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.
When Sunny Gets Blue
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Her eyes get gray and cloudy
Then the rain begins to fall
Pitter patter, pitter patter
Love is gone so what can matter
No sweet lovin' man comes to call
When Sunny gets blueShe breathes a sigh of sadness
Like the wind that stirs the trees
Wind that sets the leaves to swayin'
Like some violins are playin'
Weird and haunting melodies
People used to love to
Hear her laugh, see her smile
That's how she got her name
Since that sad affair
She's lost her smile
Changed her style
Somehow she's not the same
But mem'ries will fade
And pretty dreams will rise up
Where her other dreams fell through
Hurry, new love, hurry here
To kiss away each lonely tear
And hold her near when Sunny gets blue
Hurry, new love, hurry here
To kiss away each lonely tear
And hold her near when Sunny gets blue
The song "When Sunny Gets Blue" by Johnny Mathis is a melancholic and slow-tempo ballad that narrates the loneliness of a woman named Sunny who is going through a tough time. The lyrics suggest that Sunny was a happy and pleasant person but has now become sad because of love lost. The singer describes how Sunny's eyes turn gray and cloudy when she is sad, and it begins to rain. The onomatopoeic "pitter patter" of the raindrops mirrors the sadness of Sunny.
The lyrics suggest that Sunny's former lovers do not come to see her anymore. She breathes a sigh of sadness that sounds like the wind, which sets the leaves swaying as if violins are playing weird and haunting melodies. It is said that people used to love Sunny's laugh and smile, and that is how she got her name. However, she is not the same anymore ever since a sad affair happened. Sunny has lost her smile and has changed her style. She is lonely, and no one is there to comfort her.
The lyrics express an optimistic view that Sunny can find new love that can help her overcome her sadness. With memories fading and new dreams rising, the song encourages a new love interest to hurry and come to Sunny. The lyrics suggest that this new love can ease her pain and kiss her tears away, and Sunny will be held close when she gets blue.
Line by Line Meaning
When Sunny gets blue
Sunny, the person being described, becomes melancholic
Her eyes get gray and cloudy
Her eyes become dull and lifeless, taking on the color of a cloudy day
Then the rain begins to fall
This is a metaphor for the tears she begins to shed
Pitter patter, pitter patter
The sound of the rain is like music to her ears, a reflection of her sadness
Love is gone so what can matter
Without love, Sunny has lost her sense of purpose and nothing else seems important
No sweet lovin' man comes to call
Sunny is lonely and longing for someone to fill the void left by lost love
She breathes a sigh of sadness
The depth of her sadness can be heard in her sigh
Like the wind that stirs the trees
Her sadness is like a force that moves everything around her
Wind that sets the leaves to swayin'
The movement caused by her sadness is like that of leaves shaking on trees
Like some violins are playin'
The sadness she feels is like a beautiful but mournful melody played on a violin
Weird and haunting melodies
The melancholy feeling that washes over her is eerie and haunting
People used to love to
Before she was sad, people enjoyed
Hear her laugh, see her smile
Her laughter and smile were endearing qualities that brought joy to others
That's how she got her name
Her name Sunny refers to her once bright and cheerful demeanor
Since that sad affair
Since a tragic event that led to Sunny's sadness
She's lost her smile
Sunny's sadness has caused her to stop smiling
Changed her style
The way Sunny presents herself has changed to reflect her sadness
Somehow she's not the same
Sunny has undergone a significant transformation as a result of her sadness
But mem'ries will fade
Time will pass, and memories will begin to fade
And pretty dreams will rise up
New dreams will take the place of the old ones that have been lost
Where her other dreams fell through
The dreams that led to Sunny's sadness did not materialize
Hurry, new love, hurry here
Sunny hopes that new love will arrive soon to lift her out of her sadness
To kiss away each lonely tear
The new love she seeks will help heal her pain and loneliness
And hold her near when Sunny gets blue
The new love will be there for her when she becomes sad again
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARVIN FISHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind