Good Night, Dear Lord
| Good Night, Dear Lord | ||||
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| Studio album by Johnny Mathis | ||||
| Released | March 3, 1958 (mono) July 14, 1958 (stereo) |
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| Recorded | January 2, 1958 January 3, 1958 January 6, 1958 |
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| Length | 41:47 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Mitch Miller | |||
| Johnny Mathis chronology | ||||
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| Alternate cover | ||||
UK album cover
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Billboard | positive |
Good Night, Dear Lord is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released by Columbia Records on March 3, 1958, and is the first of many projects undertaken over the course of his career that have a specific focus, which here happens to be religion. Several musical styles are covered, including sprirituals ("Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Deep River"), classical works (the Bach/Gounod and Schubert compositions of "Ave Maria"), songs from the Jewish tradition ("Eli Eli", "Kol Nidre"), and 20th-century offerings ("May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You", "One God").
The album debuted on Billboard magazine's list of the 25 Best-Selling Pop LPs in the US in the issue dated April 7, 1958, and peaked at number 10 during its 12 weeks there.
The release of the album in the UK on the Fontana label was re-titled Heavenly (not to be confused with Mathis's album of the same name that came out the following year). While the original US release of Good Night, Dear Lord was in the monaural format, the stereo version was available later that year, on July 14. On May 7, 1996, it was issued for the first time on compact disc.
Billboard magazine described the album as a "beautiful set of religious songs, rendered with feeling and sincerity by the artist."
In the liner notes of her 1997 album Higher Ground, Barbra Streisand wrote, "I first heard 'Deep River' at age 16 when I bought my first Johnny Mathis record at the supermarket for $1.98. He sang it so beautifully. The song always stayed with me." She recorded that song as part of a medley for the album, and included another of her Good Night, Dear Lord discoveries, "One God", on her Christmas Memories album in 2001.
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