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BREAKING! A Song Worth Singing: Johnny Mathis Special Airs This Saturday, New Box Set Arrives

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Johnny Mathis is currently touring the U.S. on his Voice of Romance tour - and indeed, for over 60 years, that appellation has been apt.  This Saturday evening, June 10, Mathis is coming to your own city, courtesy of Public Television and TJ Lubinsky's TJL Productions' popular and long-running My Music series.   Yes, this Saturday is Johnny Mathis Night, because that's when Public Television stations nationwide will air Wonderful! Wonderful!, a concert film featuring all of Mathis' beloved favorite songs to support your local station's June pledge drive.  But that's not all.

In conjunction with the upcoming broadcast, TJ Lubinsky's TJL Productions will release an exclusive 4-CD box set.  60th + 1 Anniversary: Classic Singles & Favorite Songs brings together 90 tracks including first-time-on-CD debuts from the entirety of Mathis' remarkable 61 years in music.  This career-spanning collection is the first comprehensive anthology of Mathis' top 20 U.S. singles on both the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts, and intertwines those chart hits in their original single versions with personal favorite selections hand-picked by Mathis.  It will be available exclusively as a pledge premium for Public Television.

 

60th + 1 Anniversary: Classic Singles & Favorite Songs kicks off with a tour through Johnny's early, groundbreaking recordings at Columbia Records as well as his brief sojourn to Mercury Records, where he formed his own Global Records production company.  Disc One concentrates on the original mono single versions (a number of which are new to CD) of Mathis classics recorded in the 1950s and 1960s plus a smattering of Mathis' own favorite album tracks from the era.  In addition to such perennials as "Misty," "Wonderful! Wonderful!," "It's Not for Me to Say," "Chances Are," and "Maria" as audiences first heard them on mono 45 RPM records, this disc boasts CD premieres of the rare 1963 B-side "Come Back," the 1966 U.K.-only His Master's Voice recording of the Man of La Mancha standard "The Impossible Dream," and Johnny's duet with The Young Americans on The Sherman Brothers' Academy Award-winning "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from Mary Poppins.

Disc Two spans the period of 1969-1976, in which Johnny wrapped his velvet pipes around contemporary pop hits of the day, released his first collaboration with Philadelphia soul maestro Thom Bell, and scored his first U.K. Number One with "Soleado (When a Child is Born)."  Johnny's versatility and international acclaim is underscored by the inclusion - a U.S. CD first - of his rare Spanish rendition of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "(They Long to Be) Close to You."  Three songs from the Bell-produced I'm Coming Home are featured in their single mixes, including the CD premiere of a unique edit of the anthemic "Life is a Song Worth Singing."  Mathis' performance of Bell's shimmering "You're as Right as Rain" further showcases their close musical relationship.  A previously unreleased recording of the ballad "The Way of Love," so closely identified with Cher, makes its debut here.

Disc Three (1976-1984) begins with two selections from Mathis and Bell's follow-up album, Mathis Is, before chronicling Johnny's massive chart-topper "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late," a duet with Deniece Williams, and his subsequent pairings with Williams (a revival of the Motown staple "You're All I Need to Get By" and the Philly soul scorcher "Love Won't Let Me Wait"), Jane Olivor (Marvin Hamlisch and the Bergmans' Academy Award-nominated "The Last Time I Felt Like This"), Dionne Warwick ("Friends in Love"), and Angela Bofill ("You're a Special Part of Me").  This disc also presents numerous standards sung in Johnny's imitable fashion (a disco take on "Begin the Beguine," "As Time Goes By," "Orange Colored Sky," "Nature Boy") as well as his original recording of Michael Jackson and Paul Anka's floor-filling "Love Never Felt So Good," reinvented by the late Jackson and Justin Timberlake as a chart-topping hit in 2014.  Paul Williams and the Bergmans' previously unreleased "The One and Only" premieres on this disc.

The fourth and final disc in this set begins with the new-to-CD single mix of "Simple" from 1984 and takes listeners through the present day, closing with "What a Wonderful World," subtly reflecting on Johnny's favorite time of the year: Christmas.  Along the way, the disc features his 1988 hit version of Little Anthony and The Imperials' "I'm On the Outside Looking In," plus three collaborative tracks with the late, great Henry Mancini from their salute to The Hollywood Musicals, two duets with Dionne Warwick ("Two Strong Hearts" and "Who's Counting Heartaches") and a beautiful performance with Yolanda Adams of Thom Bell and Linda Creed's "You Make Me Feel Brand New."  Selections are also spotlighted from Mathis' concept album tributes to songwriters Duke Ellington and Diane Warren and to the music of Broadway and Nashville.

Every track on 60th + 1 Anniversary: Classic Singles & Favorite Songs has been remastered by Mike Piacentini at Sony's Battery Studios, and the booklet features my new liner notes drawing on quotes from Johnny Mathis himself.  This special collection celebrating a true American legend will only be available for those supporting their local Public Television station.

Johnny Mathis - Wonderful! Wonderful!, part of TJ Lubinsky's acclaimed My Music series, debuts on Public Television stations this Saturday evening at 7 pm or 8 pm in most markets (check your local listings).  New Yorkers should take note that PBS flagship WNET/Thirteen is the only station delaying the broadcast until this coming Thursday, June 15.  You can peruse the full track listing for the box set below!

Johnny Mathis, 60th + 1 Anniversary: Classic Singles and Favorite Songs (TJL Productions, 2017)

Disc 1 (all tracks in mono)

  1. Wonderful Wonderful!
  2. When Sunny Gets Blue
  3. It's Not For Me to Say
  4. Chances Are
  5. The Twelfth of Never
  6. Wild Is the Wind
  7. Teacher, Teacher
  8. A Certain Smile
  9. Call Me
  10. Embraceable You *
  11. I'll Be Seeing You *
  12. Small World
  13. Misty *
  14. Maria *
  15. Love, Look Away *
  16. Gina
  17. What Will My Mary Say
  18. Every Step of the Way
  19. Come Back **
  20. Bye Bye Barbara
  21. Listen Lonely Girl
  22. Chim Chim Cheree (with the Young Americans) **
  23. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
  24. So Nice (Samba De Verao) *
  25. The Impossible Dream (U.K. Single Version) **
  26. Love Theme From Romeo and Juliet (A Time For Us) *

Disc 2

  1. The Way of Love ***
  2. Midnight Cowboy
  3. Odds and Ends
  4. Wherefore and Why
  5. Pieces of Dreams
  6. (They Long to Be) Close To You (Spanish Version) **
  7. If We Only Have Love
  8. In the Morning (Live)
  9. Come Runnin' (Live)
  10. Betcha By Golly Wow
  11. Make It Easy on Yourself
  12. Corner of the Sky
  13. I Was Born in Love with You
  14. Aubrey
  15. I'm Coming Home
  16. Life Is A Song Worth Singing (Single Edit) *
  17. I'm Stone in Love with You
  18. Nice to Be Around
  19. You're As Right As Rain
  20. One Day in Your Life
  21. What I Did For Love
  22. Stardust
  23. When A Child is Born (Soleado)

Disc 3

  1. Sweet Love of Mine
  2. Loving You, Losing You (Single Edit) *
  3. All the Things You Are
  4. Too Much, Too Little, Too Late (with Deniece Williams)
  5. 99 Miles from LA
  6. Where or When
  7. If You Believe
  8. You're All I Need to Get By (with Deniece Williams)
  9. As Time Goes By
  10. The Last Time I Felt Like This (with Jane Olivor)
  11. Begin the Beguine
  12. To the Ends of the Earth
  13. Deep Purple
  14. Friends in Love (with Dionne Warwick)
  15. What Do You Do With Love
  16. Lately
  17. The One and Only ***
  18. Nature Boy (Live)
  19. Orange Colored Sky (Live)
  20. You're A Special Part of Me (with Angela Bofill)
  21. Love Never Felt So Good
  22. Love Won't Let Me Wait (with Deniece Williams) *

Disc 4

  1. Simple*
  2. Right From the Heart
  3. You Stepped Out of a Dream (with Henry Mancini)
  4. Long Ago (And Far Away) (with Henry Mancini)
  5. Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)
  6. I'm On the Outside Lookin' In
  7. Two Strong Hearts (with Dionne Warwick)
  8. You Belong To Me
  9. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
  10. Lush Life
  11. Who's Counting Heartaches (with Dionne Warwick)
  12. Welcome Home
  13. Because You Loved Me
  14. On Broadway
  15. Seasons of Love
  16. This Can't Be Love
  17. You Make Me Feel Brand New (with Yolanda Adams)
  18. Shenandoah
  19. What a Wonderful World (Christmas Version)

*-indicates a mix/edit previously not on CD

**-indicates a track previously not on CD

***-indicates a previously unreleased track

Disc 1, Tracks 1-2 from Columbia Single 4-40784, 1956
Disc 1, Track 3 from Columbia Single 4-40851, 1957
Disc 1, Tracks 4-5 from Columbia Single 4-40993, 1957
Disc 1, Track 6 from Columbia Single 4-41060, 1957
Disc 1, Track 7 from Columbia Single 4-41152. 1958
Disc 1, Track 8 from Columbia Single 4-41193, 1958
Disc 1, Track 9 from Columbia Single 4-41253, 1958
Disc 1, Tracks 10-11 from Open Fire, Two Guitars Columbia LP CL 1270, 1959
Disc 1, Track 12 from Columbia Single 4-41410, 1959
Disc 1, Track 13 from Columbia Single 4-41483, 1959
Disc 1, Track 14 from Columbia Single 4-41684, 1960
Disc 1, Track 15 from I'll Buy You A Star Columbia LP CL 1623, 1961
Disc 1, Track 16 from Columbia Single 4-42582, 1962
Disc 1, Track 17 from Columbia Single 4-42666, 1963
Disc 1, Track 18 from Columbia Single 4-42799, 1963
Disc 1, Track 19 from Mercury Single 72184, 1963
Disc 1, Track 20 from Mercury Single 72229, 1964
Disc 1, Track 21 from Mercury Single 72339, 1964
Disc 1, Track 22 from The Young Americans Presented by Johnny Mathis Mercury LP MG 21023, 1964
Disc 1, Track 23 from Mercury Single 72493, 1965
Disc 1, Track 24 from Mercury Single 72610, 1966
Disc 1, Track 25 from UK His Master's Voice Single POP 1550, 1966
Disc 1, Track 26 from Columbia Single 4-44915, 1969
Disc 2, Track 1 Previously Unreleased - Outtake from Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet, 1969
Disc 2, Track 2 from Columbia Single 4-45022, 1969
Disc 2, Track 3 from Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head Columbia LP CS 1005, 1970
Disc 2, Track 4 from Columbia Single 4-45183, 1970
Disc 2, Track 5 from Columbia Single 4-45223, 1970
Disc 2, Track 6 from CBS Brazilian Single, 1970
Disc 2, Track 7 from You've Got A Friend Columbia LP C 30740, 1971
Disc 2, Tracks 8-9 from In Person - Recorded Live At Las Vegas Columbia LP KG 30979, 1972
Disc 2, Track 10 from The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face) Columbia LP KC 31342 1972
Disc 2, Track 11 from Columbia Single 4-45635, 1972
Disc 2, Tracks 12-13 from Me and Mrs. Jones Columbia LP KC 32114, 1973
Disc 2, Track 14 from Killing Me Softly With Her Song Columbia LP KC 32258, 1973
Disc 2, Track 15 from Columbia Single 4-45908, 1973
Disc 2, Track 16 from Columbia Single 4-45975, 1973
Disc 2, Track 17 from Columbia Single 4-46048, 1974
Disc 2, Tracks 18-19 from When Will I See You Again Columbia LP PC 33420, 1975
Disc 2, Tracks 20-21 and Disc 3, Track 5 from Feelings Columbia LP PC 33887, 1975
Disc 2, Track 22 from Columbia Single 3-10250, 1975
Disc 2, Track 23 from CBS UK Single S CBS 4599, 1976
Disc 3, Track 1 from Mathis Is Columbia LP PC 34441, 1977
Disc 3, Track 2 from Columbia Single 3-10496, 1977
Disc 3, Track 3 from Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me Columbia LP PC 34872, 1977
Disc 3, Track 4 from Columbia Single 3-10693, 1978
Disc 3, Tracks 6-7 from You Light Up My Life Columbia LP JC 35259, 1978
Disc 3, Track 8 from Columbia Single 3-10772, 1978
Disc 3, Track 9 from Columbia LP The Best Days of My Life JC 35649, 1979
Disc 3, Track 10 from Columbia Single 3-10902, 1979
Disc 3, Track 11 from Columbia Single 3-11011, 1979
Disc 3, Track 12 from Mathis Magic Columbia LP JC 36216, 1979
Disc 3, Track 13 from Different Kinda Different Columbia LP JC 36505, 1980
Disc 3, Tracks 14-16 from Friends in Love Columbia LP FC 37748, 1982
Disc 3, Track 17 Previously Unreleased - Outtake from Friends in Love, 1981
Disc 3, Track 18 from Unforgettable: A Musical Tribute To Nat King Cole CBS UK LP 10042, 1983
Disc 3, Track 19 from Live Columbia LP 38699, 1984
Disc 3, Tracks 20-21 from A Special Part of Me Columbia LP FC 38718, 1984
Disc 3, Track 22 from Columbia Single 38-04379, 1984
Disc 4, Track 1 from Columbia Single 38-04468, 1984
Disc 4, Track 2 from Right From The Heart Columbia LP FC 39601, 1985
Disc 4, Tracks 3-4 from The Hollywood Musicals Columbia LP 40372, 1986
Disc 4, Track 5 Outtake from The Hollywood Musicals - Unreleased originally, included on The Ultimate Hits Collection Columbia/Legacy CD CK 65540, 1998
Disc 4, Tracks 6-7 from Once In A While Columbia CD CK 44156, 1988
Disc 4, Track 8 from In the Still of the Night Columbia CD CK 44336, 1989
Disc 4, Track 9-10 from In A Sentimental Mood: Mathis Sings Ellington Columbia CD 46069, 1990
Disc 4, Track 11 from Better Together - The Duet Album Columbia CD CK 47982, 1991
Disc 4, Track 12 from All About Love Columbia CD CK 67509, 1996
Disc 4, Track 13 from Because You Loved Me: The Songs of Diane Warren Columbia CD CK 68893, 1998
Disc 4, Tracks 14-15 from Mathis On Broadway Columbia CD CK 63897, 2000
Disc 4, Track 16 from Isn't It Romantic: The Standards Album Columbia CD CK 86029, 2005
Disc 4, Track 17 from A Night To Remember Columbia CD 88697100382, 2008
Disc 4, Tracks 18-19 from Let It Be Me: Mathis In Nashville Columbia CD 8869756314, 2010

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Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. It always amazes me how re-issues lately go back to the mono versions. So what if that's the way we heard them on our old transistor and car radios. Once you have heard the stereo versions of them, you never want to hear them is mono again. Disc 1 in this set could have begun in stereo at song 7 . (I've often wondered if "Wild Is the Wind" was recorded in stereo since it was cut on 1 Oct 57 in New York and Columbia was recording in stereo by then.) And "Misty" or "Maria" in mono??....give me a break!!!

    When Columbia released the Mathis Singles CD Set in 2015 I was hoping that they would be issued in stereo but much to my dismay the late 50's early 60's 45's, which had to have been recorded in stereo, were in dreaded mono. Columbia was producing beautiful stereo recordings at East 30th Street by the Fall of 1957 but I guess I'll never hear them. I had written a letter (no e-mail) to Didier Deutsch to ask about this matter, and he replied saying "early stereo recordings didn't exhibit the same polish we expect today" or "we didn't have actual sources for many of the singles". Seems a shame to me.
    By the way, do you know what ever happened to "The Complete Album Colection" which is mentioned in the liner notes of the Singles collection? In his letter to me Mr. Deutsch mentions that two albums not previously released ("The Island" and "I Love My Lady") and "Unforgettable" recorded in England as well as 40 unreleased selections would be included. It was due last Fall, but so far I haven't seen it.
    (As the man says...STEREO is a sound...Mono is a disease)

    Reply

    • Hi there! Thanks for your comments. There are plenty of places on CD to hear "Misty" and "Maria," among other tracks, in stereo. This collection is a rare opportunity for these original mono mixes to be heard again. As you likely know, mono was how the original producers and engineers intended these songs to be heard, with the stereo versions often being an afterthought. While we appreciate the richness of stereo, there's something to be said for the clarity, crispness, and punch of beautifully recorded mono. I hope this set fills a gap in the CD collections of some Mathis fans, and offers an alternate yet faithful, original view with all of the mono recordings on Disc One.

      As for the complete box, it hasn't been announced yet beyond the reference in the "Singles" set. Watch this space for more news when available. Thanks!

      Reply

      • I agree with you Joe. I really don't understand the hatred some people show towards mono, because they are obsessed with the idea that everything must be stereo. In 1957, you'd have bought the single regardless. That was what made the chart, so for the sake of historical integrity, that is how it should be heard now. Stereo versions are rewriting history for the sake of audiophiles. We've had stereo versions of these tracks for years, and they're easily available elsewhere. I for one applaud the decision to use mono mixes. I do hope the collection might be available as a download in due course though, so we can purchase individual tracks (4 CDs is a bit much to buy if you're only interested in some of it).

        On another note, if you have any influence in these matters, could you please try to include the UK single edit of "Winter Wonderland" on a future compilation? It was a Top 20 hit for him here, but the slow middle section was edited out, so it's a brisk 1:50 instead of the 3:19 album version. Perhaps because this was a UK anomaly, I'm fairly sure it's never been on CD. There's a public domain digital download, which is quite obviously a needledrop. It would be great to have a remastered digital release of it.

        Reply

  2. My question is when are we going to get the song on CD, Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss that was used in the film To Wong Foo. To my knowledge this has never been released digitally.

    Reply

  3. In the notes to the four-CD set The Singles, released in 2015, it was said that a complete albums box was coming soon. The singles set seemed to be designed to complement it. Two years later it still hasn't materialised. Have you any idea why?

    Reply

    • As of this writing, the homepage of Johnny's official website promises that the box set, THE VOICE OF ROMANCE: THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA ALBUMS COLLECTION, will be arriving soon, along with his new album JOHNNY MATHIS SINGS THE NEW GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK. Watch this space for more information when it becomes available. In the meantime, we're excited that this new box set includes some unique tracks otherwise unavailable on any other collection.

      Reply

  4. In 1957 through 1959, my understanding is they were still experimenting with Stereo and microphone placement was more for the mono recording, so there is a different sound based the techniques used in the recording studio at the time. Peggy Lee's Jump for Joy and Things are Swingin' albums sound phenomenally better in Mono, to me, anyway. As does Frank Sinatra's Only The Lonely Album. Because of the microphone placement, some stereo versions make the singer sound a little off from the backing instruments. I also agree that the Motown mono singles, the ones everyone remembers hearing on the radio, sound phenomenally better. So Motown has been releasing them in Mono on CD. Personally, I would like to see some of my favorite albums recorded during this time period released in Mono. Doris Day recorded the Duet Album and the voice in on one side and Andre Previn's trio is on the other. It would be nice to hear them coming out of the same channel together. I am looking forward to the mono versions as well as the complete Columbia LPs on CD set. I doubt they will have the mono versions along with the stereo versions as you could fit both versions on a single CD. Too much to ask for I guess.

    Reply

  5. Received my copy but disc 2 starts skipping at track21, is there a disc replacement or do I return the whole set

    Reply

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