''Broadway'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American pop singer

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

that was recorded in 1964 but not released by his then record label

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

. The project first became commercially available on August 28, 2012, when

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

released it as one of two albums on one compact disc, the other album being his 1965 LP '' Love Is Everything''. ''Broadway'' was also included in Sony's Mathis box set ''

The Complete Global Albums Collection ''The Complete Global Albums Collection'' is a 13-disc box set by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released in 2014 by Legacy Recordings. It includes the 11 studio albums recorded by Mathis's own production company, Global Records, and o ...

'', which was released on November 17, 2014. __TOC__

History

After recording 16 studio albums for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

between 1956 and 1963, Mathis accepted an offer to switch to the

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

label with one advantage being that he would have more control over his recordings. During the first 15 months at his new home, he recorded and released five LPs and began work on number six, which would be exclusively devoted to songs from musicals from the

Great White Way Broadway () is a road in the U.S. state of New York. Broadway runs from State Street at Bowling Green for through the borough of Manhattan and through the Bronx, exiting north from New York City to run an additional through the Westchester ...

or, as he described it, "things I was listening to because I was in New York. I would go to the theater a lot and listen to all that great music from different shows." The first four of his Mercury titles had respectable chart runs in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', but the most recent of them, ''

Olé ¡Ole! or ¡olé! is a Spanish interjection used to cheer on or praise a performance, especially associated with the audience of bullfighting and flamenco dance. The word is also commonly used in many other contexts in Spain, and has become clos ...

'' was the first not to make the magazine's list of (what was now) the top 150 albums of the week. since his 1956 Columbia debut. In the liner notes for the 2012 release of ''Broadway'', James Ritz describes how "John swings unabashedly and unrelentingly thanks to

Allyn Ferguson Allyn Malcolm Ferguson Jr. (October 18, 1924 – June 23, 2010) was an American composer, whose works include the themes for 1970s television programs ''Barney Miller'' and '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976-1981), which he co-wrote with Jack Elliott ...

, who outdid himself with a set of wild and uninhibited arrangements." Mathis has fond memories of the arranger/conductor: "Great stuff... lots of interesting rhythm patterns from Allyn. He was a taskmaster. He was very, very smart and he always put that into his music. He was very esoteric as far as his jazz was concerned. I just sort of tagged along. I enjoyed the challenge and vocally I think it worked. I was quite enamored at the time with

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

and I think a lot of it reflects that."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Al Campbell explains, "At the time, Mercury felt the album was too upbeat and not the type of romantic material Mathis had been so successful with during his previous tenure with Columbia."

Track listing

# "Ain't It de Truth" from ''

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

'' (

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

E.Y. Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...

) – 3:47 # "

Get Out of Town "Get Out of Town" is a 1938 popular song written by Cole Porter, for his musical ''Leave It to Me!'', where it was introduced by Tamara Drasin. Notable recordings *Ginny Simms - recorded December 7, 1938 for Vocalion Records (catalog No. 4549). ...

" from ''

Leave It to Me! ''Leave It to Me!'' is a 1938 musical produced by Vinton Freedley with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The book was a collaborative effort by Samuel and Bella Spewack, who also directed the Broadway production. The musical was based on the play ...

'' (

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

) – 3:16 # "Independent (On My Own)" from '' Bells Are Ringing'' (

Betty Comden Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 - November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned s ...

Adolph Green Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved film musicals, particularly as part of Art ...

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...

) – 2:54 # " Hello, Dolly!" from '' Hello, Dolly!'' (

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricis ...

) – 3:28 # "

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

" from ''

The Garrick Gaieties ''Garrick Gaieties'' is a revue with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, the first successful musical by this songwriting team. It debuted in 1925 on Broadway and was the first of three ''Garrick Gaiety'' revues, which were subs ...

'' (

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Both ...

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...

) – 3:40 # "Once in a Lifetime" from ''

Stop the World – I Want to Get Off ''Stop the World – I Want to Get Off'' is a 1961 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. According to Oscar Levant, the play's title was derived from graffiti. Plot The show, set against a circus backdr ...

'' (

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films ''Do ...

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leading ...

) – 2:22 # "You'd Better Love Me" from '' High Spirits'' (

Timothy Gray Timothy Gray (September 5, 1926 – March 17, 2007) was an American songwriter, author, singer and director, remembered for his partnership with Hugh Martin which produced '' High Spirits'', a musical based on Noël Coward's play, ''Blithe Spiri ...

Hugh Martin Hugh Martin (August 11, 1914 – March 11, 2011) was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis'', in which Judy Garland ...

) – 3:13 # "

Don't Rain on My Parade "Don't Rain on My Parade" is a popular song from the 1964 musical '' Funny Girl''. It was also featured in the 1968 movie version of the musical. The song was written by Bob Merrill and Jule Styne. Both the movie and stage versions feature Barbra ...

" from '' Funny Girl'' (

Bob Merrill Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote ...

) – 2:55 # "

Of Thee I Sing ''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President o ...

" from ''

'' (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

) – 3:12 # "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love" from '' Finian's Rainbow'' (

Burton Lane Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include '' Finian's Rainbow'' in 1947 and ''On a Clear Day You ...

) – 2:49 # " Ridin' High" from ''

Red, Hot and Blue ''Red, Hot and Blue'' is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It premiered on Broadway in 1936 and introduced the popular song " It's De-Lovely," sung by Ethel Merman and Bob Hope. ...

'' (

) – 3:19 # "She Loves Me" from ''

She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 fil ...

'' (

Jerry Bock Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical ''Fiorello!'' and the Tony A ...

Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (born April 30, 1924) is an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as ''Fiorello!'' and ''Fiddler on the Roof''. Early life Sheldon Mayer Harnick was bo ...

) – 2:44

Recording dates

*September 24, 1964 – "Don't Rain on My Parade", "Hello, Dolly!", "Independent (On My Own)", "Once in a Lifetime" *October 5, 1964 – "Ain't It De Truth", "Get Out of Town", "Ridin' High", "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love" *October 9, 1964 – "Manhattan", "Of Thee I Sing", "She Loves Me", "You'd Better Love Me"

Personnel

; Original album *

– vocals; producer *

– arranger, conductor ;;''Love Is Everything/Broadway'' (2012): *Mark Wilder – remastering *Maria Triana – remastering assistant *Matt Cavaluzzo – analog-to-digital transfers *Tom D. Kline – design *James Ritz – liner notes *Didier C. Deutsch – Sony A&R producer *Henry Towns – Sony A&R producer *Shane Harris – Sony A&R coordinator *Phil Zaks – Sony production coordinator :*Remastered at Battery Studios,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

References

Works cited

* {{Authority control 1964 albums Johnny Mathis albums Albums arranged by Allyn Ferguson Mercury Records albums Albums produced by Johnny Mathis