Johnny Mathis, Chances Are | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 132nd edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Chances Are” by Johnny Mathis.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 132^nd edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Chances Are” performed by Johnny Mathis.

“Chances are, ‘cause I wear a silly grin / The moment you come into view.” Prolific, Grammy-nominated vocalist Johnny Mathis (1935 – ) released a once-in-a-lifetime song in 1957 with “Chances Are”.  The ultra-successful single preceded the Billboard Hot 100 but topped the Billboard Top 100. Notably, “Chances Are” appears on Mathis’ multiplatinum compilation, Johnny’s Greatest Hits, released in 1958. Robert Allen (1927 – 2000) wrote the music while Al Stillman (1901/1906 – 1979) penned the lyrics. This historically important recording was added to the National Recording Registry in 2024. It was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.

“Chances Are” sounds celestial from the beginning. The romance is romancin’, and who would have it any other way with Johnny Mathis?! Mathis gets a lift from lush, smooth music accompaniment (piano, string bass, drums, orchestra). Ray Conniff & His Orchestra set up the versatile singer soundly, with a marvelous orchestration.  Mathis chills with his honey-like, buttery smooth, sweet, and warm vocals.  His tone is everything; truly one of a kind.  “The moment that your lips meet mine / Chances are, you think my heart’s your valentine,” he sings in the first verse. Aww, the feels! “Guess you feel you’ll always be / The one and only one for me,” he sings in the second verse, and continues, “And if you think you could / Well, chances are, your chances are awfully good.” Word. No deep analysis is required for this classic. “Chances Are” is a prime example of timeless, sophisticated music.