The Singles (Johnny Mathis album)

The Singles is a four-disc box set by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in 2015 by Columbia Records to commemorate the singer's 80th birthday. In his review of the collection Joe Marchese explains that it "doesn't bring together every track released by the legendary artist on 45 RPM; such an endeavor would take far more than four discs. Instead, it features the tracks originally released by Mathis on Columbia in the singles format – in other words, non-LP sides – between the years of 1956 and 1981, in their original single mixes."[3] His description of the compilation echoes that of compilation producer Didier C. Deutsch in the liner notes as explanation for the exclusion of the hit singles "Misty" from 1959's Heavenly and his "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" duet with Deniece Williams from You Light Up My Life in 1978. Deutsch excuses these as "songs extracted from specific albums to call attention to these albums."[2] The set does, however, include "Ten Times Forever More" and "I Was There" from his 1971 LP, Love Story, and a shorter version of "If We Only Have Love" than the one that was included on his other 1971 album, You've Got a Friend.

The Singles
Box set by
Johnny Mathis
ReleasedSeptember 25, 2015[1]
Recorded1956–1981[2]
Genre
Length4:19:12
LabelColumbia/Legacy
Johnny Mathis chronology
The Complete Global Albums Collection
(2014)		 The Singles
(2015)		 The Complete Christmas Collection 1958–2010
(2015)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
TheSecondDisc.comPositive[3]

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote that "the first two discs contain the music that crystallized Johnny Mathis' appeal: he made the middle of the road seem fresh and if Mitch Miller's productions grow wearisome, Mathis' voice never does."[1] The Second Disc's Joe Marchese argued that "this assemblage of hits and rarities belongs on the shelf of every fan of Johnny Mathis – which is to say of any fan of immaculate vocals, impeccable musicianship, and the full spectrum of American popular song.[3]

Track listing

Recording dates and information taken from the liner notes.[2]

Disc one
  1. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" (Sherman Edwards, Ben Raleigh) – 2:50
  2. "When Sunny Gets Blue" performed with Ray Conniff & His Orchestra (Marvin Fisher, Jack Segal) – 2:41
    • above two recorded on 9/20/56 and released on 11/5/56
  3. "It's Not for Me to Say" from Lizzie (1957); performed with Ray Conniff & His Orchestra (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 3:05
  4. "Warm and Tender" from Lizzie (1957); performed with Ray Conniff & His Orchestra (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 2:23
    • above two rec. 9/20/56, rel. 2/25/57
  5. "Chances Are" performed with Ray Conniff & His Orchestra (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 3:03
  6. "The Twelfth of Never" performed with Ray Conniff & His Orchestra (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:28
    • above two rec. 6/16/57, rel. 8/12/57
  7. "Wild Is the Wind" from Wild Is the Wind (1957) (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) – 2:26
    • rec. 10/1/57, rel. 11/11/57
  8. "No Love (But Your Love)" performed with Ray Conniff & His Orchestra (Billy Myles) – 2:34
    • rec. 6/16/57, rel. 11/11/57
  9. "When I Am with You" (Al Stillman, Ben Weisman) – 3:15
  10. "Come to Me" from the Kraft Television Theatre episode "Come to Me" (1957) (Robert Allen, Peter Lind Hayes) – 3:21
    • above two rec. 10/31/57, rel. 12/30/57
  11. "All the Time" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston) – 2:44
    • rec. 1/7/58, rel. 3/17/58
  12. "Teacher, Teacher" (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 2:38
    • rec. 10/31/57, rel. 3/17/58
  13. "A Certain Smile" from A Certain Smile (1958) (Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:47
    • rec. 5/12/58, rel. 6/2/58
  14. "Let It Rain" (Al Frisch, Sid Wayne) – 2:38
    • rec. 1/7/58, rel. 6/2/58
  15. "Call Me" (Belford Hendricks, Clyde Otis) – 2:46
  16. "Stairway to the Sea (Scalinatella)" (Albert Beach, Giuseppe Cioffi ) – 2:34
    • above two rec. 5/12/58, rel. 9/8/58
  17. "You Are Beautiful" from Flower Drum Song (1958) (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers) – 3:10
    • rec. 11/10/58, rel. 12/1/58
  18. "Let's Love" (Richard Ferraris, Norman Kaye) – 2:41
    • rec. 9/26/58, rel. 12/1/58
  19. "Someone" (William J. Tennyson, Jr.) – 2:58
    • rec. 9/26/58, rel. 3/9/59
  20. "Very Much in Love" (Ray Ellis, Al Stillman) – 2:46
    • rec. 11/10/58, rel. 3/9/59
  21. "I Look at You" (Johnny Mathis, Jessie Mae Robinson) – 2:59
  22. "The Flame of Love" (Lee Pockriss, Paul Vance) – 2:51
Personnel
  • Mitch Miller – producer (tracks 1–21)
  • Al Ham – producer[A] (tracks 1–3, 7, 13;[4][5] 5, 6, 8, 12;[4] 18, 19, 22)
  • Ray Conniff – conductor (tracks 1–6, 8); chorus conductor (track 1)
  • Ray Ellis – conductor (tracks 7, 9–21)
  • Glenn Osser – conductor (track 22)
  • A While this compilation only credits Ham as producer for tracks 18, 19, and 22 on this disc, the other compilations listed in the Notes section credit him as such on the tracks indicated. Neither the original singles nor the compilations released before these provided this information.

Disc two
  1. "Small World" from Gypsy (1959) (Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne) – 3:18
    • rec. 4/29/59, rel. 5/25/59
  2. "You Are Everything to Me" (Percy Faith, Carl Sigman) – 2:56
    • rec. 11/10/58, rel. 5/25/59
  3. "The Story of Our Love" (Michael Colicchio, Anthony Piano) – 2:24
    • rec. 4/29/59, rel. 9/14/59
  4. "The Best of Everything" from The Best of Everything (1959) (Sammy Cahn, Alfred Newman) – 2:45
    • rec. 9/8/59, rel. 9/28/59
  5. "Cherie" (Michael Coldin, T. Prescott) – 2:49
    • rec. 5/1/59, rel. 9/28/59
  6. "Starbright" (Lee Pockriss, Paul Vance) – 2:48
    • rec. 4/29/59, rel. 2/15/60
  7. "All Is Well" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 2:31
    • rec. 5/1/59, rel. 2/15/60
  8. "Hey Love" (Lee Pockriss, Paul Vance) – 2:28
    • rec. 5/1/59, rel. 5/9/60
  9. "My Love for You" (Abner Silver, Sid Wayne) – 3:07
  10. "Oh That Feeling" (Jack Segal, Paul Vance) – 2:36
    • above two rec. 5/31/60, rel. 7/25/60
  11. "How to Handle a Woman" from Camelot (1960); performed with Percy Faith & His Orchestra (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) – 3:02
    • rec. 10/27/60, rel. 11/7/60
  12. "While You're Young" (Barbara Hayden, Tony Romano) – 2:54
    • rec. 5/1/59, rel. 11/7/60
  13. "You Set My Heart to Music" from Thirteen Daughters (1961) (Eaton Magoon, Jr.) – 2:46
    • rec. 3/4/61, rel. 3/20/61
  14. "Jenny" (Jack Segal, Paul Vance) – 2:58
    • rec. 2/8/61, rel. 3/20/61
  15. "Should I Wait (Or Should I Run to Her)" (Leon Carr, Paul Vance) – 2:48
    • rec. 2/8/61, rel. 4/24/61
  16. "Laurie, My Love" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:25
    • rec. 3/4/61, rel. 6/16/61
  17. "Wasn't the Summer Short?" (Ruth Lyons) – 2:53
    • rec. 2/8/61, rel. 9/8/61
  18. "There You Are" (Clyde Otis, Chris Towns) – 2:48
    • rec. 9/26/58, rel. 9/8/61
  19. "My Kind of Christmas" performed with Percy Faith & His Orchestra (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 3:02
  20. "Christmas Eve" performed with Percy Faith & His Orchestra (Allyn Ferguson, Sidney Shaw) – 2:56
    • above two rec. 9/11/61, rel. 11/17/61
  21. "Sweet Thursday" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:30
  22. "One Look" (Arthur Hamilton) – 2:52
    • above two rec. 10/9/61, rel. 12/29/61
  23. "Marianna" from The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) (Alfred Newman, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:50
    • rec. 3/29/62, rel. 4/27/62
  24. "Unaccustomed As I Am" (Ray Ellis, Al Stillman) – 2:55
    • rec. 3/4/61, rel. 4/27/62
  25. "That's the Way It Is" (Leon Carr, Paul Vance) – 2:49
    • rec. 3/29/62, rel. 7/27/62
Personnel
  • Al Ham – producer (tracks 1–8, 18)
  • Mitch Miller – producer (tracks 9–12, 18)
  • Frank DeVol – producer (tracks 13, 16, 24)
  • Irving Townsend – producer (tracks 14, 15, 17, 19–23, 25)
  • Glenn Osser – conductor (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10)
  • Ray Ellis – conductor (tracks 2, 13–18, 24)
  • Ralph Burns – conductor (tracks 5, 8, 12)
  • Percy Faith – conductor (tracks 11, 19, 20)
  • Pete King – conductor (tracks 23, 25)
  • no conductor is indicated for tracks 21 & 22

Disc three
  1. "I'll Never Be Lonely Again" (Sherman Edwards, Aaron Schroeder) – 3:08
    • rec. 5/23/60, rel. 7/27/62
  2. "Gina" (Leon Carr, Paul Vance) – 2:46
    • rec. 8/9/62, rel. 9/7/62
  3. "I Love Her That's Why" (Jack Segal, Paul Vance) – 2:27
    • rec. 10/9/61, rel. 9/7/62
  4. "What Will Mary Say" (Eddie Snyder, Paul Vance) – 3:09
    • rec. 8/9/62, rel. 1/4/63
  5. "Quiet Girl" (Marvin Fisher, Jack Segal) – 2:56
    • rec. 10/9/61, rel. 1/4/63
  6. "Every Step of the Way" (Robert Allen, Al Stillman) – 3:21
    • rec. 5/31/60, rel. 5/7/63
  7. "Sooner or Later" (Thomas Garlock, Alan Jeffreys) – 3:15
    • rec. 8/9/62, rel. 7/30/63
  8. "I'll Search My Heart" (Allyn Ferguson, Ernie Richman, Neil Westen) – 3:02
    • rec. 8/9/62, rel. 11/5/63
  9. "All the Sad Young Men" (Jerry Livingston, Paul Francis Webster) – 3:02
    • rec. 3/29/62, rel. 11/5/63
  10. "Don't Talk to Me" (Milt Gabler, Bert Kaempfert, Herbert Rehbein) – 3:11
    • rec. 5/15/67, rel. 8/15/67
  11. "Among the First to Know" (Fred Haber) – 2:57
    • rec. 11/2/67, rel. 11/29/67
  12. "Long Winter Nights" (Gene Allan, Ron Dante, Bob Feldman) – 2:35
    • rec. 10/20/67, rel. 11/29/67
  13. "Night Dreams" (Bert Kaempfert, Herbert Rehbein, Charles Singleton) – 2:49
    • rec. 7/5/68, rel. 9/3/68
  14. "Whoever You Are, I Love You" from Promises, Promises (1968) (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 3:59
    • rec. 1/18/69, rel. 4/8/69
  15. "For All We Know" (J. Fred Coots, Sam M. Lewis) – 3:00
    • rec. 1/6/70, rel. 2/11/70
  16. "Wherefore and Why" (Gordon Lightfoot) – 3:23
    • rec. 3/25/70, rel. 6/1/70
  17. "The Last Time I Saw Her" (Gordon Lightfoot) – 5:12
    • rec. 3/25/70, rel. 6/1/70
  18. "Darling Lili" from Darling Lili (1970) (Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer) – 2:52
    • rec. 7/10/70, rel. 8/14/70
  19. "Sign of the Dove" (Bradford Craig) – 2:49
  20. "Christmas Is..." (Percy Faith, Spence Maxwell) – 3:06
    • above two rec. 10/30/70, rel. 11/23/70
  21. "Ten Times Forever More" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 2:36
    • rec. 1/4/71, rel. 1/21/71
Personnel
  • Mitch Miller – producer (tracks 1, 6)
  • Ernie Altschuler – producer (tracks 2, 4, 7, 8)
  • Irving Townsend – producer (tracks 3, 5, 9)
  • Robert Mersey – producer, conductor (tracks 10–14)
  • Jack Gold – producer (tracks 15–21)
  • Ralph Burns – conductor (track 1)
  • Don Costa – conductor (tracks 2, 4, 7, 8)
  • Allyn Ferguson – conductor (tracks 3, 5)
  • Glenn Osser – conductor (track 6)
  • Pete King – conductor (track 9)
  • Ernie Freeman – conductor (tracks 15, 18–20)
  • Perry Botkin, Jr. – conductor (tracks 16, 17, 21)

Disc four
  1. "I Was There" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) – 2:26
    • rec. 1/18/69, rel. 1/21/71
  2. "Evie" (Jimmy Webb) – 3:09
  3. "Think About Things" (Artie Butler, Jerry Fuller) – 2:56
    • above two rec. 3/19/71, rel. 4/15/71
  4. "If We Only Have Love" (Eric Blau, Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman) – 2:45
    • rec. 7/8/71, rel. 2/17/72
  5. "This Way Mary" from Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) (Don Black, John Barry) – 3:13
    • rec. 1/27/72, rel. 2/17/72
  6. "Sometimes" (Felice Mancini, Henry Mancini) – 3:02
    • rec. 2/11/72, rel. 6/16/72
  7. "I" (Jerry Fuller, D'Arneill Pershing) – 3:05
    • rec. 9/72, rel. 10/27/72
  8. "Take Good Care of Her" (Arthur Kent, Ed Warren) – 3:01
  9. "Walking Tall" from Walking Tall (1973) (Don Black, Walter Scharf) – 3:34
    • above two rec. 12/19/72, rel. 1/19/73
  10. "Turn the Lights Down" (Jerry Fuller, Richard Littlefield) – 4:13
    • rec. 9/22/76, rel. 11/9/76
  11. "Christmas in the City of the Angels" (Suzy Elman; Arnold Goland; Jack Gold) – 2:50
  12. "The Very First Christmas Day" (Clark Gassman, Molly-Ann Leikin) – 3:07
    • above two rec. 6/5/79, rel. 11/8/79
  13. "The Lord's Prayer" performed with Gladys Knight & the Pips (Albert Hay Malotte) – 3:26
    • rec. 5/21/79, rel. 11/18/80
  14. "When a Child Is Born" performed with Gladys Knight & the Pips (Ciro Dammicco, Fred Jay) – 3:52
    • rec. 4/23/79, rel. 11/18/80
  15. "Nothing Between Us But Love" (Ray Parker, Jr., Candy Parton) – 3:21
  16. "It Doesn't Have to Hurt Every Time" (Jim Andron, Candy Parton) – 3:41
  17. "There! I've Said It Again" (Redd Evans, David Mann) – 2:46
    • CD bonus track from The First 25 Years – The Silver Anniversary Album; rec. 11/26/80, rel. 6/19/81
  18. "Three Times a Lady" (Lionel Richie) – 4:15
    • CD bonus track from The First 25 Years – The Silver Anniversary Album; rec. 3/5/80, rel. 6/19/81
  19. "The Way You Look Tonight" from Swing Time (1936) (Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern) – 3:17
    • CD bonus track from The First 25 Years – The Silver Anniversary Album; rec. 11/26/80, rel. 6/19/81
Personnel
  • Robert Mersey – producer, conductor (track 1)
  • Jerry Fuller – producer (tracks 2, 3, 5–10)
  • Jack Gold – producer (tracks 4, 11–19)
  • Al Capps – conductor (tracks 2, 3, 5)
  • D'Arneill Pershing – conductor (tracks 4, 6–9)
  • Gene Page – conductor (tracks 10–19)

Additional personnel

Box set credits taken from the liner notes.[2]

Singles
  • Johnny Mathis – vocals

Box set
  • Didier C. Deutsch – producer; liner notes
  • Mike Piacentini – producer; mastering
  • Jeff James – project A&R
  • Jim Lane – project director
  • Will McKinney – project director
  • Frank Harkins – art direction
  • Alice V. Butts – design
  • Sony Music Photo Archives – photography
  • Johnny Mathis – liner notes

References
  1. "The Singles - Johnny Mathis". allmusic.com. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  2. (2015) The Singles by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records 88875120552.
  3. "Review: Johnny Mathis, "The Singles"". theseconddisc.com. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  4. (2004) The Essential Johnny Mathis by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records C2K-63562.
  5. (2006) Gold: A 50th Anniversary Celebration by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony BMG Music Entertainment 82876 88583 2.
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