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 6β-5 1/2β. This is still on the Collegeβs Top 15 list and was only two inches short of the Olympic record of the time. Just as when he was in high school, Johnnyβs name was frequently mentioned in the sports sections of the Northern California newspapers. He was often referred to as βthe best all-around athlete to come out of the San Francisco Bay Areaβ.
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 Deeβs 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: βHave found phenomenal 19 year old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts.β
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 βAngel Eyesβ, βEasy to Loveβ and βBabaluβ. 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 Johnnyβs 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: βWonderful, Wonderfulβ and βItβs Not For Me To Say.β Subsequently, MGM Studios signed Johnny to sing βItβs Not For Me To Sayβ 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, Johnnyβs voice has been used in countless Hollywood movies for theme songs, background music and to enhance a particular setting or segment.
βWonderful, Wonderfulβ and βItβs Not For Me To Sayβ reached their peaks on the BILLBOARD pop chart in July of 1957. These successes were followed by the monumental single βChances Areβ which became Johnnyβs 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, βMistyβ.
Johnnyβs 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, Johnnyβs Greatest Hits was released. It began a βGreatest Hitsβ tradition copied by every record company since then. Johnnyβs 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, βToo Much, Too Little, Too Lateβ (recorded with Deniece Williams), came almost 21 years after his very first #1 Hit Single, βChances Areβ.
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 βBest Songβ category. He has received two Grammy nominations. The first was for βMistyβ 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 Johnnyβs 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 heβs 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.
Johnnyβs other favorite avocation is cooking. He is a gourmet cook who cooks for himself and often others when heβs home or traveling. His mother taught him at an early age how to cook up a storm and do it well. Heβs enjoyed doing so all his life.
This Christmas
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm gonna get to know you better
This Christmas
And as we trim the tree
How much fun it's gonna be together
This Christmas
Fireside blazing bright
And this Christmas will be
A very special Christmas for me
Presents and cards are here
My world is filled with cheer, and you
This Christmas
And as I look around
Your eyes outshine the town, they do
This Christmas
Fireside blazing bright
We're caroling through the night
And this Christmas will be
A very special Christmas for me
Shake a hand, shake a hand now
Fireside blazing bright
We're caroling through the night
And this Christmas will be
A very special Christmas for me
Hang all the mistletoe
I'm gonna get to know you better
This Christmas
And as we trim the tree
How much fun it's gonna be together
This Christmas
Fireside blazing bright
We're caroling through the night
And this Christmas will be
A very special Christmas for me
Merry Christmas
Shake a hand, shake a hand now
Wish your brother "Merry Christmas"
All over the land
The lyrics to Johnny Mathis's song "This Christmas" seem to be about spending time with someone special during the holiday season. The opening lyrics "Hang all the mistletoe / I'm gonna get to know you better / This Christmas" suggest that the singer is interested in getting to know someone on a deeper level. As they trim the tree and sing carols together, they talk about how much fun they're going to have spending time with each other this holiday season.
The lyrics also express a sense of joy and excitement about the holiday season, with mentions of presents, cards, and cheerful surroundings. The singer's world is full of cheer, and they feel that this Christmas will be a very special one, especially with this particular person by their side. The repetition of the line "Fireside blazing bright / We're caroling through the night" creates a sense of warmth and comfort, emphasizing the feeling of being together during the holiday season.
Overall, "This Christmas" is a song about spending time with loved ones and celebrating the joy of the holiday season, while also expressing a desire to connect with someone special during this time.
Line by Line Meaning
Hang all the mistletoe
I want to make this Christmas special by paying attention to the little details and decorating with mistletoe.
I'm gonna get to know you better
I want to use this holiday season to connect with you and build a stronger relationship.
This Christmas
I am excited for this particular Christmas and all the potential it holds.
And as we trim the tree
As we decorate the tree together, we'll have fun and create lasting memories.
How much fun it's gonna be together
By spending time together during the holidays, we'll create unforgettable memories and enjoy each other's company.
Fireside blazing bright
The fire is lit and we're cozy and content.
We're caroling through the night
We're singing festive songs together and celebrating the holiday spirit.
And this Christmas will be
This Christmas has the potential to be memorable and special.
A very special Christmas for me
This Christmas has the power to bring me a lot of joy and make me really happy.
Presents and cards are here
I have received gifts and cards for the holiday season.
My world is filled with cheer, and you
Not only am I feeling joyful this holiday season, but I am especially happy because of the presence of the person I am addressing in the song.
Your eyes outshine the town, they do
Your eyes are sparkling with joy, even more than the holiday decorations around us.
Shake a hand, shake a hand now
Let's celebrate the holiday spirit by shaking hands and spreading cheer to those around us.
Merry Christmas
A traditional well-wishing for the holiday season.
Wish your brother "Merry Christmas"
Encouraging the listener to extend the joy and well-wishes to their family members as well.
All over the land
Let's spread holiday cheer to everyone, everywhere.
Lyrics Β© DistroKid, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Donny Edward Hathaway, Nadine McKinnor
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mark Vendetti
We got married 27 years ago and it was a Christmas theme and this CD played all through dinner. Classic!!
Brian Setpente
Great choice of musicπ
youtub
My wife introduced me to this CD. Before we got married, we listened to it while driving to my hometown for Christmas.
Theresa Valdez
This was the only Christmas album we had when I was growing up. Brings back great memories. I miss you mom and dadβ€οΈβ€οΈβ€οΈ
Brian Setpente
Me and my family used to listen this every Christmas Miss you mom and dadπ
skunky grogan
@Leslie Kelso I think that's the way it is for us all: Bittersweet- fortunately, most of us resolve to recall the SWEET aspect!!βοΈβοΈπ€Άπ π
Karen Purkiss
Me too. Miss my dad. X
Kidperk334
Same here.....my favorite!!!
Truly Unbroken
@Rush I am so here with all of you & am crying as I type this! I love u for being these types of humans! You hear me!? I really do, hold ur heads up, I am with u in spirit & it will be alright. God bless! πππ«π I get it. π₯Ί
Linda Pezek
My mom actually wore out several copies of this album over the years (7 at her last count). She was sooo excited when it came out on CD.