JOHNNY MATHIS' MERCURY ALBUMS TO BE RELEASED ON CD FOR FIRST TIME

Johnny Mathis’ mid-’60s sides for the Mercury label have long been overlooked, though they rank among the most commercially and artistically successful recordings of his career. Why? Well, for one thing, Johnny has been a flagship artist for Columbia Records for so long that folks tend to forget that he spent three years apart from the label. But more importantly, those recordings, most notably the ten LPs he cut for Mercury, have been out of print during the entire compact disc era, as only Johnny’s Christmas album has ever come out on CD.

Now, by special arrangement with Sony Music, the artist and his management, Real Gone Music will issue these essential albums (everything but the Christmas album, which remains in print) on compact disc for the first time — nearly 50 years after Johnny’s first release on Mercury. Each release consists of two albums, each newly remastered at Battery Studios in New York, complete with original art and comprehensive liner notes featuring an exclusive interview of Johnny by pop vocal expert James Ritz (who counts these Mercury albums as his favorite Mathis recordings, by the way).

The first wave of releases includes a never-before-released album of Broadway-themed songs recorded by Johnny in 1964-1965, paired with his charting album from 1965, Love Is Everything, while the other twofer, Tender Is the Night/Wonderful World of Make-Believe, features Johnny’s first two “secular” albums for Mercury (his first release for the label was Sounds of Christmas). Both albums hit the charts in 1964, with Tender Is the Night reaching #12, and both albums feature Johnny’s dreamy takes on stage and film songs, with arrangements on Tender by the great Don Costa. ~ Real Gone Music