Mathis experienced a career resurgence in the spring of 1978 with the release of a duet he recorded with Deniece Williams titled "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late". The single was his first to achieve Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America,. which at the time was awarded for sales of one million units in the US; it was his first song to make the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 since the number 30 showing of "Every Step of the Way" in 1963 and his first number one song on that chart since the magazine started it in 1958. (although "Chances Are" spent a week at number one on the magazine's "Most Played by Jockeys" chart in 1957). The duet also gave Mathis a resurgence in album sales with its inclusion on You Light Up My Life, his first top 10 entry on the magazine's LP chart since 1966 and his first non-holiday studio album to receive Platinum certification since 1959's Heavenly..
