"What Will Mary Say" is a song written by

Eddie Snyder Edward Abraham Snyder (February 22, 1919 – March 10, 2011) was an American composer and songwriter. Snyder is credited with co-writing the English language lyrics and music for Frank Sinatra's 1966 hit, " Strangers in the Night". Snyder was bo ...

and

Paul Vance Joseph Paul Florio (November 4, 1929 – May 30, 2022), known professionally as Paul Vance, was an American songwriter and record producer, primarily from the 1950s until the 1970s. His most successful song compositions, all written with Lee Po ...

. 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, who made the song a popular hit. Mathis' version of "What Will Mary Say" (arranged by

Don Costa Dominick P. "Don" Costa (June 10, 1925 – January 19, 1983) was an American conductor and record producer. He discovered singer Paul Anka and worked on several hit albums by Frank Sinatra, including ''Sinatra and Strings'' and '' My Way''. ...

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 sta ...

, #9 on the U.S. pop chart, #21 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #49 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

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 Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...

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 and Roy Orbison entitled ''Special Delivery from Bobby Bare...Joey Powers...Roy Orbison''. * Jay Black released a version of the song as a single in 1967, but it did not chart. * Gene Thomas 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