麻豆约拍

Paul Gambaccini continues to celebrate the voice and career of Johnny Mathis, one of the last in a long line of traditional male vocalists who emerged before the rock era of 1960s.

In programme two, Mathis talks us through his some of his biggest recordings and how he adapted his musical style. For many music fans his music came together on the 1959 American album Heavenly, which spent five years in the U.S charts. The following year Mathis was in the UK singles charts four times, most notably with Misty and My Love For You.

In the UK he was still being sold to an adult audience on the strength of his show tunes. However as the 60s beat boom gave way to the rock and pop records of the late 60s, Mathis changed record labels. As Mathis admits "this was a mistake" and as the chart success faded, Mathis devoted himself to more live work.

In 1973 there was a change of direction, when Mathis worked with some of the new breed of R&B producers, resulting in the album I'm Coming 麻豆约拍 produced by Thom Bell and his first hit in 12 years. It's the quality of the songs that that keep Mathis at the top of his game and in 1976 his tender version of When A Child Is Born went on to sell six million copies worldwide, becoming a festive favourite for radio stations across the globe.