Johnny Mathis biography
Johnny Mathis is an American singer and songwriter. He started his career with standard music singles and later became popular as an album artist. Mathis has had several dozen of his albums reaching gold or platinum status and 73 making the Billboard charts to date.
According to Guinness Music Chart historian Paul Gambaccini, Mathis has had over 360 million records sold worldwide. This made him the third best-selling artist of the 20th century.
In addition, he also received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award accompanied by an induction to the Grammy Hall of Fame for three separate recordings.
Although he is often described as a romantic singer, his music involves traditional pop, Brazilian and Spanish music, soul music among many others. He even had some disco songs for his Mathis Magic album in 1979.
Mathis has also recorded six Christmas music albums. In a 1968 interview, Johnny cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby as his musical influences.
Johnny Mathis Age
Mathis It is 85 years from 2021. She was born about September 30, 1935, in Gilmer, Texas, United States of America. Furthermore, Johnny celebrates his birthday on September 30th every year.
Johnny Mathis family
He is the fourth of seven children born to Clem Mathis and Mildred Boyd. The family moved to San Francisco, California, settling on 32nd Avenue in the Richmond district where Mathis grew up.
Her ethnic background is African American and Native American. Her father had worked in vaudeville and, seeing his son’s talent, bought an old upright piano for $25 ($356 in 2018 dollars) and encouraged him. Mathis began to learn the art of music and routines from his father. His first song was “My Blue Heaven”.
Mathis began singing and dancing for visitors at home, at school and at church functions.
When he was 13 years old, his voice coach Connie Cox accepted him as her student in exchange for working from her home. Mathis trained with Cox for six years, learning scales and vocal exercises, voice production, classical and operatic singing.
The first band he worked with was formed by his school friend Merl Saunders. Johnny praised Saunders at his funeral in 2008, thanking him for giving him the chance to debut as a singer.
Johnny Mathis Education
Mathis was a renowned athlete at George Washington High School in San Francisco. He played perfectly in the high jump, hurdles and basketball. In 1954, he enrolled at San Francisco State College on a scholarship, intending to become an English teacher and a physical education teacher.
While there, Mathis set a high jump record of 6′-5 1/2″. This is still one of the highest jump heights in college and was just two inches short of the Olympic record at the time.
Just like when he was in high school, Mathis’ name was frequently mentioned in the sports sections of Northern California newspapers.
In fact, he and future NBA star Bill Russell were featured in a 1954 article from the sports section of the San Francisco Chronicle demonstrating their high jump skills (Russell #1 and Mathis #2 in the city of San Francisco at the time) . During a meeting at the University of Nevada, Mathis beat Russell’s highest jump attempt that day.
He was often referred to as “the best all-around athlete to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area”.
Johnny Mathis husband
Mathis has never been married to this day. However, Johnny claims he does not regret his position. Furthermore, he has no children attached to him even outside of wedlock.
Johnny Mathis Hobbies
Despite missing the Olympic high jump events, he never fully abandoned his enthusiasm for the sport and is now an avid nine-hole golfer.
He has hosted several Johnny Mathis golf tournaments in the UK and US. Since 1985, he has hosted a benefit golf tournament in Belfast, sponsored by Shell Corporation, and the Johnny Mathis Invitational Track & Field Meet has continued at San Francisco State University since it began in 1982.
He also enjoys cooking, and in 1982 he published a cookbook called Cooking for You Alone.
Johnny Mathis Drugs and Alcohol Addiction
Mathis has undergone rehabilitation for alcohol and prescription drug addiction, and he has supported many organizations over the years, including the American Cancer Society, the March of Dimes, the YWCA and YMCA, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the NAACP.
Johnny Mathis homosexuality rumors
Mathis was quoted in a 1982 Us Magazine article as saying that “homosexuality is a way of life I’ve grown accustomed to.” Despite the rumors, Us Magazine never withdrew the statement. The interviewer, Alan Petrucelli, still has the tapes.
In 2006, Mathis said his silence was because of death threats he received as a result of that 1982 article.
Johnny Mathis career
Debut
While singing at a Sunday afternoon jam session with a friend’s jazz sextet at the Black Hawk Club in San Francisco, Mathis attracted the attention of club co-founder Helen Noga.
Soon she became Mathis’ music manager. Additionally, Noga found Mathis a job singing weekends at Ann Dee’s 440 Club in September 1955. She learned that George Avakian, head of A&R Popular Music at Columbia Records, was on vacation near San Francisco.
After repeated phone calls, Noga finally convinced Avakian to come and hear Mathis’ performance at the 440 Club. After hearing Mathis sing, Avakian sent a telegram to his record company saying, “I found a phenomenal 19-year-old boy who could go all the way. Submit blank contracts.”
In the state of San Francisco, Mathis became famous for his high jump sport. In 1956, he was invited to join the US Olympic team that would fly to Melbourne, Australia, in November. Mathis was in a dilemma whether to go to the Olympic tryouts or keep his commitment to New York to make his first recordings.
On his father’s advice, Mathis chose to embark on a professional singing career. Their LP album was released in late 1956, rather than waiting until the first quarter of 1957.
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Mathis’ first album, A New Sound In Popular Song, was a slow-selling jazz album. However, he stayed in New York to sing in nightclubs.
His second record was produced by Columbia Records vice president and record producer Mitch Miller. The renowned producer helped Mathis define his sound. Miller recommended that Mathis sing soft, romantic ballads, pairing him with conductor and musical arranger Ray Conniff. Later, he also paired him with Ray Ellis, Glenn Osser, and Robert Mersey.
In late 1956, Mathis produced two of his most popular songs: “Wonderful! Wonderful!” and “Not for me to say.” Additionally, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer hired him to sing the last song in the movie Lizzie (1957).
show millionaire biz
His appearance on the popular TV show The Ed Sullivan Show in June 1957 helped to increase his popularity. Later, in 1957, he released Chances Are, which became his second million-selling single.
In November 1957, he released Wild Is the Wind, which appeared in the film of the same name and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. He performed the song at the ceremony in March 1958.
The week before its Oscar appearance, Johnny’s Greatest Hits was released. The album spent an unprecedented 490 consecutive weeks until 1967 (nine and a half years) on the Billboard album charts, including three weeks at number one.
It held the record for the most weeks on top Billboard 200 albums in the US for 15 years until Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon hit 491 weeks in October 1983.
Later, in 1958, Mathis made his second film appearance for 20th Century Fox, singing the song “A Certain Smile” in the film of that title. The song was also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category.
By the end of the year, he was set to earn $1 million a year. Critics called him “the velvet voice.”
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During the summer of 1958, Mathis moved from San Francisco with the Nogas. They then sold their stake in the Black Hawk club that year and moved to Beverly Hills, California. The Nogas then bought a house where they lived with Mathis.
He appeared on ABC’s The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom on January 1, 1959.
Mathis had two of his biggest hits in 1962 and 1963, with “Gina” (#6) and “What Will Mary Say” (#9).
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In 1978, Mathis recorded “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” with singer Deniece Williams. The lyrics and music were arranged by Nat Kipner and John McIntyre Vallins.
Released as a single in 1978, it climbed to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. Additionally, it reached number 9 on the Canadian Singles Chart and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. It also topped the American R&B and adult contemporary charts.
His work, “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” was certified gold and silver in the US and UK by the RIAA and the British Phonographic Industry, respectively. It was his first number-one song since his 1957 chart-topping “Chances Are”.
The duo released a follow-up collaboration, “You’re All I Need to Get By”, peaking at number 47 on the Hot 100. The success of the collaborations with Williams led Mathis to record duets with several other musicians. This includes his collaborations with Dionne Warwick, Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight to name just a few.
Johnny Mathis discography
Main article: Johnny Mathis discography
Johnny MathisBibliography
- Mathis, Johnny; Brash, Peter; Birch, Marge (1982). Cooking for you alone. Pasadena, CA: Tech. Educ. Co. ISBN 978-0-939402-00-7.
Johnny Mathis Net Worth
Mathis have an estimate net worth of US$ 400 million. He made most of his fortune from his lucrative career. He has sold over 360 million albums, making him the third best-selling artist of the 20th century.