"What Will Mary Say" is a song written by Eddie Snyder and Paul Vance. It was originally performed and issued as a single by Mark Dinning in 1961, but did not chart. Two years later, the song was recorded and released by

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 ...

, who made the song a popular hit. Mathis' version of "What Will Mary Say" (arranged by Don Costa and produced by Ernie Altschuler) reached #3 on the

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

, #9 on the U.S. pop chart, #21 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #49 on the UK Singles Chart in 1963. The song is about an affair, in which the singer wants to end it, fearing that his original lover would be angry and walk out on him. This song features the sounds of a spoken woman, repeatedly pleading: "Don't Go". The song ranked #65 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 100 singles of 1963.

Other versions

* Lawrence Welk released a version of the song on his 1963 album ''1963's Early Hits''. * Joey Powers released a version of the song on his 1964 album with

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", " Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Early ca ...

and

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

entitled ''Special Delivery from Bobby Bare...Joey Powers...Roy Orbison''. *

Jay Black Jay Black (born David Blatt; November 2, 1938 – October 22, 2021) was an American singer whose height of fame came in the 1960s when he was the lead singer of the band Jay and the Americans. The band had numerous hits including "Come a Littl ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1967, but it did not chart. *

Gene Thomas Eugene "Gene" Warren Thomas (September 1, 1942 – August 27, 1993) was an American football fullback and halfback in the American Football League and played in Super Bowl I. He attended North High School in Akron, Ohio, and played college f ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1967, but it did not chart. * David Geddes released a version of the song on his 1975 album ''Run Joey Run''. * Barry Biggs released a version of the song on his 1976 album ''Mr. Biggs''.

References

1961 songs 1963 singles 1967 singles Songs written by Eddie Snyder Songs written by Paul Vance Songs about infidelity Johnny Mathis songs Columbia Records singles United Artists Records singles {{1960s-single-stub