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Johnny Mathis

The fourth of seven children, John Royce Mathis was born on September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas to Clem and Mildred Mathis. As a small boy, the family moved to Post Street in San Francisco. It was there that he learned an appreciation of music from his father who taught him his first song, “My Blue Heaven”. At age eight, his father purchased an old upright piano for $25. When he brought it home, it wouldn't fit through the front door. So that evening, Johnny stayed up all night to watch his father dismantle the piano, get it into the small living room of their basement apartment and then reassemble it. Clem Mathis, who worked briefly as a musician back in Texas playing the piano and singing on stage, would continue to teach his son many songs and routines. Johnny had proven to be the most eager of the children to learn all about music. He sang in the church choir, school functions, community events, for visitors in their home as well as amateur shows in the San Francisco area.

Johnny was 13 years old when Clem took him to see Connie Cox, a 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. At George Washington High School, Johnny was known not only for his singing ability but his athleticism as well. He became a star athlete on the track and field team as a high jumper and hurdler and played on the basketball team. In 1954, Johnny enrolled at San Francisco State College with the intention of being an English and Physical Education teacher. While there, Johnny set a high jump record of 6’-5 1/2”. This is still on the College’s Top 15 list and was only two inches short of the Olympic record of the time. Just as when he was in high school, Johnny’s name was frequently mentioned in the sports sections of the Northern California newspapers. He was often referred to as “the best all-around athlete to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area”. A fellow student whose sextet was working at the Black Hawk nightclub brought Johnny in for a Sunday afternoon jam session. It was at the Black Hawk that Helen Noga, co-owner of the club, first heard him sing. She decided that she wanted to manage his career.

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Book Excerpts

Misty: The Music of Johnny Mathis

Read "Misty: The Music of Johnny Mathis" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard


The following is an excerpt from the chapter “Songs for the Season: The Christmas Albums" from Jakob Baekgaard's Misty: The Music of Johnny Mathis (Sonicbond Publishing, 2022). Songs for the Season: The Christmas Albums Every music genre deserves to be treated with respect, but that isn't always the case. Christmas music seems to incarnate both the best and worst aspects of the music industry. At its worst, it's a tactless celebration of commercialism, and at its best, it has ...

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Book / Magazine

'Misty: The Music of Johnny Mathis' by Jakob Baekgaard

'Misty: The Music of Johnny Mathis' by Jakob Baekgaard

Source: All About Jazz

Few singers have been able to change with the times like Johnny Mathis. Although his fame rests on his massive popularity in the '50s and '60s when he competed with Elvis and Frank Sinatra and outsold almost anyone, Mathis has remained relevant through the decades and no other crooner is as technically skilled or able to cover multiple genres so convincingly. Jazz, soul, disco, country, classic and contemporary pop, Mathis has adapted his impressive vocal range to all kinds of ...

Recording

Johnny Mathis: The Singles

Johnny Mathis: The Singles

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

For some reason, when talk turns to male pop singers of the 1950s and '60s, Johnny Mathis is almost always skipped over. There's plenty of chatter on the merits of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Andy Williams and others but few words in praise of Mathis. In fact, one could argue that he's nearly forgotten today. Perhaps it's because he didn't record in the jazz-swing tradition. Or perhaps his renditions were too sweet and sincere. ...

Recording

Real Gone Music Late October, November Releases Feature El Topo, David Peel, Barbara Harris, Johnny Mathis, More

Real Gone Music Late October, November Releases Feature El Topo, David Peel, Barbara Harris, Johnny Mathis, More

Source: conqueroo

Also, Christmas stocking stuffers from Percy Faith, Doris Day and a Perry Como collection produced by Richard Carpenter LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Real Gone Music is hitting the election season with a slate of releases designed to appeal to every party. The mind-bending soundtrack from the movie El Topo will return as a deluxe CD and 180-gram LP on October 30. Northern soul legend Barbara Lewis’ Atlantic years are collected on The Complete Atlantic Singles. Lower East Side habitué and ...

Recording

Real Gone Music Presents Johnny Mathis, David Cassidy And Gary Lewis & The Playboys In August

Real Gone Music Presents Johnny Mathis, David Cassidy And Gary Lewis & The Playboys In August

Source: conqueroo

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The summer dog days bring a diverse selection of Real Gone Music reissues, ideal for vacation listening. On August 28, 2012, the label will release six titles including Johnny Mathis’ Tender Is the Night/Wonderful World of Make-Believe and Broadway, an entire unreleased album from his underrated Mercury Records catalog paired with his Love Is Everything LP; David Cassidy’s Cassidy Live!, and Gettin’ It in the Street; Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ The Complete Liberty Singles; and ...

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Recording

50th Anniversary of Johnny Mathis' "Kol Nidre" Celebrated at Skirball, August 19

50th Anniversary of Johnny Mathis' "Kol Nidre" Celebrated at Skirball, August 19

Source: conqueroo

Mathis to accept Idelsohn award on August 19 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, Calif.--In 1959, Johnny Mathis released “Kol Nidre"--the Aramaic prayer traditionally intoned at the beginning of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement--as a 7-inch single. Yes, that Johnny Mathis, best known for his romance-inducing, back-seat drive- in make-out music, who recorded over 130 best-selling albums.

In 2010, right around Yom Kippur and Johnny Mathis' 75th birthday, the single will be re- released as ...

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Performance / Tour

Johnny Mathis @ San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino

Johnny Mathis @ San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino

Source: All About Jazz

American cultural icon Johnny Mathis is a two-time Grammy Hall of Fame honoree, comes to the San Manuel Indian Casino.

Mathis with over 50 years of recording experience of romantic ballads and classic standards that continue to transcend generations, including greatest hits “Chances Are," “Wonderful, Wonderful," and “Misty. Featured on the HBO Comedy Festival and past winner of the Las Vegas Comedy Festival.

Johnny Mathis with Gary Mule Deer

Thu., June 3, 7:30pm San Manuel Indian ...

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Recording

Johnny Mathis: Don Costa Sessions

Johnny Mathis: Don Costa Sessions

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

I've never been a Johnny Mathis fan. Other than admiring Steven Spielberg's use of Chances Are in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and a December weakness for Sleigh Ride, Mathis has always been akin to drinking honey out of the jar. Pop heir to Nat King Cole in the late 1950s, Mathis wasn't much of a jazz artist and was way too expressive and swing-less for savvy pop. So when the newly remastered Rapture and Romantically arrived on a ...

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