Song:Chances Are
Album:The Very Best Of Johnny Mathis
Whether you like him or not, Johnny Mathis deserves to be acknowledged as one of the most enduring artists in pop music history. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, he has sold 350 million records worldwide. And he's done most of that in the Easy Listening market. Chances Are was his 1957 breakthrough hit and one of only two number one hits he has had in his career. He was born Sept. 30, 1935 in Gilmer, TX and grew up in San Francisco. His father was in vaudeville so he encouraged Mathis to perform. As a teen, he took vocal lessons including opera. And he was a big jazz fan and a huge Nat King Cole fan. He was also a great athlete in high school and his high jumping earned him a scholarship at San Francisco State. He planned to become a phys ed teacher. He was also singing in clubs. Columbia Records jazz producer George Avakian signed him in 1956 and wanted him to come to New York to record. But Mathis could have gone to the 1956 Olympics in Australia. He chose a recording career. His first album was jazz oriented and didn't do well. But Columbia head Mitch Miller took over and turned Mathis into a crooner with Ray Coniff's orchestra. Wonderful! Wonderful! was his first chart hit in 1956. But Mathis topped the charts with Chances Are in 1957. Chances Are was written by the team of Robert Allen and Al Stillman. Allen was a pianist for Perry Como and they wrote several hits for Como and others. Mathis' only other number one hit was his 1978 duet with Deniece Williams Too Much! Too Little! Too Late!. But his albums have been consistent catalog staples for Columbia. He still records for Columbia and released the country CD Let It Be Me: Mathis In Nashville last year. You can get all his hits on this comp from Sony Australia. I'm not a big Johnny Mathis fan but he knows his market. Here's Johnny Mathis performing Chances Are in the 80s I think.
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