Johnny (Johnny Mathis album)
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Johnny (1963) is the 19th album released by singer Johnny Mathis. It is his 15th original studio album, with four compilations of hit singles having been released by him at this point.
Overview
Collaborating once again with arranger/conductor Don Costa who had scored Rapture the previous year, Mathis is heard in a program of ballads and swingers. As with most of Mathis' albums around this time, the program is made up of well-known standards through to rarer material making for an interesting listening experience.
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Track listing
- "Easy Does It" (Kerry Jacobson)- 2:08
- "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) - 3:45
- "Miracles" (Bart Howard) - 2:51
- "(Ah, the Apple Trees) When the World Was Young" (M. Phillippe Gerard, Angele Vannier, Johnny Mercer) - 3:47
- "Never Never Land" (Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green) - 4:01
- "Poor Butterfly" (John Golden, Raymond Hubbell) - 4:15
- "Jump for Joy" (Duke Ellington, Sid Kuller, Paul Francis Webster) - 2:15
- "Joey, Joey, Joey" (Frank Loesser) - 3:56
- "I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me" (Jimmy McHugh, Clarence Gaskill) - 3:00
- "I Love You" (Cole Porter) - 3:27
- "A Weaver of Dreams" (Jack Elliott, Victor Young) - 3:13
- "No Man Stands Alone" (Jack Segal, Paul Vance) - 2:35
Billboard Album Chart
This was Mathis' 18th consecutive charting album peaking at #20 on the Billboard album chart in its original release.[1]
Highlights
At this point, Mathis had recorded many songs by Cole Porter including the composer's work on a number of his previous albums. On this album he sings Porter's "I Love You" in a powerful performance. From Rodgers and Hart's 1935 show Jumbo comes "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" in a spirited, uptempo performance that includes the rarely heard verse. Also from Broadway comes "Never Never Land" by Jule Styne with lyrics by Comden and Green from their 1954 musical Peter Pan. The lyrics of Johnny Mercer are given thoughtful performance on "(Ah, the Apple Trees) When the World Was Young" while Sarah Vaughan's 1956 revival of "Poor Butterfly" surely inspired Mathis to record this 1916 popular song based on the story of Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly. The album also includes a lovely version of the standard "I Can't Believe that You're in Love With Me".