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.
Winter Wonderland
Johnny Mathis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight,
Walking in a winter wonderland.
Gone away is the bluebird,
Here to stay is a new bird
As we go along,
Walking in a winter wonderland.
In the meadow we can build a snowman,
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
He'll say, "Are you married?"
We'll say, "No man"
But you can do the job when you're in town.
Later on, we'll conspire,
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid,
The plans that we've made,
Walking in a winter wonderland.
Over the ground lies a mantle of white
A heaven of diamonds shine down through the night
Two hearts are thrillin'
In spite of the chill in the weather
Love knows no season, love knows no clime
Romance can blossom any old time
Here in the open
We're walkin' and hopin' together
Together, together, together
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight,
Walking in a winter wonderland.
Gone away is the bluebird,
Here to stay is a new bird
He's singing a love song,
As we go along,
Walking in a winter wonderland.
In the meadow we can build a snowman,
And pretend that he's a circus clown
We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman,
Until the other kiddies knock him down.
When it snows, ain't it thrilling,
Though your nose gets a chilling
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,
Walking in a winter wonderland.
Walking in a winter wonderland,
Winter wonder wonder wonderland,
Winter winter wonder wonderland.
Johnny Mathis's song "Winter Wonderland" is a romantic and nostalgic song about the joy and beauty of winter. The song opens with a cheerful tone, as the singer describes the jingling of sleigh bells and the glistening of snow on the quiet lane. He describes the scene as a beautiful sight and a source of happiness. The second verse describes the presence of a new bird, which sings a love song as the couple enjoys their walk.
The lyrics move on to describe the couple's playful interactions in the snow. They build a snowman and pretend that it is Parson Brown, a character commonly known to preside over weddings. Although they are not married, they amuse themselves with this game. As they continue to walk and dream by the fire, they are unafraid of the future and the plans they have made.
The song's refrain emphasizes the couple's happiness and the joy of their winter wonderland. The shift in the second verse to the present tense ("Here's to stay is a new bird") from the past tense used in the first ("Gone away is the bluebird") underscores the couple's new and evolving love. Throughout the song, there is a sense of wonder and delight in the winter landscape, and the couple is wrapped up in each other's love and warmth.
Line by Line Meaning
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
Can you hear the sound of sleigh bells ringing?
In the lane, snow is glistening
The snow on the lane is shining.
A beautiful sight,
It's a beautiful scene.
We're happy tonight,
We're very happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland.
We're walking in a wonderful winter wonderland.
Gone away is the bluebird,
The bluebird has gone away.
Here to stay is a new bird
A new bird has arrived and will be staying.
He sings a love song,
The new bird is singing a love song.
As we go along,
We continue to walk along.
Walking in a winter wonderland.
We're still walking in the wonderful winter wonderland.
In the meadow we can build a snowman,
We can build a snowman in the meadow.
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
We can pretend that the snowman is Parson Brown.
He'll say, "Are you married?"
The snowman will ask, "Are you married?"
We'll say, "No man"
We'll reply, saying, "No, we're not."
But you can do the job when you're in town.
However, you can marry us when you're around.
Later on, we'll conspire,
Later, we'll conspire.
As we dream by the fire
While we're dreaming by the fire
To face unafraid,
To face with courage,
The plans that we've made,
The plans we've made.
Walking in a winter wonderland.
As we continue to walk in the wonderful winter wonderland.
Over the ground lies a mantle of white
There's a white blanket of snow over the ground.
A heaven of diamonds shine down through the night
The stars shine like diamonds in the sky at night.
Two hearts are thrillin'
Two hearts are filled with excitement.
In spite of the chill in the weather
Despite the cold weather.
Love knows no season, love knows no clime
Love doesn't have a season or a place.
Romance can blossom any old time
Romance can happen anytime.
Here in the open
Here in this open space
We're walkin' and hopin' together
We're walking and hoping together.
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
Can you still hear the sound of sleigh bells ringing?
In the lane, snow is glistening
The snow in the lane is shining.
A beautiful sight,
It's still a beautiful sight.
We're happy tonight,
We're still very happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland.
We're still walking in the wonderful winter wonderland.
Gone away is the bluebird,
The bluebird is still gone.
Here to stay is a new bird
The new bird is still here and singing a love song.
He's singing a love song,
The bird is still singing the love song.
As we go along,
We're still walking along.
Walking in a winter wonderland.
We're still walking in the wonderful winter wonderland.
In the meadow we can build a snowman,
We can still build a snowman in the meadow.
And pretend that he's a circus clown
We can pretend that the snowman is a circus clown.
We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman,
We'll have a lot of fun with the snowman.
Until the other kiddies knock him down.
Until the other children knock him down.
When it snows, ain't it thrilling,
Isn't it thrilling when it snows?
Though your nose gets a chilling
Even though your nose gets cold.
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,
We'll play and frolic, like Eskimos do.
Walking in a winter wonderland.
We're still walking in the wonderful winter wonderland.
Walking in a winter wonderland,
We're still walking in the wonderful winter wonderland.
Winter wonder wonder wonderland,
It's a winter wonderland, a wonderful place indeed.
Winter winter wonder wonderland.
Again, it's a winter wonderland and a wonderful place.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Richard B. Smith, Felix Bernard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@musicqueen6617
No one on this planet can sing this song as beautifully as Johnny Mathias.
@stormhockey1979
Totally agree x
@Niko7739
bing crosby is dam close
@bielyjerozy2363
Yeah right
@PatriciaPeterson-uu3kk
AMEN !
@Frosty2211
By far the best version. His voice is gold
@Tosycyzkiewicy
And very clear diction!
@kyokugami5134
Whenever my mother plays her Mathis CD this time of year it truly feels like Christmas has come
@NicoleM2108
My mom used to set up the house so lovely...then play this on her stereo. Absolutely gold!
@docbeck888
Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas without Johnny Mathis songs.