"What Will Mary Say" is a song written by

Eddie Snyder Edward Abraham Snyder (February 22, 1919 – March 10, 2011) was an American composer and songwriter. Snyder is credited with co-writing the English language lyrics and music for Frank Sinatra's 1966 hit, "Strangers in the Night". Snyder was bo ...

and

Paul Vance Joseph Paul Florio (November 4, 1929 – May 30, 2022), known professionally as Paul Vance, was an American songwriter and record producer, primarily from the 1950s until the 1970s. His most successful song compositions, all written with Lee Po ...

. It was originally performed and issued as a single by Mark Dinning in 1961, but did not chart. Two years later, the song was recorded and released by

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

, who made the song a popular hit. Mathis' version of "What Will Mary Say" (arranged 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''. ...

and produced by Ernie Altschuler) reached #3 on the

adult contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

, #9 on the U.S. pop chart, #21 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #49 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1963. The song is about an affair, in which the singer wants to end it, fearing that his original lover would be angry and walk out on him. This song features the sounds of a spoken woman, repeatedly pleading: "Don't Go". The song ranked #65 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Top 100 singles of 1963.

Other versions

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...

released a version of the song on his 1963 album ''1963's Early Hits''. *

Joey Powers Joseph S. "Joe" Ruggiero (December 7, 1934 – January 20, 2017), who performed as Joey Powers, was an American former pop singer and songwriter whose record "Midnight Mary" reached No. 10 on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot 100 i ...

released a version of the song on his 1964 album with

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs " Marie Laveau", "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Early ...

and

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

entitled ''Special Delivery from Bobby Bare...Joey Powers...Roy Orbison''. * Jay Black released a version of the song as a single in 1967, but it did not chart. *

Gene Thomas Eugene "Gene" Warren Thomas (September 1, 1942 – August 27, 1993) was an American football fullback and halfback in the American Football League and played in Super Bowl I. He attended North High School in Akron, Ohio, and played college f ...

released a version of the song as a single in 1967, but it did not chart. * David Geddes released a version of the song on his 1975 album ''Run Joey Run''. * Barry Biggs released a version of the song on his 1976 album ''Mr. Biggs''.

References

1961 songs 1963 singles 1967 singles Songs written by Eddie Snyder Songs written by Paul Vance Songs about infidelity Johnny Mathis songs Columbia Records singles United Artists Records singles {{1960s-single-stub