''Rapture'' is an

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American pop singer

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

that was released on September 17, 1962, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and returned him to singing a full line-up of the sort of ballads that he was known for. The album made its first appearance on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine's album chart in the October 27, 1962, issue and reached number 12 during its 37 weeks there. The first compact disc release of the album came on June 9, 2009, when it was issued as disc one of a two-CD set that also included his 1963 offering '' Romantically''.

Reception

''Billboard'' captured the feel of the album in their review. "'Velvety' is a good one-word description of this new album by Mathis, who's given lush musical settings 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'' ...

's ork." They also singled out certain tracks. "The material is all in a softly romantic vein, with ' My Darling, My Darling', ' Stars Fell on Alabama', and '

Stella by Starlight "Stella by Starlight" is a popular jazz standard with music by Victor Young that was drawn from thematic material composed for the main title and soundtrack of the 1944 Paramount Pictures film ''The Uninvited (1944 film), The Uninvited''. Appearin ...

' among the best." The review also noted that a small reproduction of the cover painting was included with the LP as a bonus.

Track listing

Side one

#"Rapture" (Marian Kennedy) – 3:20 #"Love Me as Though There Were No Tomorrow" from the musical ''Strip for Action'' ( Harold Adamson,

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, J ...

) – 3:08 #" Moments Like This" from '' College Swing'' (

Burton Lane Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include '' Finian's Rainbow'' in 1947 and '' On a Clear Day Yo ...

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser ( "lesser"; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls (musical), Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business ...

) – 2:50 #"You've Come Home" from ''

Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

'' (

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, to Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jewish parents, an ...

Carolyn Leigh Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and " The Best Is Yet to Come". W ...

) – 3:58 #"Here I'll Stay" from '' Love Life'' (

Alan Jay Lerner Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, and later Burton Lane, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre bot ...

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

)– 4:20 #" My Darling, My Darling" from ''

Where's Charley? ''Where's Charley?'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by George Abbott. The story was based on the 1892 play '' Charley's Aunt'' by Brandon Thomas. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1948 and was revived on Broadway ...

'' (Loesser) – 3:45

Side two

#" Stars Fell on Alabama" (

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...

, Frank Perkins) – 3:24 #"I Was Telling Her About You" (

Moose Charlap Morris Isaac "Moose" Charlap (; December 19, 1928 – July 8, 1974) was an American Broadway composer best known for ''Peter Pan'' (1954), for which Carolyn Leigh wrote the lyrics. The idea for the show came from Jerome Robbins, who planned to hav ...

Don George Don R. George (August 27, 1909 – 1987) was an American lyricist of popular music. His songs include " The Yellow Rose of Texas" " I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" (1937), " I'm Beginning to See the Light" (1944) and " Everything but You" (194 ...

) – 3:38 #"Lament (Love, I Found You Gone)" (Joe Bailey,

Morris Levy Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...

) – 3:20 #"The Love Nest" from the musical ''Mary''(1920) "The Love Nest/Blue Diamonds" by John Steel/

Henry Burr Henry Burr (January 15, 1882 – April 6, 1941) was a Canadian singer, radio performer and producer. He was born Harry Haley McClaskey and used Henry Burr as one of his many pseudonyms, in addition to Irving Gillette, Henry Gillette, Alfred Ale ...

ide A label Camden: Victor Talking Machine Co. 18676. (

Otto Harbach Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading B ...

Louis Hirsch Louis Achille Hirsch, also known as Louis A. Hirsch and Lou Hirsch (November 28, 1887 – May 13, 1924), was an American composer of songs and musicals in the early 20th century. Life and career Hirsch was born in New York City. In his senior ...

) – 3:05 #"Lost in Loveliness" from '' The Girl in Pink Tights'' (

Leo Robin Leo Robin (April 6, 1895 – December 29, 1984) was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song " Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope and Shi ...

Sigmund Romberg Sigmund Romberg (July 29, 1887 – November 9, 1951) was a Hungarian-born American composer. He is best known for his Musical theatre, musicals and operettas, particularly ''The Student Prince'' (1924), ''The Desert Song'' (1926) and ''The New Moo ...

) – 4:19 #"

" (

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Be ...

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Young was posthumously awarded the ...

) – 3:33

Recording dates

From the liner notes for '' The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection'': *August 1, 1962 — "Love Me as Though There Were No Tomorrow", "Rapture", "Stars Fell on Alabama", "You've Come Home" *August 6, 1962 — "I Was Telling Her About You", "Lost in Loveliness" *August 7, 1962 — "Here I'll Stay", "Lament (Love, I Found You Gone)" *August 8, 1962 — "The Love Nest", "Moments Like This", "My Darling, My Darling", "Stella by Starlight"

Personnel

*Johnny Mathis – vocals *Ernie Altschuler – producer *

– arranger and conductor *Ralph Cowan – cover painting

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control 1962 albums Johnny Mathis albums Albums arranged by Don Costa Albums conducted by Don Costa Columbia Records albums