Johnny Mathis recorded the song on August 9, 1962, with an orchestra conducted by arranger
Don Costa. It was produced by Ernie Altschuler and released as a single one month later, on September 7.
Chart performance "Gina" debuted on the
Billboard Hot 100 in the issue of the magazine dated September 22, 1962, and peaked at number 6 two months later, in the November 17 issue. The song was on the Hot 100 for 12 weeks. It reached number 8 on both
Cash Box magazine's best seller list and the Top 100 Pop Sales and Performance chart in
Music Vendor magazine. It peaked at number 3 in Hong Kong and number 10 in the
Philippines.
Critical reception In their review column, the editors of
Cash Box magazine also featured the Mathis single as their Pick of the Week, this time giving a letter grade of A to both "Gina" and its
B-side, "I Love Her That's Why". They wrote, "The velvety-voiced song stylist comes up with his most commercial dates in quite a while. It’s an ultra-lovely soft Latin beat-ballad romancer, devoted to 'Gina,' that Mathis and the Don Costa
ork-chorus deliver in superb style." The editors of
Billboard categorized the single as one of the "Spotlight Singles of the Week", which were the strongest of the new releases, and wrote, "Here's a real winner for the lad with the velvet larynx. Johnny sings the lovely ballad against smart backing with strings and vocal chorus that has a contemporary feel." == Charts ==