| Heavenly | ||||
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| Studio album by Johnny Mathis | ||||
| Released | 1959 | |||
| Recorded | April, 1959 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Mitch Miller & Al Ham | |||
| Professional reviews | ||||
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| Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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Heavenly is the tenth album released by vocalist Johnny Mathis. It is the eighth original studio album recorded by the singer (two hit singles compilations Johnny's Greatest Hits and More Johnny's Greatest Hits were among his album releases to this point.)
Contents |
This album, arranged and conducted by Glenn Osser, is the epitome of the successful album formula that had characterised most of the previous Mathis albums: lush orchestrations, lavish production and a collection of ultra romantic songs given the sensitive, vocal treatment of a young singer in the first flush of his success.
This album is considered Mathis' most successful original album, peaking at #1 on the Billboard album chart in its original release, his ninth consecutive album to chart.[1] Its success is only surpassed by his 1958 release Johnny's Greatest Hits, which remained on the Billboard album chart for 490 weeks.[2]
The ultimate in romance is Mathis' version of "Misty", originally recorded and released on this album. The song began its life as an instrumental by pianist Errol Garner. With lyrics added by Johnny Burke, it was recorded by Sarah Vaughan for her album Vaughan And Violins under the direction of Quincy Jones. But it was Mathis' version that helped to make the song a standard. Subsequent versions by Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald helped to solidify its status.[3] The song was also a hit single for Mathis, earning him a Gold record and peaking at #12 on the Billboard Singles Chart.[4]
The album's title song is the work of Burt Bacharach prior to his success with Hal David in the 1960s. The balance of the songs on the album derive from the Broadway stage and Tin Pan Alley. "Hello, Young Lovers" is from The King and I by Rodgers and Hammerstein, a songwriting team whose work Mathis has often recorded and performed. "Strangers In Paradise" is from Kismet, a 1953 musical. It had been a hit for Tony Bennett and is the first of several songs Mathis would record from the show. From the 1946 show Annie Get Your Gun with a score by Irving Berlin comes the ballad "They Say It's Wonderful."
Of the song standards included on the album, the best known include "More Than You Know", "That's All" and "A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening".
Further establishing the enduring quality of Mathis' early work is the fact that "Misty" from this album was included in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. This special Grammy award category was established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old at the time of being honoured and that have "qualitative or historical significance."[5]