Johnny Mathis' 1958 album 'Johnny's Greatest Hits' is widely believed to be the first of its kind, created when the singer was unavailable and producer Mitch Miller compiled his previously released recordings into a single package. The album was a major commercial success, spending three weeks at number one on the Billboard charts and remaining in the top 200 for approximately ten years, establishing a template that record labels would replicate across numerous artists.

However, historical evidence shows that Mathis' album was not actually the first compilation of an artist's popular songs. Record labels had already been packaging singles collections during the 78 RPM era, with Glenn Miller's self-titled 1944 compilation reaching number one in 1945, followed by other successful compilations from Bing Crosby, Tommy Dorsey, and others throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s. Whilst Mathis' release certainly popularised the specific 'Greatest Hits' branding and format, the commercial appeal of repackaging an artist's hits was already well established before 1958.