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.
What Child Is This
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who meant to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping
Who angels greet with anthem sweet
While shepherds watch our keeping
This, this is Christ, the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring Him laud
So bring him incense, gold and myrrh
Come peasant King to own him
The King of kings, salvation brings
Let loving hearts enthrone Him
This, this is Christ, the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring Him laud
The babe, the Son of Mary
Nails fierce shall pierce him through
The cross be borne for me, for you
Hail, hail, the word made flesh
Obeyed the Son of Mary
This, this is Christ, the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring Him laud
The babe, the Son of Mary
Praise Him, Son of joy
Joy to the risen Lord
Praise Him, Son of joy
Joy to the risen Lord
This, this is Christ the king
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring Him laud
The babe, the Son of Mary
The lyrics of Johnny Mathis's "What Child Is This" offer a poetic account of the birth of Jesus Christ, as seen from the perspective of the shepherds and the three wise men who come to worship him. The opening verse sets the scene of Mary holding her newborn son on her lap while the angels sing in celebration. The following verses elucidate the identity of the child as the "Christ, the King" who will bring salvation to humankind. The wise men bring him three gifts - incense, gold, and myrrh - fit for a king, and the shepherds guard him with love and devotion.
The third verse foreshadows the suffering that Jesus will endure in his life, including being crucified on the cross, a prophecy that his mother Mary would have certainly known. The final verse invokes the joy of Jesus's resurrection, calling on his followers to praise him as the "Son of joy" and "the risen Lord".
Taken together, the lyrics paint a picture of the divine nature and purpose of Jesus's birth, as well as the devotion and reverence he inspired from those who first witnessed him. The song remains a beloved Christmas carol, popular among Christians and secular audiences alike.
Line by Line Meaning
What child is this?
Who is this child that we see lying on Mary's lap?
Who meant to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping
The child we see sleeping on Mary's lap is the one who was meant to be there.
Who angels greet with anthem sweet
The angels greet this child with a sweet anthem.
While shepherds watch our keeping
The shepherds keep watch over this child.
This, this is Christ, the King
This child is Christ, the King of all.
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
The shepherds guard him and the angels sing for him.
Haste, haste to bring Him laud
Quickly bring him praise and honor.
The babe, the Son of Mary
This child is both a baby and the Son of Mary.
So bring him incense, gold and myrrh
Bring him gifts of incense, gold, and myrrh.
Come peasant King to own him
Even though he is a peasant, he is still the King, and we should accept him as such.
The King of kings, salvation brings
He is the King of all kings and brings salvation.
Let loving hearts enthrone Him
We should let our loving hearts enthrone him.
Nails fierce shall pierce him through
He will suffer greatly, and nails will be used to pierce him.
The cross be borne for me, for you
He will carry the weight of the cross both for us and for himself.
Hail, hail, the word made flesh
Let us all hail the fact that God's word became flesh.
Obeyed the Son of Mary
We should follow the commands of Mary's son.
Praise Him, Son of joy
Let us all praise him, the Son of joy.
Joy to the risen Lord
With him risen, we should all be filled with joy.
This, this is Christ the king
Once again, we are reminded that this child is Christ, the King.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID BRYAN BENOIT, RICHARD C. BRAUN, DAVID S. KOZ, BRENDA GORDON RUSSELL, PETER HARRY WHITE, DP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ThomasHathaway-ft9fu
Whenever I watch someone sing about Jesus, I always hope that they believe as I do. Eternity with god. Hope to see jm there.
@denniscoxson6363
Lost my momma 3-8-2023.. this is my first Christmas without her. This was one of her all time Favorite Christmas songs
@lisarodriguez2926
So sorry for your loss. This is indeed a beautiful song❤
@RFWieder
No one can deliver a Christmas song like Johnny Mathis!!
@eugenetidwell1367
Johnny Mathis and his background singers make this song an all-time exceptional rendition of WHAT. CHILD IS THIS that I have ever experienced.
@timjohnson8464
Reminder of the 60, Record.
@101snapper
If a Johnny Mathis Christmas song doesn't touch your soul, I really don't know what to say!
@josephbrownjr.2046
This is the most beautiful version of this song ever sung!
@bigmouthentertainment3095
definitely
@jamespaule6793
Johnny Mathis and Percy Faith make this album priceless. No better combination exists.