Someone (Johnny Mathis song)

Last updated
"Someone"
MathisSomeone.jpg
US 7-inch single
Single by Johnny Mathis
from the album More Johnny's Greatest Hits
B-side "Very Much in Love"
ReleasedMarch 9, 1959
RecordedSeptember 26, 1958
Genre Pop
Length2:58
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) William J. Tennyson Jr.
Producer(s)
Johnny Mathis singles chronology
"Let's Love" / "You Are Beautiful"
(1958)		"Someone" / "Very Much in Love"
(1959)		"Small World" / "You Are Everything to Me"
(1959)
Music video
"Someone" on YouTube

"Someone" is a popular song written by William J. Tennyson Jr. that was recorded by Johnny Mathis in 1958. It reached the top 40 in the US and the top 10 in the UK.

Contents

Recording and release

Johnny Mathis recorded "Someone" on September 26, 1958, with an orchestra conducted by Ray Ellis. It was produced by Al Ham and Mitch Miller and released as a single on March 9, 1959. [1]

Commercial performance

"Someone" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue of the magazine dated March 23, 1959, and peaked at number 35 nine weeks later, the week ending May 25. The song charted there for 13 weeks. [2] It also reached number 33 on Cash Box magazine's best seller list. [3] In the UK it peaked at number 6. [4]

Critical reception

In their review column, the editors of Cash Box magazine featured the single as their Disk of the Week, which was their equivalent to a letter grade of A for both songs. They wrote that Mathis turned in "another outstanding performance" on both songs, adding, "Pretty musical backdrop supplied by the Ray Ellis outfit." They described "Someone" as "warm and lovely". [5] The editors of Billboard categorized the single as a "Spotlight Winner", one of the best of the week's new releases, and combined their comments on the two songs: "Two class readings of two lovely ballads should place the disk high on the best-selling charts. Lush ork support accompanies on both, and the chanter's warm style should create huge appeal for both.". [6]

Aftermath

The songwriter, Bill Tennyson, died in a car accident on April 8, 1959, on his way home from performing in Harlem. [7]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Someone"
Chart (1959)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [2] 35
US Top 60 Best Selling Tunes on Records ( Cash Box ) [3] 33
UK Singles Chart [4] 6

References

  1. ↑ Columbia Records (2015). The Singles (Liner notes). Johnny Mathis. Columbia Records. 88875120552.
  2. 1 2 "Johnny Mathis Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Whitburn 2014 , p. 250
  4. 1 2 "Someone - Johnny Mathis". Official Charts. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ "The Cash Box Record Reviews > The Cash Box Disk of the Week > "Very Much in Love"/"Someone"" (PDF). Cash Box . New York: Cash Box Publishing Co., Inc. March 21, 1959. p. 10. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  6. ↑ "The Billboard Reviews This Week's Singles > The Billboard Spotlight Winners of the Week > Pop Records > Johnny Mathis – "Very Much in Love"/"Someone"" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 71, no. 11. March 16, 1959. p. 52. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved August 10, 2025.
  7. ↑ Tennyson 2013 , p. 24

Bibliography

  • Tennyson, William K. (2013), Bill To Jazz – A Tune of Authentic New Orleans Jazz History – Biography and Jazz Music of William J. Tennyson Jr. (1923–1959), Xlibris, ISBN   978-1-4797-7414-2
  • Whitburn, Joel (2014), Joel Whitburn's Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996, Record Research Inc., ISBN   978-0-89820-209-0
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