John mathai committee 1953

American singer (born )

For other people with the same name, see Johnny Mathis (disambiguation).

Musical artist

John Royce Mathis (born September 30, ) is an American singer. He is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century.^[2][3] Starting his career with singles of standard music, Mathis became highly popular as an album artist, with several of his albums achieving gold or platinum status and 73 making the Billboard charts.

Mathis has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three recordings. Although frequently described as a romantic singer, his discography includes traditional pop, Latin American, soul, rhythm and blues, show tunes, Tin Pan Alley, soft rock, blues, country music, and even a few disco songs for his album Mathis Magic in Mathis has also recorded seven albums of Christmas music.

In a interview, he cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby among his musical influences.^[4]

Early life and education

Mathis was born in Gilmer, Texas, on September 30, ,^[5] the fourth of seven children of Clem Mathis and Mildred Boyd, both domestic cooks.^[6][7] Mathis is African-American^[8] and has stated that he has Native American ancestry on his mother's side.^[9] The family moved to San Francisco when Mathis was five,^[10] settling on 32nd Avenue in the Richmond District, where Mathis grew up.^{[citation needed]}

Mathis' father worked in vaudeville as a singer and pianist, and on realizing his son's talent, bought an old upright piano for $25 (US$ in dollars^[11]), and encouraged his music.

John mathia biography wikipedia Johnny Mathis is an American pop singer who has achieved wide and enduring popularity as an angelic-voiced crooner of romantic ballads. He is perhaps best known for his affecting rendition of the songs ‘Misty’ and ‘Wonderful! Wonderful!’ Learn more about his background, his career, and his music.

Mathis began learning songs and routines from his father; his parents also ran his fan club. Mathis' first song was "My Blue Heaven",^[12] and he started singing and dancing for visitors at home, at school, and at church functions.^[13]

When Mathis was 13, voice teacher Connie Cox accepted him as her student in exchange for housework.^[14] Mathis studied with Cox for six years, learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical and operatic singing.

The first band Mathis sang with was formed by his high school friend, Merl Saunders. Mathis eulogized Saunders at his funeral in , thanking him for that first chance at being a singer.^{[citation needed]}

Mathis was a star athlete at George Washington High School in San Francisco. He was a high jumper, hurdler, and basketball player.

In , Mathis enrolled at San Francisco State College on an athletic scholarship, competing in both basketball and track, and intending to become a physical education teacher.^[14][15] While there, he set a high jump record of &#;m (6&#;ft 5+1&#;2&#;in), still one of the college's top jump heights and only 7&#;cm (3&#;in) short of the Olympic record of &#;m (6&#;ft 8+1&#;2&#;in).

Mathis and future NBA star Bill Russell were featured in a sports section article of the San Francisco Chronicle demonstrating their high-jumping skills, as at the time Russell was No. 1 and Mathis was No. 2 in the City of San Francisco.^[16]

Career

Early years

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 the club's co-founder, Helen Noga.

She became his music manager and found Mathis a job singing weekends at Ann Dee's Club. In September , she learned that George Avakian, head of Popular Music A&R at Columbia Records, was on vacation near San Francisco. After repeated calls, Noga finally persuaded Avakian to come hear Mathis at the Club. After hearing Mathis sing, Avakian sent his record company a telegram stating: "Have found phenomenal year-old boy who could go all the way.

Send blank contracts."^[13]

At San Francisco State, Mathis had become noteworthy as a high jumper, and in , he was asked to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team that would travel to Melbourne that November.^[5] On his father's advice, Mathis opted to embark on a professional singing career.

Mathis' 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 with conductor and music arranger Ray Conniff, and later, Ray Ellis, Glenn Osser, and Robert Mersey. In late , Mathis recorded two of his most popular songs: "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "It's Not for Me to Say."^[4] Also that year, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed him up to sing the latter song in the movie Lizzie ().

Showbiz millionaire

In June , Mathis appeared on the popular TV program The Ed Sullivan Show, which helped increase his popularity. Later that year, Mathis released his second single to sell one million copies, "Chances Are."^[17] In November , Mathis released "Wild Is the Wind", which featured in the film of the same title and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

He performed the song at the ceremony in March

The week before his appearance at the Academy Awards, Johnny's Greatest Hits was released. The album spent an unprecedented consecutive weeks (nearly nine-and-a-half years) on the Billboard top album charts,^[18] including three weeks at number one.

It held the record for the most weeks on the top Billboard albums in the US for 15 years, until Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (March ) reached weeks in October ^[19]

Later in , 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 the Academy Award for Best Original Song. By the end of the year, he was set to earn $1&#;million a year.^[17] Critics called him "the velvet voice."^[12] In , Ebony magazine listed Mathis as one of millionaires on their list of "America's Richest Negroes."^[20][21] Mathis had two of his biggest hits in and , with "Gina" (number 6) and "What Will Mary Say" (number 9).

Split from Noga

In October , Mathis sued Noga to void their management arrangement, which Noga fought with a counterclaim in December After splitting from Noga, Mathis established Jon Mat Records, incorporated in California on May 11, , to produce his recordings, and Rojon Productions, incorporated in California on his 29th birthday, September 30, , to handle all of his concert, theater, showroom, and television appearances, and all promotional and charitable activities.

(Previously, Mathis had founded Global Records to produce his Mercury albums.) Mathis' new manager and business partner was Ray Haughn, who, until his death in September , helped guide Mathis' career.

Popularity plateau

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

Mathis had the Christmas number one single in the UK with the song "When a Child Is Born" and later, in , 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 , it reached number one on the U.S.

Billboard Hot 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 chart-topper "Chances Are."

The duo released a follow-up duet, their version of "You're All I Need to Get By", peaking at number 47 on the Billboard Hot In , they were credited with performing "Without Us", the theme song for the American television sitcom Family Ties, from its second season onwards.

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 , featured the title track among other songs by Mathis and Williams.

Recent years

From to , Mathis recorded an album with Chic's Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, I Love My Lady, which remained unreleased in its entirety until its appearance in the disc collection The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection. Three tracks had appeared on a Chic box set in and a fourth, the title track, on Mathis' Ultimate Collection in and the Chic Organization's Up All Night in

Mathis returned to the British Top 30 album chart in with the Sony BMG release The Very Best of Johnny Mathis; in with the CD "A Night to Remember"; and again in with "The Ultimate Collection"^[22]

Mathis continues to perform live, but from forward, he limited his concert performances to about 50 to 60 per year.

Mathis is one of the last pop singers who travels with his own full orchestra (as opposed to a band).

On January 14, , Mathis performed to a sold-out audience in The Villages as part of his "60th Anniversary Concert Tour."^[23]

Career achievements

Mathis, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen carry the distinction of having the longest tenure of any recording artists on the Columbia label.

With the exception of a four-year break to record for Mercury Records in the mids, Mathis has been with Columbia Records throughout his career, from to and from to the present. (Dylan spent a couple of years at Asylum Records then re-signed with Columbia; Bennett recorded for Verve and his own Improv label from to when he returned to Columbia; Joel has been with the label since his album "Piano Man;" Streisand and Springsteen have never left.)

Mathis has had five of his albums on the Billboard charts simultaneously, an achievement equaled by only three other singers: Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, and (posthumously) Prince.

Mathis has released singles and had 71 songs charted worldwide.

Other appearances

Mathis has taped 12 of his own television specials and made over television guest appearances, with 54 (Rojon Productions Archives) of them being on The Tonight Show. Longtime Tonight Show host Johnny Carson said, "Johnny Mathis is the best ballad singer in the world." Mathis appeared on the show with Carson's successor, Jay Leno,^[24] on March 29, , to sing "The Shadow of Your Smile" with the saxophonist Dave Koz.

Through the years, Mathis' songs (or parts of them) have been heard in more than television shows and films around the globe. His appearance on the Live by Request broadcast in May on the A&E Network had the largest television viewing audience of the series. In , Mathis sang the theme for the ABC daytime soap opera Loving.

Mathis served as narrator for '51 Dons, a documentary film about the integrated and undefeated San Francisco Dons football team.^[25] 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.^[26]

Mathis appeared in the Season 14 finale of Criminal Minds, "Truth or Dare", in which he played himself as an old friend of David Rossi and served as best man at Rossi's wedding.

Matthis also played himself in the movie Just Getting Started.

Personal life

Despite missing the Olympic high-jump trials, Mathis retains his enthusiasm for sports. Mathis is an avid golfer, with nine holes-in-one to his credit. Mathis has also hosted several Johnny Mathis Golf Tournaments in the United Kingdom and the U.S.

Since , he has been hosting a charity golf tournament in Belfast sponsored by Shell,^[27] and the annual Johnny Mathis Invitational Track & Field Meet has continued at San Francisco State University since it started in Mathis also enjoys cooking, and published a cookbook called Cooking for You Alone in ^[28]

Mathis has undergone rehabilitation for alcoholism and prescription drug addiction^[14] and 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 a convert to Catholicism.^[29][30]

Mathis was quoted^[31] in a Us magazine article, stating: "Homosexuality is a way of life that I've grown accustomed to."^[32] Mathis later said the comment was supposed to have been off the record^[33] and did not publicly discuss his sexual orientation for many years after.

In , Mathis said that his silence had been due to death threats he received as a result of that article.^[34][35] On April 13, , Mathis had a podcast interview with The Strip in which he tackled the subject once again, and how his reluctance to speak on the subject was partly a generational issue.^[36] In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning aired May 14, , Mathis discussed the Us magazine article and confirmed that he is gay by saying, "I come from San Francisco.

It's not unusual to be gay in San Francisco. I've had some girlfriends, some boyfriends, just like most people. But I never got married, for instance. I knew that I was gay." Mathis spoke to many news sources, including CBS, about his sexuality and his coming out story.^[37][33]

In November , Mathis returned home from a concert in Ohio to find his Hollywood house destroyed by a fire.

He had owned it for 56 years.^[38] On January 17, , a series of powerful storms drenched the hillside in front of his rebuilt home in Hollywood Hills, causing a collapse of the hillside, and crushing a silver Jaguar with debris and mud. The hillside landslide cut off utilities, exposing water pipes and infrastructure to the elements.

The ground had given way in the block of Sunset Plaza Drive during the storm, taking out landscaping and terrain next to the home. It remained unclear at the time of news reports exactly when Mathis, aged 87 and still performing concerts, would be able to return and reoccupy his home, as its structural stability was uncertain given surrounding terrain damage.^[39]

While the character Shy Baldwin from The Marvelous Mrs.

Maisel is a composite character based on several different singers, Rachel Brosnahan said she most strongly associated Mathis with the character.^[40]

Honors and awards

Grammys

In , 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.^[41]

Grammy Hall of Fame

Mathis has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three separate recordings – in for "Chances Are", in for "Misty", and in for "It's Not for Me to Say."^[42][43]

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

Great American Songbook Hall of Fame

On June 21, , Mathis was inducted into the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame along with Linda Ronstadt, Shirley Jones, and Nat King Cole (whose 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."^[44]

Other

On June 1, , Mathis was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to music.

Six years later, Mathis' 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.

John mathia biography children Biography The fourth of seven children, John Royce Mathis was born on September 30, in Gilmer, Texas to Clem and Mildred Mathis. As a small boy, the family moved to Post Street in San Francisco.

Mathis and Jane Olivor sang the song at the Academy Awards ceremony, in his second performance at the Oscars. Mathis' first occurred 20 years earlier in , when he sang "Wild Is the Wind" by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington from the movie of the same name. Mathis was also awarded the Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award in ^[45] In , he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

In , Mathis appeared as a guest vocalist, accompanied by Henry Mancini, on Late Night with David Letterman to sing Henry's theme to the "Viewer Mail" segment. In , Mathis received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member General Colin Powell.^[46][47]

In , San Francisco State University awarded Mathis an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

He had attended San Francisco State for three semesters before withdrawing in to pursue his music career.^[48]

Discography

Main article: Johnny Mathis discography

Books

• Jasper, Tony (). Johnny Mathis: The authorised biography of Johnny Mathis.

  W. H. Allen UK. ISBN&#;.

Bibliography

• Mathis, Johnny; Brash, Peter; Birch, Marge (). Cooking for You Alone. Pasadena, California: Tech. Educ. Co. ISBN&#;.

References

External links