PRESENTS

Welcome to the Grapevine News. This section of the Mathis Chronicles contains my views about anything I find or am sent about Johnny Mathis on the Internet and elsewhere, that had been overlooked by the "official" sites. Occasionally, I report on things not directly related to Mathis but have a connection, may even make up a question to ask myself and try to answer. Readers are welcome to share their experiences here also. So enjoy and thanks for coming.

VOL. 2 NO. 13 - JULY 15, 2003

I JUST DON'T GET IT: I personally can't understand why any African-American would be, or associate himself with, a Republican. Ever since Oklahoma's own J.C. Watts left, there's not even any in Congress anymore. But, it's fairly well known that Johnny Mathis is real good friends with the Reagans, of all people, and a couple weekends ago in Los Angeles he made a little extra money entertaining guests at a George W. Bush fundraiser with "The Star-Spangled Banner". It was about $2,000 a plate, which to my mind about guaranteed there were no other Blacks besides him there!

MAGIC IN THE AIR: Well, I'm Coming Home is now out on CD. Another CD that caught my eye was released on July 7. It's called Night and Day, is an import, and yes, another compilation. It caught my eye because it has quite a few songs from my favorite Mathis albums for a change, such as Romeo and Juliet (Yesterday When I Was Young, Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In), Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head (Midnight Cowboy), Killing Me Softly with Her Song (You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Good Morning Heartache), Close To You (Yellow Days, Come Saturday Morning), Love Story (Help Me Make It Through The Night), and Me and Mrs. Jones (Last Night I Didn't Get To Sleep At All); as well as some from my LEAST favorite albums, Mathis Magic (Night and Day), Those Were The Days (title cut), and Feelings (Midnight Blue, Stardust, One Day in Your Life). There's also a couple from Mercury's Shadow of Your Smile (On A Clear Day) and Columbia's The Best Days of Your Life (Would You Like To Spend The Night).

SGMFs who have never heard Johnny Mathis sing "You Are The Sunshine of My Life" are in for a real treat. And "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine" in is a classic D'Arneill Pershing arrangement that just knocks your socks off! You'll also be interested to know that the theme to the movie "Midnight Cowboy" actually has words, and Johnny Mathis does the most beautiful delivery of it. Since they were digging in this pile of records, I wish they could have included "The Long and Winding Road" and "If I Could Reach You". Those songs just send me into orbit! This collection struck me as unusual, being remarkably free of typical Johnny's Greatest Hits garbage. I think this is a compilation that's actually worth getting for a change, at least to tide us over until they can release the entire albums they came from.

UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME: Luther continues to fight! Send him some love. NEVER underestimate the power of prayer!

TOUR BUS: The bus stops next in Verona, New York and Waterford, Connecticut. Visit See Mathis Live! for details. New dates for 2004 added! Yay!

©2003 Iris Gross Georg. All rights reserved.

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