Johnny Mathis

For the country singer, see Johnny "Country" Mathis.
Johnny Mathis

Johnny Mathis in concert at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, on May 25, 2006.
Background information
Birth name John Royce Mathis
Born September 30, 1935
Gilmer, Texas, United States
Genres Pop, soul, jazz, easy listening
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, actor
Years active 1956–present
Labels Columbia, Mercury
Website www.johnnymathis.com

John Royce "Johnny" Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status and 73 making the Billboard charts to date. Johnny Mathis has sold well over 350 million records worldwide as confirmed by Guinness music chart historian Paul Gambacini, this makes Mathis the 3rd most successful recording artist of the 20th century and of the last 60 years.

Although he is frequently described as a romantic singer, his discography includes jazz, traditional pop, Brazilian music, Spanish music, soul music, rhythm and blues, soft rock, Broadway theatre, Tin Pan Alley standards, some blues and country songs, and even a few disco songs for his album Mathis Magic in 1979. Mathis also recorded five albums of Christmas music. In a 1968 interview, Mathis cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby among his musical influences.[1]

Early life

Mathis was born in Gilmer, Texas, in 1935,[2] the fourth of seven children of Clem Mathis and his wife, Mildred Boyd.[3] The family moved to San Francisco, California, settling on 32nd Ave. in the Richmond District, where Johnny grew up. His father had worked in vaudeville, and when he saw his son's talent, he bought an old upright piano for $25 and encouraged him. Mathis began learning songs and routines from his father. His first song was "My Blue Heaven."[4] Mathis started singing and dancing for visitors at home, at school, and at church functions.[5]

When he was 13, voice teacher Connie Cox accepted him as her student in exchange for work around her house.[6] Johnny studied with Cox for six years, learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical, and operatic singing. He is one of the relatively few popular singers who received years of professional voice training that included opera. The first band he sang with was formed by his high school friend Merl Saunders. Mathis eulogized him at his funeral in 2008, thanking him for giving him his first chance as a singer.

Mathis was a star athlete at George Washington High School in San Francisco. He was a high jumper and hurdler, and he played on the basketball team. In 1954, he enrolled at San Francisco State University on an athletic scholarship, intending to become an English teacher and a physical education teacher.[6]

Career

Mathis was spotted at a jam session by Helen Noga, the former head cocktail waitress and co-owner of the Black Hawk Club in San Francisco and The DownBeat Club, along with her husband John and Guido Caccienti. She became his musical manager. The clubs attracted the world's finest jazz musicians, including Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, and Billie Holiday. John Noga and Guido Caccienti had opened the Black Hawk in the fall of 1949. In September 1955, after Noga had found Mathis a job singing weekends at Ann Dee's 440 Club, she contacted the jazz producer George Avakian, who she had found out was on vacation near San Francisco. Avakian came to listen to Mathis sing, and after doing so, he sent a telegram to Columbia Records stating: Have found phenomenal 19-year-old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts.[5]

At San Francisco State, Mathis had become noteworthy as a high jumper, and in 1956 he was asked to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team that would travel to Melbourne, Australia, that November.[7] Mathis had to decide whether to go to the Olympic trials or to keep his appointment in New York City to make his first recordings. On his father's advice, Mathis opted to embark on a professional singing career. His LP record album was published in late 1956 instead of waiting until the first quarter of 1957.

Mathis's first record album, Johnny Mathis: A New Sound In Popular Song, was a slow-selling jazz album, but Mathis stayed in New York City to sing in nightclubs. His second album was produced by Columbia Records vice-president and record producer Mitch Miller, who helped to define the Mathis sound. Miller preferred that Mathis sing soft, romantic ballads, pairing him up with conductor and music arranger Ray Conniff, and later, Ray Ellis, Glenn Osser, and Robert Mersey. In late 1956, Mathis recorded two of his most popular songs: "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "It's Not For Me To Say".[1]

Also that year, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed him up to sing the latter song in the movie Lizzie (1957). Shortly afterwards, Mathis made his second film appearance for 20th Century Fox, singing the song "A Certain Smile" in the film of that title. He had small acting roles in both movies as a bar singer. This early visibility in two successful movies gave him mass exposure. His appearance on the popular TV program The Ed Sullivan Show in 1957 also helped increase his popularity. Critics called him "the velvet voice".[4] Mathis also appeared during this period on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, as did fellow African-American entertainers Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey.

Johnny Mathis in 1960.

During the summer of 1958, Mathis left San Francisco with the Nogas, who sold their interest in the Black Hawk club that year, and moved to Beverly Hills, California, where the Nogas bought a house. Mathis lived with the family.

In 1958, Johnny’s Greatest Hits was released. The album spent an unprecedented 491 consecutive weeks through 1967 (nine and a half years) on the Billboard top 100 album charts, earning him a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Mathis had two of his biggest hits in 1962 and 1963, with "Gina" (#6) and "What Will My Mary Say" (#9).

In October 1964, Mathis sued Noga to void their management arrangement, which Noga fought with a counterclaim in December 1964. Mathis purchased a mansion in Hollywood Hills, which was originally built by billionaire Howard Hughes in 1946, where he still maintains a residence.

After splitting from Noga, Mathis established Jon Mat Records, Inc., incorporated in California May 11, 1967, to produce his recordings (previously, he founded Global Records, Inc. to produce his Mercury albums), and Rojon Productions, Inc., incorporated in California September 30, 1964, 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 his career until his death in September 1984. Since that time, Mathis has taken sole responsibility for his career.

While Mathis continued to make music, the ascent of the Beatles and early 1970s album rock kept his adult contemporary recordings out of the pop singles charts, until he experienced a career renaissance in the late 1970s.

In 1978, Mathis recorded "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" with singer Deniece Williams. The lyrics and music were arranged by Nat Kipner and John McIntyre Vallins. Released as a single in 1978, it reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, number nine on the Canadian Singles Chart and number three on the UK Singles Chart. It also topped the US R&B and adult contemporary charts. "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" was certified gold and silver in the US and in the UK by the RIAA and the British Phonographic Industry respectively. It was his first number one hit since his 1957 chart-topping "Chances Are."

The duo released a follow-up duet, "You're All I Need to Get By," peaking at number 47 on the Hot 100. The success of the duets with Williams prompted Mathis to record duets with a variety of partners, including Dionne Warwick, Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, Jane Olivor, Stephanie Lawrence, and Nana Mouskouri. A compilation album also called Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, released by Sony Music in 1995, featured the title track among other songs by the duo.

During 1980-81, Mathis recorded an album with Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, I Love My Lady, which remains unreleased in its entirety, though three tracks appeared on a Chic box set in 2010 and a fourth, the title track, on Mathis' Ultimate Collection in 2011 and the Chic Organization's Up All Night in 2013.

Mathis returned to the British Top 30 album chart in 2007 with the Sony BMG release The Very Best of Johnny Mathis,in 2008 with the CD "A Night to Remember" and again in 2011 with "The Ultimate Collection"[8]

Mathis continues to perform live, but from 2000 forward, he limited his concert performances to about fifty to sixty per year.

Both Mathis and Barbra Streisand carry the distinction of having the longest tenure of any recording artist on the Columbia Records label. With the exception of a four-year break to record for Mercury Records in the mid-1960s, he has been with Columbia Records throughout his career, from 1956 to 1963 and from 1968 to the present.

He has had five of his albums on the Billboard charts simultaneously, an achievement equaled by only two other singers: Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow. He has released 200 singles and had 71 songs charted around the world. Recordings historian Paul Gambaccini confims Mathis's recordings have sold well over 350 million copies worldwide, and he is the third most successful recording artist in the US. This makes Johnny Mathis the third biggest selling recording artist of the 20th century, after only Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

Pieces of music from numerous Mathis albums continue to be used in motion pictures and television. For example, "Chances Are" was played during an extraterrestrial visit in the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), "Wonderful! Wonderful!" in The X-Files episode "Home", albeit performed by a sound-alike singer. Various Mathis songs have been played more recently in the TV series Mad Men, which also features a recurring minor character named "John Mathis". Mathis's "Wonderful! Wonderful!" was used in the conclusion to the long running TV series Desperate Housewives as "Karen McClusky" died.

He has taped twelve of his own television specials and made over 300 television guest appearances, with 33 of them being on The Tonight Show. Longtime Tonight Show host Johnny Carson said, "Johnny Mathis is the best ballad singer in the world." He appeared on the show with Carson's successor, Jay Leno,[9] on March 29, 2007, to sing his song "The Shadow of Your Smile" with the saxophonist Dave Koz. Through the years, his songs (or parts of them) have been heard in 100 plus television shows and films around the globe. His appearance on the Live by Request broadcast in May 1998 on the A&E Network had the largest television viewing audience of the series. Also in 1989, Johnny sang the theme for the ABC daytime soap opera Loving.

Mathis served as narrator for '51 Dons, a 2014 documentary film about the integrated and undefeated 1951 San Francisco Dons football team.[10] The team was denied a chance to play in a bowl game because it refused to agree to not play its two African-American players, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, who were childhood friends of Mathis.[11]

Personal life

Despite missing the Olympic high jump trials, he has never abandoned his enthusiasm for sports and today is an avid golfer who has achieved nine holes-in-one, and has hosted several Johnny Mathis Golf Tournaments in the United Kingdom and the US. Since 1985 he has been hosting a charity golf tournament in Belfast sponsored by Shell corporation, and the annual Johnny Mathis Invitational Track & Field Meet has continued at San Francisco State University since it started in 1982.

In 1982 he published a cookbook, Cooking for You Alone.

Mathis has undergone rehabilitation for both alcohol and prescription drug addictions.[6]

He has supported many organizations through the years, including the American Cancer Society, the March of Dimes, the YWCA and YMCA, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the NAACP.

Mathis is openly gay.[12] He first 'outed' himself in a 1982 Us Magazine article, where he was quoted as having said, "Homosexuality is a way of life that I've grown accustomed to."[13] However, he made no further comments on this, and Us Magazine later retracted the statement.[14] In 2006, Mathis revealed that his silence had been because of death threats he received as a result of that 1982 article.[15][16] On April 13, 2006, Mathis granted a podcast interview with The Strip in which he talked about the subject once again, and how some of his reluctance to speak on the subject was partially generational.[17]

Honors and awards

Grammys

In 2003, the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded Mathis the Lifetime Achievement Award. This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the Recording Academy's National Trustees to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artist significance to the field of recording.[18]

Grammy Hall of Fame

Johnny Mathis was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least twenty-five years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."[19][20]

Grammy Hall of Fame Awards
Year Recorded Title Genre Label Year Inducted
1957 "It's Not for Me to Say" Traditional Pop (Single) Columbia 2008
1959 "Misty" Traditional Pop (Single) Columbia 2002
1957 "Chances Are" Traditional Pop (Single) Columbia 1998

Great American Songbook Hall of Fame

On June 21, 2014 Johnny Mathis was inducted into the Great American Songbook Hall Of Fame along with Linda Ronstadt, Shirley Jones, and Nat King Cole (his daughter Natalie Cole accepted the award on his behalf). The awards were presented by The Center for the Performing Arts Artistic Director Michael Feinstein. Defined on their website, "Conceived as an enduring testament to the Great American Songbook, the Hall of Fame honors performers and composers responsible for creating America’s soundtrack." [21]

Other

In 1978, his hit duet "The Last Time I Felt Like This" from the film Same Time, Next Year was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Mathis and Olivor sang the song at the Academy Awards ceremony, in his second performance at the Oscars. In 2007, Mathis was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Discography

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Johnny Mathis interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  2. ↑ verified on official website: http://www.johnnymathis.com/
  3. ↑ Eric Herschthal (2014-06-25). ""For Blacks And Jews, A Musical Gray Area" Eric Herschthal, ''Jewish Week'', October 12, 2010". Thejewishweek.com. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Incomparable Mr. Johnny Mathis". Station Avenue Productions. April 3, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Johnny Mathis". Las Vegas Online Entertainment Guide. 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Richard Ouzounian (2009-08-22). "Johnny Mathis: A born crooner". Toronto Star.
  7. ↑ "Johnny Mathis Official Website". Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Johnny Mathis - Albums". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  9. ↑ "NBC Tonight Show with Jay Leno". NBC.com. 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  10. ↑ Jarvis, Kimberly. "Black History Month Premiere: '51 Dons". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  11. ↑ "ESPN Documentary: '51 Dons". University of San Francisco. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  12. ↑ 'Sometimes, I feel like a kid again', by Michael Shelden, in the Daily Telegraph; published October 14, 2002; retrieved November 23, 2014
  13. ↑ ""Shaking the Closet: Analyzing Johnny Mathis's Sexual Elusiveness, 1956-82", Vincent Stephens, ''Popular Music and Society'', Vol. 33 #5, December 2010, pp. 597-623". Tandfonline.com. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  14. ↑ Gold, Plunkett & Sneed (1982-06-11). "Inc.". Chicago Tribune. p. A20.
  15. ↑ "Report on interview with the Daily Express". New York Daily News. 10 March 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  16. ↑ "Johnny Mathis In Death Threats". FemaleFirst.co.uk. 26 February 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  17. ↑ Johnny Mathis (.MP3). The Strip. 13 April 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  18. ↑ Lifetime Achievement Award
  19. ↑ "Grammy Hall of Fame Database". Grammy.org. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  20. ↑ 2008 Grammy Hall of Fame List
  21. ↑ "The Center for the Performing Arts – Home of the Palladium – Carmel, Indiana". Thecenterfortheperformingarts.org. Retrieved 2014-06-29.

External links