Sooner or Later (Johnny Mathis song)

Johnny Mathis recorded "Sooner or Later" on August 9, 1962, with an orchestra conducted by Don Costa. It was produced by Ernie Altschuler and released as a single one year later, on July 30, 1963.^[1]

"Sooner or Later" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue of the magazine dated September 7, 1963, and peaked at number 84 two weeks later, in the September 21 issue. The song stayed on the Hot 100 for three weeks.^[2] It also reached number five on Cash Box magazine's Looking Ahead chart, which was described as a "compilation, in order of strength, of up and coming records showing signs of breaking into The Cash Box Top 100".^[3]

In their review column, the editors of Cash Box featured the single as their Pick of the Week, which was their equivalent to a letter grade of A for both "Sooner or Later" and its B-side, "In Wisconsin". They described "Sooner or Later" as "an oh-so-smooth survey of a top-drawer sentimental". They also wrote, "Sound is the kind of Mathis that makes it."^[4] The editors of Billboard gave the song four out of five stars.^[5]