Introduction:
For decades, Johnny Mathis was known for a sound that felt almost timeless: sweeping orchestral arrangements, elegant standards, and romantic ballads delivered in his unmistakably smooth voice. But behind that familiar image, another side of the legendary singer was waiting to be discovered—one shaped by musical experimentation, unexpected collaborations, and albums that never reached the public when they were first created.
Among the most fascinating discoveries was I Love My Lady, a project that brought Mathis together with Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, the influential songwriting and production duo behind the disco-funk group Chic. Recorded around 1980 and 1981, the album represented a bold departure from the polished romantic style that many listeners associated with Mathis.
Rodgers and Edwards had helped define the dance-floor sound of an era through their work with Chic and other major artists. Their collaboration with Mathis placed his expressive vocals in a different musical environment, blending his natural warmth with contemporary rhythms, sophisticated arrangements, and a more modern R&B sensibility. Rather than simply repeating the formula that had made him famous, Mathis was exploring what his voice could become in new hands.
Yet the album never received its planned release in 1981. Columbia Records shelved the completed project, leaving the music unheard in its entirety for decades. Its eventual appearance in the 2017 collection The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection offered listeners an opportunity to reconsider an artist they thought they already understood. A standalone CD edition followed in 2019, giving the long-hidden recordings another chance to find an audience.
Another intriguing discovery was The Island, a project recorded in 1989 that took Mathis in a different direction. Produced by Sérgio Mendes, with arrangements associated with Brazilian musician Dori Caymmi, the album explored Brazilian-inspired sounds, including bossa nova and samba influences. It featured a duet with Dionne Warwick on “Who’s Counting Heartaches,” bringing together two distinctive voices within a musical setting far removed from a conventional collection of orchestral ballads.
Although The Island was not released at the time of its recording, it eventually surfaced as a standalone CD in 2020. Its arrival revealed another chapter in Mathis’s artistic curiosity: an interest in crossing stylistic boundaries without abandoning the sensitivity and melodic elegance that defined his singing.
These albums tell a story larger than the rediscovery of forgotten music. They challenge the assumption that an artist’s public catalog represents the full extent of their creative life. Record companies make decisions, release schedules change, and completed projects can remain unheard for reasons that have little to do with the music’s artistic value.
For Mathis, the vault held more than unused recordings. It preserved evidence of a musician willing to take chances beyond his best-known image.
Sometimes, the most revealing chapter of an artist’s career is not the one audiences remember—but the one they were never given the chance to hear.