Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville is an
album by American pop singer
Johnny Mathis that was released on September 21, 2010,[1] by
Columbia Records and focused upon popular country songs. With the exceptions of the traditional folk song "
Shenandoah" and
George Strait's "We Must Be Lovin' Right" from 1993, the heyday of the selections that Mathis is covering coincided approximately with the first 20 years of his career, starting with
Elvis Presley's "
Love Me Tender" from 1956.
"Location matters little to Johnny Mathis," writes Stephen Thomas Erlewine of
Allmusic -- "wherever he goes, there he is, sounding as smooth as ever. That’s quite an accomplishment for a singer of 74, to still make it all seem effortless."[4] He also notes that, with a few exceptions, the album "sounds as if it could have easily been released in the early ‘60s when Mathis was a regular fixture in the charts..., and that's its strength."[4] He concludes that "Mathis sounds as silky as his surroundings,"[4] and asserts that "that may be because he wound up having Nashville accept his terms instead of bending to the rules of the
Music City."[4]
"
Love Me Tender" (adaptation of Civil War song "Aura Lee" by Ken Darby, who published it under the pseudonym "Vera Matson", the name of his wife) - 3:37
^
ab(2017) The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection by Johnny Mathis [CD booklet]. New York: Sony Music Entertainment 88985 36892 2.