Johnny Mathis: Biography from Answers.com Mobile

Johnny Mathis

singer

Personal Information

Born John Royce Mathis, September 30, 1935, in San Francisco; son of Clem (a chauffeur and handyman) and Mildred (a housekeeper) Mathis.
Education: Attended San Francisco State College.
Religion: Roman Catholic.

Career

Pop vocalist; has recorded over 75 albums and sold over 100 million recordings worldwide; sang with jazz groups in college, mid-1950s; nightclub performer, San Francisco area, mid-1950s; signed by Columbia Records, 1956; worked with Columbia pop producer Mitch Miller, late 1950s; recorded breakthrough hit "Wonderful! Wonderful!," 1957; released Greatest Hits, which remained on charts for 490 weeks, 1958; extensive concert and nightclub appearances; established own production company, Rojon Productions, 1964; presented three sellout concerts, Carnegie Hall, New York, 1993; performed live concert on A&E cable television, 1998.

Life's Work

Combining the microphone mastery of the crooners, the vocal depth and technique made possible by classical training, and the image of innocence connected with the teen idols of the 1950s and 1960s, Johnny Mathis has been one of the twentieth century's most beloved vocalists. Mathis succeeded as a live club performer and as a prolific seller of record albums, cultivating a middle-of-the-road style at the height of the popularity of rock and roll music and its preeminent medium, the 45-rpm single. As a result, he was only intermittently a pop hitmaker, and the dimensions of his success are generally underestimated. By some estimates Mathis has been, next to Frank Sinatra, the most consistent album seller of the modern era. His Greatest Hits album of 1958 remained on the charts for an incredible 490 weeks.

Born John Royce Mathis on September 30, 1935, in San Francisco, Johnny Mathis exhibited musical talent from childhood. His parents were both household workers for wealthy San Francisco families and his father Clem, a onetime vaudeville performer from Texas, encouraged his musical abilities. When Mathis was eight years old, his father bought him a secondhand piano and steered him toward local musical activities such as church choirs and talent contests. At the age of 13, Mathis attracted the attention of an opera singer and voice teacher named Connie Cox, who offered him voice lessons in exchange for his work on household chores. Mathis studied classical vocal technique for six years, and he kept in contact with Cox for many years thereafter.

An excellent high school student, Mathis enrolled at San Francisco State College on an athletic scholarship in the early 1950s; he was a gifted athlete who hoped to become a physical education teacher or track coach. Mathis set a college record in the high jump and came close to breaking the U.S. Olympic high jump record of the time. In addition to athletics, he became immersed in jazz and began to make his mark as a nightclub singer. Helen Noga, co-owner of San Francisco's Black Hawk club, became Mathis's manager in 1955 and he eventually moved into the Beverly Hills home of Noga and her husband.

Mathis's big break came in 1956 during an informal appearance at the 440 Club. In the audience was Columbia Records executive George Avakian, who immediately signed Mathis to the label. His first album, A New Sound in Popular Song, featured jazz arrangements of the kind Mathis had admired while a student at San Francisco State. The album did not sell well, so Avakian teamed Mathis with producer and arranger Mitch Miller. Miller's lush, ballad-oriented string arrangements had helped Columbia maintain a long period of dominance in the pop music field.

The Mathis-Miller combination proved irresistible to pop fans, especially women, who were looking for an alternative to the brash rock and roll of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and other contemporary performers. Mathis had a hit in 1957 with "Wonderful! Wonderful!," and followed it up with such romantic successes as "It's Not for Me to Say" and the million-selling single "Chances Are." Record buyers loved the string sound of Mathis's albums Warm and Greatest Hits, and his success as an album seller would continue for several decades. As his music became increasingly popular, Mathis was able to command top fees in the nation's most exclusive nightclubs and appeared in several films.

Mathis's popularity stemmed, in part, from his sheer vocal skill. This was especially evident in the variety of sounds he could coax from a microphone while appearing live in concert. His tenor voice, honeyed and smooth, was instantly recognizable. With his wavy hair and California good looks that suggested no affiliation with a particular ethnic group, Mathis's music cultivated a soft romantic appeal that transcended social and racial barriers.

Throughout the 1960s, Mathis connected less with African American audiences than with other groups. Numerous concept albums, such as one based entirely on different fairy tales and another that explored the songs of composer Burt Bacharach, appealed primarily to middle-of-the-road white audiences. During the 1970s, however, Mathis began to seek out original material from African American composers like Linda Creed and Thom Bell. In 1978, Mathis recorded a duet with rhythm-and-blues singer Deniece Williams, whose vocal virtuosity matched his own. Their duet, "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late," rocketed to number one on both the rhythm-and-blues and pop charts. Mathis and Williams also recorded a successful album, That's What Friends Are For, in 1981.

Mathis went on to record duets with other popular female vocalists, including Gladys Knight, Jane Olivor, Angela Bofill, and Dionne Warwick. He continued to enjoy considerable chart success well into the 1980s. In 1993, Mathis enjoyed wide critical acclaim for the compilation album A Personal Collection, which brought together favorites from the singer's many albums. This album also included a duet with Barbra Streisand, who had often claimed Mathis as an inspiration and influence. "This 86-song lovefest," commented People magazine, "suggests why Mathis has often been blamed for the last 10 years of the baby boom."

In 1993, Mathis made a triumphant appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall. In its review of this performance, Billboard remarked, "His trademark poignant expression was strong as he graciously smoldered, glided, and soared through two hours' worth of songs.... The years have affected neither the way Mathis hovers on the edge of a note nor the way he belts one out. He stands poised at the microphone, his stance never revealing whether the note will come from deep inside his belly or the tip of his tongue."

In the late 1990s, Mathis was entering his fifth decade as one of America's most renowned vocalists. Although he no longer goes on tour, Mathis maintained a vigorous schedule of live appearances. In 1998, he appeared on the "Live by Request" program on the cable- television network A&E. Although he is universally considered a pop-music legend, a romantic icon, and a master vocalist, Mathis remained humble. As he remarked to the Greensboro (N.C.) News-Record, "I really try just to go to the good opportunities that come my way."

Works

Selective Discography

Warm, Columbia, 1957.
Swing Softly, Columbia, 1958.
Open Fire, Two Guitars, Columbia, 1958.
Greatest Hits, Columbia, 1958.
Heavenly, Columbia, 1959.
Faithfully, Columbia, 1959.
Johnny's Newest Hits, Columbia, 1963.
Feelings, Columbia, 1975.
You Light Up My Life, Columbia, 1981.
That's What Friends Are For (with Deniece Williams), Columbia, 1981.
Johnny Mathis Live, Columbia, 1984.
The Hollywood Musicals, Columbia, 1986.
The Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection, Columbia, 1993.
All About Love, Columbia, 1996.
The Ultimate Hits Collection, Columbia, 1998.