leave him. The final line of the song repeats the phrase "There goes my heart," expressing his brokenhearted despair and loneliness.
The song is a classic representation of the universal human experience of heartbreak, and Johnny Mathis's vocal performance vividly captures the raw emotion of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
There goes my heart, there goes the one I love
The person I love is leaving me and my heart is breaking
There goes the girl I wasn't worthy of
I didn't feel like I deserved her love, but I still loved her deeply
There goes my happiness, it couldn't be
My happiness is leaving with the person I love, and I know it's not coming back anytime soon
There goes somebody else in place of me
I've been replaced by someone else in her life and it hurts deeply
Goodbye romance, it couldn't last somehow
My romantic relationship with her is over and I don't know how it fell apart
I had my chance but it's all over now
I had a chance to make things work with her, but now it's too late and it's all over
I never thought that she could pass me by
I never imagined that the person I loved could leave me behind
There goes my heart and here am I
My heart is shattered but I'm still here, trying to pick up the pieces
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Abner Silver, Benny Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Milton Moore
Agree with all
except Sinatra
being great. He
was a much better
actor than a vocalist. I could rattle off IOO male singers who make Sinatra appear as a mere
shadow on the wall: VIC DAMONE, BROOK BENTON, JIM REEVES, DICK HAYMES, JOHNNY DUNCAN, JOHNNY TILLOTSON, JOHNNY DESMOND, DAVID HOUSTON, TONY
MARTIN, JACK JONES, ÉD AMES,
JERRY VALE, GEORGE MORGAN, GENE PITNEY, THE EVERLY BROTHERS, NAT KING COLE, DAVID
ROGERS, FARON
YOUNG, MARTY
ROBBINS, ELVIS,
FRANKIE LAINE,
and on and on.
Milton Moore
This is generally the first song I
recommend to
someone among
Johnny vast array
of magnificent recordings. I actually have not
listened to him
in some time, probably for the
longest span in
my 72 year old
life. Around 2:23
I began tearing-up
from the sheer beauty of his voice. It's difficult
for me to select a
favorite ANYTHING in the
arts because there
are too many great choices among the greatest song, poem, film, painting, novel,
symphony, pop,
country, or classical music
composer, operatic tenor and
soprano, pianist,
organist, violinist,
etc. They are all
great in their own
way. And just try
choosing the most beautiful actress of all time.
(I gave up on that
one!), just as I gave up on choosing whose voice I would like
to have possessed. One day I narrowed it
down to 12 vocalists, and wrote them down
on slips of paper
and asked someone to draw
one out of a hat.
He drew the immortal John Royce Mathis from Gilmer, Texas! Ly home state! So I'm kinda stuck with
that as a "fate" kinda thing, although if he had
drawn VIC DAMONE, JIM REEVES, FARON YOUNG, BROOK
BENTON, GORDON MACRAE, DAVID HOUSTON, DAVID ROGERS, GEORGE MORGAN, ROY DRUSKY, TONY
MARTIN, or JOHNNY DESMOND, I would not have been disappointed! (Steve Lawrence, Johnny Tillotson, and Nat "King"
Cole should have
been among those
slips of paper, but
I had to stop somewhere, which demonstrates the
difficulty and vanity of it all!😣)
Milton Moore
Technically, the tune
is by Abner Silver,
who passed away at
age 66 in 1966. It
sounds like something that "the
master of melancholy
and bard of intimate
moods" (Rachmani-
noff) might have come up with.
The lyrics were written by Benny
Davis, who died age
84 in 1979. He also
wrote the lyrics for:
MY LOVE FOR YOU;
NEAR YOU; LONELY
STREET; HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY; HI HO THE
MERRIO; I'M YOURS;
CAROLINA MOON;
BABY FACE; OH HOW
I MISS YOU TONIGHT; WHEN I
AM WITH YOU; &
DON'T BREAK THE
HEART THAT LOVES
YOU.
Milton Moore
As big a Mathis fan
as I am, I don't like
the OPEN FIRE, TWO GUITARS album you mentioned. The instru
mentation is just too
sparse for me. If they
would create an alternative version
employing a lot of silky violins, I would
be all in on this
album, as the songs
are great.
Milton Moore
His first hit was
IT'S NOT FOR ME
TO SAY, which, for
whatever reasons,
didn't move me.
Almost all the others did. Part of
it was a lack of resonation in the
studio recording
chamber that was
used. They fixed
that FAST, evidently!
Janni Elumba
Listening to Johnny Mathis, song lyrics aren't just words, these expose deep feelings which he magically underlines with that sweet melodious voice of his. For this particular song, thank you, Johnny Mathis, the icon, the legend, for inspiring your followers and me for decades with your classy performances.
Milton Moore
JESUSssssssss!
This is gorgeous
beyond words. All
heaven fell silent and God's angels themselves were listening in as this immortal recording was being made. Mr. Mathis was really singing from the mountaintop on this one!! Perfect
in all respects.👍
LInda Richko
god bless you for saying that
Anita Schon
I listen to this song every day, after Warm, and I can't stop listening to Johnny's wonderful voice. My heart belongs to JM.
David Walsh
A beautiful song performed to perfection by Johnny Mathis. What a stylish and classy performer he is.
Mackingcole
One of Johnny's best interpretations-great arrangement. Thanks for uploading!
Milton Moore
Agree with all
except Sinatra
being great. He
was a much better
actor than a vocalist. I could rattle off IOO male singers who make Sinatra appear as a mere
shadow on the wall: VIC DAMONE, BROOK BENTON, JIM REEVES, DICK HAYMES, JOHNNY DUNCAN, JOHNNY TILLOTSON, JOHNNY DESMOND, DAVID HOUSTON, TONY
MARTIN, JACK JONES, ÉD AMES,
JERRY VALE, GEORGE MORGAN, GENE PITNEY, THE EVERLY BROTHERS, NAT KING COLE, DAVID
ROGERS, FARON
YOUNG, MARTY
ROBBINS, ELVIS,
FRANKIE LAINE,
and on and on.
Grandrose3
I grew up with this beautiful man.....beautiful voice....My all time favorite. Listening to his awesome voice brings back special memories......Thank you for sharing a most awesome time in my life!
Betty Joyce
Cannot get any better. I feel so fortunate to have had Johnny Mathis music all my growing up years and still have him singing today. Thank you for posting this. I love this song
Brian Harris
Now that is what you call a singer. What a beautiful song, sung by the best singer in the world. What a beautiful voice, thank you so much for this song it means so much to me. It makes me cry every time I hear it, it is just so beautiful.