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For more than sixty years, the voice of Johnny Mathis has been synonymous with romance, class, and sophistication.  He’s performed songs by everyone from Richard Rodgers to Burt Bacharach, and worked with world-class musicians like Percy Faith, Ray Conniff, Henry Mancini, Thom Bell, Nelson Riddle, and Don Costa.  Now, the eternally youthful singer is turning to a new repertoire for his latest studio album.  On September 29, Columbia Records will release Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook.  Produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and industry legend/Arista Records founder Clive Davis, this 11-track album is the artist’s first new release since 2013’s Grammy-nominated Sending You a Little Christmas.  It will be joined on December 8 by the massive 68-CD retrospective box set The Voice of Romance.

While serving as president of Columbia Records, Clive Davis oversaw Mathis’ series of albums in which he tackled the great songs of that era.  Davis and Mathis return to this milieu on The Great New American Songbook with performances of hit songs popularized in recent years by Adele (“Hello”), Josh Groban (“You Raise Me Up”), “Just the Way You Are” (Bruno Mars, not Billy Joel!), Pharrell Williams (“Happy”), Keith Urban (“Blue Ain’t Your Color”), and the late Leonard Cohen (“Hallelujah”).  Arista Records alumnus Kenny G joins Mathis for “Run to You” from Davis protégé Whitney Houston’s record-breaking soundtrack to The Bodyguard.

The Great New American Songbook will be included on The Voice of Romance, the long-promised box celebrating the entirety of Mathis’ career at Columbia Records.  While a complete track listing is not yet available, it’s confirmed that the box will feature 62 remastered Columbia albums (25 of which are available on CD for the very first time), two previously unreleased albums, a 2-disc collection featuring 40 previously unreleased songs, and the brand-new album.

These two upcoming titles join TJL Productions’ box set released earlier this year as a Public Television exclusive, 60th + 1 Anniversary: Classic Singles & Favorite Songs.  That collection brought together 90 tracks including first-time-on-CD debuts from the entirety of Mathis’ remarkable 61 years in music.  The first comprehensive anthology of Mathis’ top 20 U.S. singles on both the Pop and Adult Contemporary charts, it intertwines those chart hits in their original single versions with personal favorite selections hand-picked by Mathis and rarities unavailable anywhere else such as the Mercury Records B-side “Come Back,” the Spanish recording of “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” and the rare U.K.-only HMV single of “The Impossible Dream.”

Look for Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook on September 29 and The Voice of Romance, on December 8, both from Columbia Records!  Pre-order links are available for the new album below, and we will update with links for The Voice of Romance once they are active!

Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook (Columbia, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Hallelujah
2. Once Before I Go
3. Blue Ain’t Your Color
4. You Raise Me Up
5. Say Something
6. Just the Way You Are
7. I Believe I Can Fly
8. Remember When
9. Happy
10. Hello
11. Run to You (featuring Kenny G)