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THE DAY JOHNNY MATHIS OUTJUMPED A FUTURE NBA LEGEND — AND PROVED HE WAS MORE THAN JUST A BEAUTIFUL VOICE. Before America fell in love with his music, Johnny Mathis possessed another extraordinary gift that almost took his life in a completely different direction. Long before “Chances Are” made him famous, Johnny Mathis was turning heads on the athletic field. At San Francisco State College, he became an exceptional high jumper, clearing an impressive 6 feet 5½ inches. But one particular detail makes his athletic story unforgettable. Johnny once competed against a young Bill Russell, the man who would later become one of basketball’s greatest legends. On that occasion, Mathis reportedly outjumped him. Imagine that! The future “Voice of Romance” was once competing successfully against a future NBA icon. At the time, Johnny dreamed of a future that might involve athletics rather than recording studios. Yet destiny had another plan.

Introduction: Long before Johnny Mathis became one of America’s most beloved romantic singers, he had another talent that could have made him…

Oldies Musics

BEFORE JOHNNY MATHIS BECAME A STAR, A WOMAN HEARD HIM SING IN A SMALL NIGHTCLUB — AND REFUSED TO LET THE WORLD MISS HIS VOICE. Sometimes, the person who changes your life isn’t someone you’ve known for years. It’s someone who happens to hear you at exactly the right moment. In the mid-1950s, Johnny Mathis was still a college student in San Francisco, balancing his love of singing with a promising athletic career. One afternoon, a fellow student brought him to a jam session at the Black Hawk nightclub. Among those listening was Helen Noga, one of the club’s owners. She heard something special. Convinced Johnny deserved a larger audience, Helen began managing his career and worked to bring him to the attention of Columbia Records. Eventually, executive George Avakian heard Johnny perform and was impressed enough to request a recording contract. A young man who had been singing in local clubs was suddenly standing at the doorway of an extraordinary career.

Introduction: Sometimes, a life-changing opportunity begins with a single song. There is no grand announcement, no promise of fame—just a listener who…

Oldies Musics

“ON JANUARY 13, 1968, JOHNNY CASH WALKED INTO FOLSOM PRISON WITH HIS GUITAR — AND WHAT HE RECORDED BEHIND THOSE WALLS WOULD BECOME ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL MOMENTS IN COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORY…” On a cold January morning in 1968, Johnny Cash arrived at California’s Folsom State Prison to perform for an audience unlike any other. The men waiting inside weren’t ordinary concertgoers. They were prisoners, many of whom had spent years living behind concrete walls. Johnny understood something about regret, loneliness, and the struggle for redemption. He had battled addiction and experienced difficult years in his personal life, but he had never served a prison sentence. That morning, he performed songs filled with humor, sorrow, rebellion, and compassion. When he sang “Folsom Prison Blues,” the audience responded with extraordinary enthusiasm. The performances were recorded and released later that year as At Folsom Prison. The album became a major commercial and critical success, helping revitalize Johnny’s career and strengthening his reputation as the Man in Black. But its importance extended beyond record sales. Johnny had brought music and a measure of human connection to people often forgotten by society. Johnny Cash entered Folsom Prison as a country music star. He left behind a recording that would help define his legacy for generations.

Introduction: On January 13, 1968, Johnny Cash walked into California’s Folsom State Prison carrying his guitar and a reputation as country music’s…

Oldies Musics

JOHNNY MATHIS WAS JUST 13 WHEN A WOMAN MADE HIM AN OFFER THAT WOULD CHANGE HIS LIFE FOREVER. Before the world discovered his velvet voice, someone had to teach a young boy how to use the extraordinary gift he possessed. Johnny Mathis was only 13 when his father introduced him to Connie Cox, a respected vocal teacher in the San Francisco area. The family couldn’t simply offer her a fortune for lessons. Instead, Connie agreed to teach Johnny in exchange for his helping with household chores. For six years, she patiently guided him through breathing exercises, vocal scales, classical techniques, and even operatic training. While other teenagers were discovering their futures, Johnny was quietly preparing for one he couldn’t yet imagine. Those lessons would eventually help shape the beautiful, controlled voice behind “Misty,” “Chances Are,” and countless unforgettable recordings. Connie Cox never became a household name. But her influence traveled into millions of American homes.

Introduction: Long before Johnny Mathis became known around the world for his smooth, velvet-like voice, he was a young boy in San…

Oldies Musics

THE NIGHT JOHNNY MATHIS WATCHED HIS FATHER TAKE A PIANO APART — AND A DREAM BEGAN. Sometimes, the greatest love stories aren’t about romance. They’re about a father who sees something extraordinary in his child. Long before Johnny Mathis became America’s beloved “Voice of Romance,” he was a little boy growing up in a modest San Francisco apartment. His father, Clem, had once performed as a musician. When he recognized Johnny’s gift, he bought an old upright piano for just $25. But there was a problem. The piano wouldn’t fit through their front door. Rather than give up, Clem carefully dismantled it, carried the pieces inside, and rebuilt it in their small living room. Eight-year-old Johnny stayed awake watching his father work. That piano became part of the beginning of a remarkable musical journey. Decades later, millions would fall in love with Johnny’s voice. But before the fame, there was a father who believed. Can you imagine how different music history might have been without that $25 piano?

Introduction: Before Johnny Mathis became one of America’s most beloved romantic singers, his musical journey began in a modest San Francisco apartment,…

Oldies Musics

“GEORGE JONES THOUGHT THE SONG WAS TOO SAD TO BECOME A HIT — BUT WHEN HE FINALLY RECORDED ‘HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY,’ IT WOULD BRING HIM BACK TO THE TOP AND LEAVE COUNTRY MUSIC FOREVER CHANGED…” By the late 1970s, George Jones had already experienced extraordinary success and painful personal struggles. His battles with alcohol and drug addiction had damaged his career, and many wondered whether the legendary singer could ever return to his former glory. Then producer Billy Sherrill introduced him to a song written by Bobby Braddock and Curly Putman. It was called “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” The lyrics told the story of a man who never stopped loving a woman, even after their relationship ended. Only death finally brought his devotion to an end. George initially doubted the song’s commercial potential. He believed its story was simply too sad. Recording it also proved difficult during a troubled period in his life. But when the song was released in 1980, something remarkable happened. It reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart, earned George a Grammy Award, and helped revive his career. Today, it remains one of the most celebrated recordings in country music history. George Jones once doubted that anyone would embrace such a heartbreaking song. Instead, millions of listeners recognized something unforgettable in every word.

Introduction: By the late 1970s, George Jones was a country music legend whose extraordinary voice was matched by a deeply troubled personal…

Oldies Musics

When Barry Gibb released In the Now in October 2016, every song carried a collaboration with his sons Stephen and Ashley. After decades of writing with Robin and Maurice, he was developing new material within another configuration of the family. The distinction is important: Stephen and Ashley received songwriting credits throughout the album, giving them a creative role beyond accompanying their father onstage. Barry described the record through his experiences of life with and without his brothers and parents, alongside the experience of watching his own children become parents. Those overlapping generations gave the project its personal setting. The album reached number two in Britain, adding a substantial solo success to his career. Its credits preserve another development: three Gibbs working through songs together, with Barry now sharing the process as a father alongside two adult sons bringing their own contributions.

Introduction: In October 2016, Barry Gibb began a new chapter in a musical life shaped by one of pop history’s most remarkable…

Oldies Musics

JOHNNY MATHIS MAY HAVE LEFT THE STAGE — BUT WE MAY NOT HAVE HEARD HIS FINAL SONG. When Johnny retired from live performance in 2025, many fans understandably felt they were witnessing the closing chapter of his musical life. But an intriguing detail remains. His official website reported that during 2022 recording sessions at Capitol Studios, Johnny recorded not only Christmas material but additional songs intended for another album. As of a September 2025 official update, that project remained in production without a confirmed release date. That possibility gives Johnny’s extraordinary story a beautiful sense of unfinished business. The concerts may have ended. The touring cases may have been packed away. Yet somewhere, recordings of that unmistakable voice may still be waiting for listeners. After nearly 70 years, Johnny Mathis might still have one more musical surprise left.

Introduction: For Johnny Mathis, the final curtain may have fallen on his touring career, but there is still a possibility that listeners…

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Oldies Musics

IN 1957, JOHNNY MATHIS RECORDED A LOVE SONG THAT WOULD FOLLOW HIM FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. He was just 21 when “Chances Are” introduced another unforgettable chapter in his career. Written by Robert Allen and Al Stillman, the song carried a tenderness perfectly suited to Johnny’s extraordinary voice. It became his first No. 1 hit. But its greatest achievement wasn’t simply reaching the top of the charts. It was what happened afterward. Years became decades. Couples who once danced to the record grew older. Families changed, and musical fashions came and went. Yet “Chances Are” remained. In 2024, the Library of Congress selected the recording for preservation in the National Recording Registry, recognizing its lasting cultural importance. A young man’s love song had become part of America’s musical history.

Oldies Musics

“HE WAS A SHARECROPPER’S SON WHO DREAMED OF PLAYING PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL — BUT WHEN CHARLEY PRIDE STEPPED INTO COUNTRY MUSIC, HIS EXTRAORDINARY VOICE WOULD HELP BREAK DOWN BARRIERS THAT HAD STOOD FOR GENERATIONS…” Charley Pride was born in 1934 into a large sharecropping family in Sledge, Mississippi. Growing up in the segregated South, opportunities were limited, and the road to success was anything but easy. As a young man, Charley dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. He spent years pursuing that ambition, playing in the Negro Leagues and minor league baseball. But music was always part of his life. In the 1960s, his remarkable baritone voice began attracting attention in Nashville. At a time when country music was overwhelmingly dominated by white performers, Charley faced obstacles few other stars had experienced. Yet audiences increasingly embraced his music. Songs like “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” helped establish him as one of country music’s biggest stars. In 1971, he won the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year award. Charley Pride didn’t simply become a successful country singer. He helped open doors in an industry where artists like him had rarely been given the same opportunities.

Oldies Musics

During Barry Gibb’s Mythology tour, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” became a duet with his niece Samantha, Maurice’s daughter. The song had given the Bee Gees their first American number one in 1971; decades later, its performance brought two generations of the family together after Maurice and Robin had died. Barry’s son Stephen also played in the touring band. Asked about performing with them, Barry described their wish to play together as instinctive. That explanation gives the arrangement a personal foundation beyond the expectations surrounding a tribute tour. Samantha brought her own voice to a song embedded in her family’s history, while Barry continued performing material he had once shared with his brothers. Their duet made the family connection audible through an actual musical partnership: an uncle and niece listening, phrasing, and singing together before an audience.

Oldies Musics

ONE OF JOHNNY MATHIS’ EARLIEST HITS ALMOST SLIPPED AWAY — UNTIL A SECOND SONG GAVE IT NEW LIFE. When Columbia released “Wonderful! Wonderful!” in November 1956, Johnny Mathis was still searching for his place in American music. The record didn’t become an overnight sensation. Weeks passed. Then months. Meanwhile, another beautiful ballad, “It’s Not for Me to Say,” was preparing to reach listeners through both records and the Hollywood film *Lizzie*. Something remarkable followed. As “It’s Not for Me to Say” gained popularity, audiences began discovering “Wonderful! Wonderful!” all over again. By July 1957, both songs were enjoying chart success. The young singer who had struggled to establish himself suddenly had two memorable recordings capturing America’s attention. Sometimes, a beautiful song simply needs the right moment to find its audience. Which Johnny Mathis classic touches your heart more — “Wonderful! Wonderful!” or “It’s Not for Me to Say”?