Portrait of Johnny

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Portrait of Johnny | type = greatest | artist = Johnny Mathis | cover = Mathis-Portrait.jpg | alt = | released = July 17, 1961 | recorded = 1959–1961 | venue = | studio = | genre = Vocal<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-portrait-of-johnny-mw0000849615|title= A Portrait of Johnny - Johnny Mathis |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=25 August 2015}}</ref> | length = 33:11 | label = Columbia | producer = *Al Ham *Mitch Miller *Irving Townsend *Frank DeVol<ref name = Singles/> | prev_title = I'll Buy You a Star | prev_year = 1961 | next_title = Live It Up! | next_year = 1961 }}

'''''Portrait of Johnny''''' is a compilation album by Johnny Mathis that was released by Columbia Records on July 17, 1961,<ref name = "personal">(1993) ''The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection'' by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records C4K-48932.</ref> and described on the cover as "The Third in the Johnny Mathis Greatest Hits Series". Seven B-sides of chart hits are included along with four of the corresponding A-sides that made it onto the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 or "bubbled under" it and one song ("Should I Wait (Or Should I Run to Her)") from a single that had neither side chart in ''Billboard'' magazine.<ref name = "hot">{{Harvnb|Whitburn|2009|p=628}}.</ref>

In the "Spotlight Albums of the Week" column in the issue of ''Billboard'' dated July 31, 1961, a description of the release states, "A deluxe merchandising effort is represented here, with the fine color cover painting of Mathis, reproduced in a gold titled frame, which is attached to the liner.<ref name="Billboard"/>

The album entered the magazine's Top LPs chart a month later, in the issue dated August 28, spending 63 weeks on the chart, seven of which at its peak position of number two.<ref>{{Harvnb|Whitburn|2010|p=504}}.</ref>

==Reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}} <ref name = "allmusic"/> | rev2 = ''Billboard'' | rev2Score = positive<ref name="Billboard">{{cite news|title=Spotlight Albums of the Week|date=1961-07-31 |work=Billboard| page =30}}</ref> | rev3 = ''New Record Mirror'' | rev3Score = 5/5<ref>{{Cite magazine |last= Watson |first= Jimmy |date=7 October 1961 |title=Johnny Mathis: ''Portrait of Johnny'' |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/61/Record-Mirror-1961-10-07-S-OCR.pdf |magazine=New Record Mirror |issue=30 |page=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401224331/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/61/Record-Mirror-1961-10-07-S-OCR.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2022 |access-date=5 August 2022}}</ref> | rev4 = ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' | rev4score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2007 |publisher=Omnibus Press |page=922 |isbn=9781846098567 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpo0000unse_v3u2/page/922/mode/2up |accessdate=11 March 2025}}</ref> }} AllMusic's Joe Viglione wrote, "The liner notes read like a good biography from a PR firm, better fare than '60s albums usually offered for the album jackets, but there's no clarification on where this material was culled from."<ref name = "allmusic"/> He concludes, "The disc sounds like a pastiche, but as always, with the sublime voice of Johnny Mathis as the common denominator, it is as entertaining as ever and perhaps more interesting than usual with all the musical changes on each track."<ref name = "allmusic"/>

==Track listing== Recording and release dates are taken from the liner notes of ''The Singles'' (2015).<ref name = "Singles">(2015) ''The Singles'' by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records 88875120552.</ref>

===Side one=== # "Starbright" (Lee Pockriss, Paul Vance) – 2:48 #*rec. 4/29/59, rel. 2/15/60; ''Billboard'' Hot 100: 25<ref name=hot/> # "While You're Young" (Barbara Hayden, Tony Romano) – 2:54 #*rec. 5/1/59, rel. 11/7/60; B-side of "How to Handle a Woman" # "Should I Wait (Or Should I Run to Her)" (Leon Carr, Paul Vance) – 2:48 #*rec. 2/8/61, rel. 4/24/61; non-charting single # "All Is Well" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 2:31 #*rec. 5/1/59, rel. 2/15/60; B-side of "Starbright" # "You Set My Heart to Music" from the 1960 Broadway musical ''13 Daughters '' (Eaton Magoon Jr.) – 2:46 #*rec. 3/4/61, rel. 3/20/61; Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart: 107<ref name=hot/> # "My Love for You" (Abner Silver, Sid Wayne) – 3:07 #*rec. 5/31/60, rel. 7/25/60; ''Billboard'' Hot 100: 47<ref name=hot/>

===Side two=== # "Oh That Feeling" (Jack Segal, Paul Vance) – 2:36 #*rec. 5/31/60, rel. 7/25/60; B-side of "My Love for You" # "How to Handle a Woman" from the 1960 Broadway musical ''Camelot'' (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) – 3:02 #*rec. 10/27/60, rel. 11/7/60; ''Billboard'' Hot 100: 64<ref name=hot/> # "Cherie" (Michael Coldin, T. Prescott) – 2:49 #* rec. 5/1/59, rel. 9/28/59; B-side of 1959 single "The Best of Everything" # "Hey Love" (Lee Pockriss, Paul Vance) – 2:28 #*rec. 5/1/59, rel. 5/9/60; B-side of 1960 single "Maria" # "Jenny" (Jack Segal, Paul Vance) – 2:58 #* rec. 2/8/61, rel. 3/20/61; B-side of "You Set My Heart to Music"; "Bubbling Under the Hot 100" chart: 118<ref name=hot/> # "The Story of Our Love" (Michael Colicchio, Anthony Piano) – 2:24 #*rec. 4/29/59, rel. 9/14/59; B-side of 1959 single "Misty"

==Personnel==

*Johnny Mathis – vocals *Al Ham – producer (except as noted) *Mitch Miller – producer ("How to Handle a Woman", "My Love for You", "Oh That Feeling", "While You're Young") *Irving Townsend – producer ("Jenny", "Should I Wait (Or Should I Run to Her)") *Frank DeVol – producer ("You Set My Heart to Music") *Ralph Cowan – cover painting

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{citation | last = Whitburn | first = Joel | title = Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955-2008 | year = 2009 | publisher = Record Research Inc. | isbn = 0898201802 }} *{{citation | last = Whitburn | first = Joel | title = Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition | year = 2010 | publisher = Record Research Inc. | isbn = 0-89820-183-7 }} {{refend}}

Category:1961 greatest hits albums Category:Johnny Mathis compilation albums Category:Albums produced by Irving Townsend Category:Albums produced by Mitch Miller Category:Columbia Records compilation albums