Johnny Mathis

Johnny Mathis
Origin	Gilmer, Texas
Years active	1956–present

John Royce Mathis (born September 30 1935), known popularly as Johnny Mathis, is an African American popular music singer.

Probably the last in a long line of traditional male vocalists who emerged before the rock-dominated 1960s, Mathis concentrated on romantic jazz and pop standards for the shrinking adult contemporary audience through to the mid 1980's. Starting his career with a standard flurry of singles, Mathis was far more popular as an album artist, where a dozen of his LPs hit gold or platinum and over 60 made the charts.

Career

Mathis was born as the fourth of seven children in Gilmer, Texas to Clem and Mildred Mathis. The family moved when he was young to Post Street, San Francisco, California where he was raised. His father Clem had worked for a time in vaudeville, and when Johnny developed his talent Clem encouraged it by buying an old upright piano for $25. Clem began teaching his young son songs and routines - his first song My Blue Heaven Starting out singing and dancing at home for visitors, Johnny began singing publicly at school and church events

At aged 13, Clem took him to see Connie Cox, a San Francisco Bay Area voice teacher, who agreed to take on the youngster in exchange for his doing odd jobs around her house. Johnny studied with Connie for six years, learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical and operatic skills He remains one of the very few popular singers who received years of professional voice training that included opera.

At George Washington High School, Johnny was not only well known for his singing abilities, he also became a star athlete on their track and field team, as a high jumper and hurdler, and was on their basketball team - earning four athletic letters. In 1954, Johnny enrolled at San Francisco State College on a scholarship, with the intention of being an English and physical education teacher. Mathis remains an important part of San Francisco State College's sports history—in 1954 he broke future basketball great Bill Russell's high jump record by jumping six feet five inches (1.96 meters). At the time only four Olympic athletes had managed to clear this height. It remains in the top 15 heights ever achieved at the college.

He was talent-spotted by Black Hawk club owner Helen Noga at a jam session, and she became his manager. In September 1955, after Noga had landed Johnny a job singing weekends at Ann Dee’s 440 Club, she ruthlessly pursued jazz producer George Avakian, who she found out was on vacation in the Bay Area. Avakian came to see Johnny sing, and sent the now famous telegram to Columbia Records: Have found phenomenal 19-year old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts

Mathis's most difficult decision now was deciding whether to go to the Olympic tryouts, to which he had been invited, or to keep an appointment in New York to make his first recordings, which were subsequently released in 1956. While Mathis opted for a recording career, he has never completely abandoned his enthusiasm for sports. He is an avid golfer who has completed five holes-in-one, and has hosted several tournaments in his name in the USA and the United Kingdom.

The first album Johnny Mathis: A New Sound In Popular Song was a slowing selling set of jazz melodies, but Mathis stayed in New York to play the clubs. His second album was produced by Mitch Miller, who defined the Mathis sound - he preferred him to sing soft, romantic ballads. In late 1956, Johnny recorded two of his most popular songs - Wonderful, Wonderful and It's Not For Me To Say. That year MGM signed him to sing the latter in the film Lizzie, and he then secured a second film appearance for 20th Century Fox singing the title song in A Certain Smile. An apperance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1957 sealed his stardom

In 1958, Johnny left San Francisco along with the Nogas, and moved to Beverly Hills where he shared a home with them. In 1964 after a severe downturn in single sales due to the English invasion of the 1960s including The Beatles, Mathis and the Nogas ended their business relationship. Johnny purchased a home in the Hollywood Hills, one that was originally built by Howard Hughes, and still resides there today.

He established Jon Mat Records, Inc. to produce his recordings, and Rojon Productions, Inc. to handle all of his concert, theater, showroom and television appearances, and all promotional and charitable activities. His new manager and business partner was Ray Haughn, who helped guide Johnny's career until his death in September 1984. Since then, Johnny has taken full responsibility for his career, operating from an office suite located in Burbank, Los Angeles County, California. He has remained with Columbia Records throughout his recording career, with the exception of a three-year period with Mercury Records in the mid-1960's.

Although he is frequently described as a romantic singer, his vast discography includes jazz, traditional pop, Brazilian and Spanish music, Soul/R&B, soft rock, Broadway/Tin Pan Alley standards, and even a few disco tunes for his 1979 album Mathis Magic. He enjoyed some early cinematic visibility when he sang It's Not for Me to Say in Lizzie, and the lead song in A Certain Smile - he played small acting roles in both of these as a bar singer. Mathis also remains highly synonymous with holiday music, having recorded six Christmas albums. He has recorded over 110 albums and sold more than 100 million albums and singles worldwide. He has the distinction of having the longest stay of any recording artist on the Columbia Record label, having been with the label from 1956 to 1963 and from 1968 to the present. He is one of only a few recording artist whose career has spanned six calendar decades.

Mathis continues to perform (he has 24 dates scheduled for 2006, including a UK tour for his annual Scottish Golf vacation and attendance at the 2006 Ryder Cup, and two stints at his favourite Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas), and record regularly - his latest album, 2005's Isn't It Romantic: the Standards Album, has been enthusiastically received by critics.

Personal life

A 1982 article in Us Magazine quoted Mathis as saying "Homosexuality is a way of life that I've grown accustomed to" and admitting to having had a sexual relationship with a male saxophone player. In 2006, Mathis revealed in an interview that he didn't discuss his sexuality any further after the 1982 interview because he had received death threats. On April 13, 2006 Mathis granted an interview with "The Strip" podcast in which he touched on the subject once again.

Trivia

• Johnny Mathis has the distinction of being the first recording artist to have a Greatest Hits album released. The album, simply titled Johnny's Greatest Hits was released in 1958 and peaked at number one in Billboard's Pop Album charts. It would stay on the charts for nearly ten years, a feat that was not equalled until 1983 by Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" album.
• During his April 13, 2006 interview he reveals that he is close friends with actor Kirk Douglas and with former First Lady Nancy Reagan. Regarding the latter, he stated that "It's Not For Me To Say" is her favorite song

Quotations

• I love the house that I've been living in for over 40 years. I really am a homebody and I still love to play golf

Discography

Some of his hit songs include:

"Chances Are"
"It's Not for Me to Say"
"Wonderful! Wonderful!"
"The Twelfth of Never"
"Wild Is the Wind"
"Heavenly"
"Misty"
"Small World"
"A Certain Smile"
"Gina"
"I'm Coming Home"
"When a Child Is Born"
"Gone, Gone, Gone"
"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (with Deniece Williams)
and
"Friends in Love" (with Dionne Warwick).

Mathis has had much more success as an albums artist. His albums achieved success in part due to their reputation as an accompaniment to lovemaking. Some of his celebrated early albums include:

"Heavenly"
"Faithfully"
"Open Fire, Two Guitars"
"Warm"
"Swing Softly"
"Johnny's Mood"
and
"I'll Buy You a Star".

External links

• JohnnyMathis.com Official website
• Mathis, Johnny-AMG discography — All Music Guide
• Biography — The Knitting Circle
• The Mathis Chronicles
• 2005 Audio Interview with Ed Gordon looking back on his career - Audio