JOHNNY MATHIS

[mariana44]

Still no news of when tickets will be available--but I just checked out tickets for Barry Manilow at the O2 arena in May--best seats are £175.00 each---and you have to buy 2 tickets !

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Really !!! for about One and a half to Two hours entertainment.
We'll pass on this one.

[Marian]

Us too!!!

[john]

And us!

[Terence Lee]

Johnny Mathis Not Always on the Same Spot

by Thomas Conner
Chicago Sun-Times, April 23, 2011

Johnny Mathis is more versatile than you think, but he knows where his bread is buttered. He could branch out and try different styles of music -- and he has, read on -- but why mess with the mushy, easy-listening crooner formula that has given him nearly 80 top-40 hits over the course of a half-century singing career?

The Mathis hit parade started in 1957 with "Chances Are," "It's Not for Me to Say" and "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and continued for decades, mostly in the same vanilla template -- soft strings, tender arrangements, the unequaled smoothness of Mathis' voice, lulling and languid -- through "A Certain Smile," "Gina," "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" and all that Christmas music. His greatest-hits album, one of the first, logged a staggering 490 weeks on the Billboard albums chart (that's nine-plus years), a record beaten only by Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon."

But Mathis himself at least once tried to rock.

"Well, yeah, when you're young and starting out, you want to do everything. I tried it all, believe it or not," Mathis says, adding a laugh. "I was fortunate at the beginning of my career to have a lot of hits right away. That gives you a little clout as far as the record company is concerned. Plus, in that day, as an artist, you made a lot of records." Mathis released four albums annually in both 1958 and 1959. "So you were always looking for material, and I used to go in to my producer and say, 'Check this out!' I'd show them a James Brown song. They'd say, 'You know, John, that's great, but let's try something else.' And thank goodness."

Does that mean in a record vault somewhere are tapes of Johnny Mathis throwing down like James Brown?

"Unfortunately, yes," Mathis says, no longer laughing. "I keep wondering when they're going to rear their ugly head. Fortunately, most of that stuff is well buried."

Then he starts chuckling again, remembering some of his off moments. There have been a few.

"One of the first songs I sang was a Burt Bacharach song," Mathis recalls. "Burt is a task master, always has been. He wants you to do it exactly as he hears it in his head.... But I wasn't taking direction well. The song is called 'Warm and Tender'" -- Mathis sings a few bars, sounding creamy and light even over the cell connection from his California home -- "and I ended up sounding like Frankie Laine. It was so bad. It's on the other side of one of my biggest records, 'It's Not for Me to Say,' which sold a million copies. I hear it and think, 'How could he possibly have let me do that?'

"There's a lot of that. I made a few songs years ago under the care of a doctor who gave me amphetamines, and that didn't sound good, either."

Unexpected choices

Mathis, who tours only occasionally now at age 75 and spends most of his time at home and playing golf five days a week (he now boasts an impressive seven holes-in-one) , credits his very straight-and- narrow style to a small group of good advisers, most notably Gil Reigers, his guitarist for more than 40 years.

But despite the gentle but firm guidance, the Velvet Voice occasionally has veered off the sweetened path, from trying his hand at Brazilian music ("The one place I'd like to get back to is Brazil," he says, "because I fell in love with the people there and their music, and I still sing a lot of Brazilian songs") to making frequent guest appearances with the Muppets (his duet with Rowlf the Dog on "Never Before, Never Again" during a 1979 TV special is worth YouTubing).

Two recent projects, in fact, have brought his varied tastes full circle.

Late last year, a Jewish organization called the Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation compiled an intriguing CD, "Black Sabbath: The Secret Musical History of Black-Jewish Relations." The album rounded up rare instances of notable black singers taking on Jewish music, such as Cab Calloway mixing Yiddish into his scatting during "Utt-Da-Zy" and Eartha Kitt's orchestrated delivery of "Sholem."

The society also dug up a relevant Mathis recording. One of the four albums he recorded in 1958 was "Good Night, Dear Lord," a collection of religious songs dedicated to his mother. Amid the expected Christian music -- from spirituals ("Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Deep Night") to formal pieces ("The Rosary," two versions of "Ave Maria") -- were three Jewish songs: the Yiddish hymn "Eli Eli"; a song about a Warsaw ghetto, "Where Can I Go?"; and the Yom Kippur prayer chant "Kol Nidre." The latter appears on "Black Sabbath."

"People ask me to explain why someone like myself would get involved with religious Jewish music," Mathis says. "It's the way you're brought up. Me, growing up in San Francisco, I had this extraordinary opportunity to listen to all kinds of music and studied voice for seven or eight years with a wonderful teacher. She first introduced me to it. As a singer, when you hear something extraordinary like that -- and a lot of Jewish music is musically quite challenging -- you want to sing it, you want to at least try it, to see if you can do it."

Back to his roots

Mathis' latest album, also released last fall, is off-track, too -- "Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville." A good friend of the late Ray Charles, it may have been inevitable that Mathis -- a native of Texas -- would tackle a country record. But Mathis says this actually has more to do with his roots in rock 'n' roll.

"The first music I heard was country music. My father sang it for me," Mathis says. "That's the reason I started singing. This country album is really a throwback to what my dad taught me, and it was a wonderful, wonderful experience. Over the years, I've performed with extraordinary people always in the background of my arrangements, especially the guitar players. This time, they're in the forefront. It's a guitar record! It's such a joy to listen to the recordings when I stop singing and hear this extraordinary guitar music."

So he made a record that kinda rocks, after all?

"Is it so hard to believe?" Mathis asks, laughing again. "My little brother [Michael], you know, had a band and did mostly rhythm and blues. He did stuff with Sly Stone there in San Francisco. Michael got me involved with a lot of rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll. But I studied, as I mentioned, with a classical teacher, and most of the music I heard was pretty much Broadway and classical, and that's what I got involved with. In the household, my dad was singing country and Michael was playing rock 'n' roll, and I had six other brothers and sisters bringing in other stuff. If the slightest thing had changed, who knows, I could have been a rock 'n' roll star."

[mariana44]

Great article--thanks Terence--I can remember hearing John in a concert singing-James Browns "I feel good"---and one that was really popular was "Let the good times roll", which I heard in quite a few concerts--fabulous memories for me.

And in fact, when my good friend Ann died, the Flowers from The Fan club were in the shape of a Union Jack, with a banner across saying "Let the Good Times Roll"----its a long story , but made sense to us all at her funeral !!

[Terence Lee]

Johnny Mathis Has Become the Singer Who Went All the Way

by Steve Knopper
Chicago Tribune, April 29, 2011

Incredibly, in five decades of singing professionally, Johnny Mathis had never recorded Patsy Cline's 1961 signature "Crazy" -- until last year.

"Of course, 'Crazy' was one of those recordings where it was done so well, and so right, by this wonderful singer," says the soft-spoken crooner, by phone from his home in Hollywood, Calif. "But after time goes by, a lot of young people haven't heard these songs, and they're good songs, even though the definitive record has been made.... And in the youthful, enthusiastic way that you sometimes do things, you honor them by singing music that they've made famous."

"Crazy," the Willie Nelson-penned standard, is the centerpiece of 2010's "Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville." It's Mathis' first country album, which also is kind of unbelievable, given his resume -- 130 albums, 350 million in worldwide sales, and crazy accomplishments like a greatest-hits record that lasted 490 straight weeks on the Billboard album charts. But it doesn't seem so unusual to Mathis, who was born in Texas, and grew up listening to his father's country records.

"There's no difference at all. It's a matter of who you choose to accompany you," he says of the album, which includes characteristically light-hearted and erudite versions of Eddy Arnold's "Make the World Go Away," Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" and Glen Campbell's "Southern Nights."

"You put a guitar behind it, sometimes people think of it as country -- and if you put a violin behind it, people think it's romantic, and you put a rhythm section behind it, people think it's jazz."

Inspired by his father, Clem, a singer and pianist, Mathis grew up singing in church choirs and school shows after his family moved from Gilmer, Texas, to San Francisco. In 1955, after years of vocal lessons, he started singing at the 440 Club. This drew the interest of Columbia Records' George Avakian, who sent a telegram to his superiors: "Have found phenomenal 19 year old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts." Although he was a star athlete in high school, then at San Francisco State College, with a shot to be an Olympic high-jumper, Mathis chose music.

In 1956, when Mathis recorded his first album in New York, his style was a bit anachronistic. The big bands had long since died off, and classic crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett were losing ground to the emerging rock 'n' roll. But Mitch Miller, the Columbia A&R man, revived the classic pop-singing style, signing and producing stars such as Tony Bennett, Patti Page and Frankie Laine. Mathis, with his athlete's build, boyish features and extraordinary voice was a superstar in this world.

For most of Mathis' career, he was able to coexist with the rock 'n' roll juggernauts who dominated pop music.

"I was enamored of a lot of people who were rock stars," he says. "The house I lived in for a few years was very close to 20th Century Fox Studios, where Elvis made all his movies. And on my way to the golf course, I used to stop at the studios and walk around and have lunch with Elvis and whoever else was making movies at the time."

After decades of Sinatra-style hits, which morphed after the '60s into soft-rock radio (remember 1978's "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late"?), Mathis continues to put out records every few years and perform regularly. The tricky part, he says, is mixing up his concert set lists so everybody's happy -- including him.

"'Chances Are,' 'The Twelfth of Never,' 'Misty' and 'It's Not for Me to Say' -- those songs, you kind of have to sing them the way they were recorded," he says. "But the rest of the time, it's a Wild West shootout."

[Terence Lee]

Mathis' Velvet Voice Is Coming to Lehman

by Tanyanika Samuels
New York Daily News, May 19, 2011

Legendary crooner Johnny Mathis is just as excited as his legions of loyal fans to be coming to Lehman Performing Arts Center this Saturday.

"I'm still absolutely amazed that I have a career in music and people still like my music," Mathis said this week, in an interview from his home in Hollywood, Calif. "I look forward to every single performance and I'm looking forward to this one very much."

This weekend's concert, part of Lehman Center's ongoing 30th anniversary celebration, will include smash hits like "Misty" and "Chances Are," along with selections from his most recent Grammy-nominated country album, "Let It Be Me -- Mathis in Nashville."

For the 75-year-old balladeer, singing in New York is a bit of a homecoming. He came to the city in 1956 to record his first album, and performed at the Village Vanguard and the Apollo.

Success came quickly for Mathis. A natural singer, he grew up in the San Francisco area singing at church, school and community events.

Later, while at San Francisco State College, Mathis used to perform during jam sessions at the Black Hawk nightclub. It was there that Columbia Records exec George Avakian "discovered" him and launched a career that has spanned some five decades.

Though his velvety voice has caused many fans to swoon, Mathis recalled in the interview that it took him many years to truly appreciate his own sound.

"My big heroes were Nat King Cole and Billy Eckstine, big-voiced singers," he said. "I was waiting for my voice to get to that point, which it never did. That took a lot of getting used to but then I really started to enjoy the fact that I have big range."

And while Mathis is best known for such romantic tunes as "A Certain Smile," he joked that it also took him a while to warm up to his romantic image. Growing up, he was a star athlete and an Olympic-caliber high jumper.

"I was kind of a jock most of my life. So when people call you a 'romantic' it softens up your image. But as the years have gone by, I've certainly gotten over it," Mathis said, then laughed.

"I don't care what they call me anymore -- just so long as they call me."

[Terence Lee]

Mathis Keeps It Cool Through the Years

by Mel Shields
Sacramento Bee, September 18, 2011

When Johnny Mathis walks onto a stage for a concert, it's the culmination of long preparation.

Unlike other singers, however, that does not involve lengthy vocalizing or special concert-day diets.

Mathis' preparation is years-long.

"When it comes to vocalizing," Mathis explained by phone from his Southern California home, "I always remember one of my inspirations, Beverly Sills. We were appearing together on 'The Dinah Shore Show,' and I asked her how she prepared for a recital.

"She said, 'I learn what I have to learn. I vocalize for five minutes and make sure I know where the tones are,'" Mathis said. "And that was that. It's a long process getting yourself into the position to do what you do all the time.

"I've kept my routine of exercising since college. I work out for an hour and a half, five days a week. I listen to people who are very knowledgeable about the human body.

"Singing is very physical and you have to know where your voice is, strong or not."

Mathis is 75 years old, and his performance Saturday at the Community Center Theater will be another in more than 50 years of concerts. He brings along comedian Gary Mule Deer, who has become a regular opener.

"I love him. He's a great actor, too," Mathis said. "He does the same thing every performance and always makes it look fresh."

The same probably can be said for Mathis.

He learned early on what makes an appearance memorable for an audience. Even in the days when he was starting out, coming off hits like "Chances Are" and "The Twelfth of Never," he knew how to do it -- smoothly, humbly, professionally. He learned, for instance, how important it is to use professional musicians.

"I always use a full orchestra of 22 pieces," he said. "For some reason lately, I've taken to singing quite a few songs upstage from them, accompanied by my guitar player only."

"The musicians themselves keep coming up and giving me a pat on the back," Mathis said. "They know there's always something synthesized out there that can take their place. But I know there's nothing that can take their place and sound the same. I have no intention of ever not using a large orchestra. It gives the whole event a boost, an elegance."

Mathis also has learned what he can and cannot do. That's an evolving process.

"I've got this buddy of mine, my guitar player for over 40 years. He's the best barometer there is of what I sing," he said. "Two or three years ago, for instance, I was struggling with a new song, a loud song with lots of words in it. I was frustrated and asked, 'How do I call this to memory?'"

Mathis said his guitarist friend Gil Reigers asked, "What are you doing that song for?"

"I said, 'Because it's fast and I don't do fast songs. I get bored singing just romantic songs all the time,'" Mathis said.

"He reminded me that people do come out to hear me sing as much romantic music as possible. So, I get my fast music in with Brazilian songs. They move at a swinging, gentle clip, and I've really enjoyed that aspect of my career. It's almost a cop-out."

Mathis was in the process of preparing his daily meals the morning of the conversation.

He's always cooked for himself.

"I usually cook in the morning before I go to the golf course," he said. "My mom and dad were great cooks, and I and my two brothers fell in love with it. Not my sisters, though, which is good because they weren't very good at it.

"I cook with whatever is available at the market, all fresh. I would say 85 percent fruits and vegetables. Sometimes some seafood and chicken. There are a whole lot of ways to cook a chicken."

Mathis' Sacramento performance is not a part of a tour.

It's an example of how he schedules his performances these days -- a couple of days on the road, three days at the most, he said.

"That's just the way things have worked out over the years," Mathis said. "I used to play some places a month at a time, but those were usually casino dates. That business has changed.

"You have to put as much quality in your performance as possible, and my age is constantly testing my energy level," he said.

A lot of words have been written describing Mathis' music and performances -- smooth, romantic, and cool, always cool. He offers his own definition of performers he considers cool.

"Cool people have confidence in what they do, and they do it with style," he said. "You know cool when you see it and hear it. Cool people perform in a sort of nonchalant way. They are special.

"It is not as easy as it looks."

[mariana44]

Nice interview Terence-thanks,

[Sandra]

Sunday night December 4th on Radio 2:

HEAVENLY JOHNNY MATHIS- 1 of 3 parts presented by PAUL GAMBACCINI

Just noticed that is a repeat though

[karl]

Why are the great artists only on radio? We want to see them too!

[mariana44]

FOr anyone interested in the old albums of Johnny Mathis, i have just heard [ unofficially] that all his Mercury albums are to be released on cd later this year--at long last.

It still leaves quite a few not yet on cd--The Heart of a Woman, Mathis Is, Me and Mrs Jones, All for you-,Feelings, Make it easy on youself-etc all released as Lps after the Mercury years, but before the advent of the cd.

[karl]

It seems like they are doing the same with Johnny as Jack Jones releasing all the OLDER albums on cd when it's the later one's we really want.

I wonder what label Johnny's Mercury albums will be on, whether it's cheapie label or what?

[Terence Lee]

True Karl. It's the RCA albums from Jack Jones that we want on CD. As for Johnny Mathis, I want the Columbia albums on CD, not the Mercury ones.