I'm Coming Home (album)

I'm Coming Home
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 21, 1973[1]
RecordedMay 23–25, 1973[1]
StudioSigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre
Length41:06
LabelColumbia
ProducerThom Bell[3]
Johnny Mathis chronology
Killing Me Softly with Her Song
(1973)
I'm Coming Home
(1973)
Johnny Mathis Sings the Great Songs
(1974)
Singles from I'm Coming Home
  1. "I'm Coming Home"
    Released: July 27, 1973
  2. "Life Is a Song Worth Singing"
    Released: November 21, 1973
  3. "Sweet Child"
    Released: April 29, 1974
  4. "I'm Stone in Love with You"
    Released: April 1975
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Billboardpositive[4]

I'm Coming Home is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on September 21, 1973,[1] by Columbia Records and was mainly composed of material written by the songwriting team of its producer, Thom Bell, and Linda Creed. Unlike several of the Mathis albums before it, I'm Coming Home relied primarily on new songs and included only two covers of established chart hits, both of which were by The Stylistics ("I'm Stone in Love with You" and "Stop Look and Listen to Your Heart").

The album made its first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top LP's & Tapes chart in the issue dated November 17, 1973, and remained there for 22 weeks, peaking at number 115.[5] It also began an 11-week run on the UK album chart on March 8, 1975, during which time it made it to number 18.[6] On July 1, 1975, the British Phonographic Industry awarded the album with Silver certification for sales of 60,000 units.[7]

The title track was released as the first single from the album on July 27, 1973,[1] and entered Billboard's list of the 50 most popular Easy Listening songs in the US the following month in the issue of the magazine dated August 25 to begin an 18-week stay that included a week at number one—Mathis's first week in the top spot on that particular chart.[8] The song entered the Hot 100 in the September 22 issue, reaching number 75 over the course of 10 weeks,[9] and gave him his first Soul chart entry in almost 10 years when it started a five-week run in the October 6 issue that took the song to number 92.[10]

The second single released in the US, "Life Is a Song Worth Singing", made its first appearance on the Easy Listening chart in the issue dated December 22, 1973, and got as high as number eight during its 15 weeks there.[8] The December 29 issue saw its debut on the Hot 100, which resulted in a 12-week stay and a peak position at number 54,[9] and its eight-week Soul chart run began in the January 26 issue and took it to number 65.[10]

A third song from the album, "Sweet Child", began a five-week run on the Easy Listening chart that spring in the June 1 issue and got to number 35.[8]

The only song from the album to make the UK singles chart, "I'm Stone in Love with You", started its 12 weeks there on January 25, 1975, and made it to number 10.[11] It also entered the Easy Listening chart in the US two months later, on March 29, and reached number 16 during its nine weeks there.[8]

The album was released for the first time on compact disc on July 1, 2003.[12] On March 10, 2015, Real Gone Music released Life Is a Song Worth Singing: The Complete Thom Bell Sessions, a two-disc set featuring remastered editions of I'm Coming Home and Mathis and Bell's other LP collaboration, Mathis Is..., along with bonus tracks on each disc.[13]

  1. ^ a b c d (2003) I'm Coming Home by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Columbia Records CK 85810.
  2. ^ a b "I'm Coming Home - Johnny Mathis". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  3. ^ (1973) I'm Coming Home by Johnny Mathis [album jacket]. New York: Columbia Records KC 32435.
  4. ^ "Top Album Picks". Billboard. 1973-11-03. p. 56.
  5. ^ Whitburn 2010, p. 504.
  6. ^ "Johnny Mathis - Albums". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  7. ^ "BPI Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017. Type Johnny Mathis in the Keywords box and select Artist in the Search by box and click Search.
  8. ^ a b c d Whitburn 2007, p. 179.
  9. ^ a b Whitburn 2009, p. 628.
  10. ^ a b Whitburn 2004, p. 383.
  11. ^ "Johnny Mathis - Singles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  12. ^ "I'm Coming Home – Johnny Mathis – Release Info". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Life Is a Song Worth Singing: The Complete Thom Bell Sessions". allmusic.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 17 March 2015.