Bye Bye Barbara

Johnny Mathis recorded "Bye Bye Barbara" on July 15, 1963, with an orchestra conducted by arranger Don Costa.^[1] The only production credit provided on the original 7-inch single reads, "Vocal A Global Records Production".^[2] When Mathis signed with Mercury Records in 1963, Global Records was the imprint created for him to record under.^[3]

"Bye Bye Barbara" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue of the magazine dated February 1, 1964, and peaked at number 53 five weeks later, in the March 7 issue. The song stayed on the chart for seven weeks.^[4] It spent three weeks on the magazine's Easy Listening chart and got as high as number 17.^[5] It reached number 55 on Cash Box magazine's best seller list^[6] and number 46 on the Top 100 Pop Sales and Performance chart in Music Vendor magazine.^[7]

In their review column, the editors of Cash Box magazine featured the single as a Pick of the Week, which was their equivalent to a letter grade of A for both "Bye Bye Barbara" and its B-side, "A Great Night for Crying". They described "Bye Bye Barbara" as "a beautiful, tear-compelling romancer with a soft, folk-like quality" and wrote, "Superb Don Costa arrangement."^[8]