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{{short description|American pop singer (born 1935)}}
{{other people||Johnny Mathis (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name = Johnny Mathis
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| birth_date = {{nowrap|{{birth date and age|1935|09|30}}}}
| birth_place = [[Gilmer, Texas]], U.S.
| origin = [[San Francisco]], California
| genre = {{flatlist|
* [[Pop music|Pop]]
* [[jazz]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnny-mathis-mn00000246885/biography|title=Johnny Mathis > Artist Biography by John Bush
| occupation = Singer
| years_active = 1956–present
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}}
'''John Royce Mathis''' (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of [[popular music]]. Starting his career with singles of [[standard (music)|standard music]],
Mathis is the third
==Early life and education==
Mathis was born in [[Gilmer, Texas]], on September 30, 1935,<ref name="mathis"/> the fourth of seven children of Clem Mathis and Mildred Boyd, both domestic cooks.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/10/johnny-mathis-my-family-values|title=Johnny Mathis: My family values|date=January 10, 2014|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=February 17, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Eric |last=Herschthal |url=http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/music/blacks_and_jews_musical_gray_area |title="For Blacks And Jews, A Musical Gray Area" Eric Herschthal, ''Jewish Week'', October 12, 2010 |publisher=Thejewishweek.com |date=June 25, 2014 |access-date=June 29, 2014 |archive-date=October 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011171947/http://www.thejewishweek.com/arts/music/blacks_and_jews_musical_gray_area |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Mathis' father worked in [[vaudeville]] as a singer and pianist, and on realizing his son's talent, bought an old [[upright piano]] for $25 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|25|1944}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}), and encouraged 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"
When Mathis was 13, voice teacher Connie Cox accepted him as her student in exchange for
Mathis was a star athlete at [[George Washington High School (San Francisco)|George Washington High School]] in San Francisco. He was a high jumper
==Career==
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At San Francisco State, Mathis had become noteworthy as a high jumper, and in 1956, he was asked to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team that would travel to [[Melbourne]] that November.<ref name="mathis">{{cite web|access-date=May 12, 2011|title=Johnny Mathis Official Website|url=http://www.johnnymathis.com/}}</ref> On his father's advice, Mathis opted to embark on a professional singing career.
Mathis' first record album, ''[[Johnny Mathis (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 1956, Mathis recorded two of his most popular songs: "[[Wonderful! Wonderful!]]" and "[[It's Not for Me to Say]]
===Showbiz millionaire===
In June 1957, Mathis
[[File:Johnny Mathis 1960.JPG|thumb|upright=1.35|Mathis in 1960]]
The week before his appearance at the Academy Awards, ''[[Johnny's Greatest Hits]]'' was released. The album spent an unprecedented 490 consecutive weeks (nearly nine-and-a-half years) on the ''Billboard'' top 200 album charts,<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Top LP's|date=July 20, 1968|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]| page =70}}</ref> including three weeks at number one. It held the record for the most weeks on the top [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] albums in the US for 15 years, until [[Pink Floyd]]'s ''[[The Dark Side of the Moon]]'' (March 1973) reached 491 weeks in October 1983.<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Top LP's & Tapes|date=October 29, 1983|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]| page =73}}</ref>
Later in 1958, Mathis made his second film appearance for [[20th Century Fox]], singing the song "[[A Certain Smile (song)|A Certain Smile]]" in the [[A Certain Smile (film)|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.<ref name=Millionaire/> Critics called him "the velvet voice
===Split from Noga===
In October 1964, Mathis sued Noga to void their management arrangement, which Noga fought with a counterclaim in December 1964. After splitting from Noga, Mathis established Jon Mat Records, incorporated in California on May 11, 1967, to produce his recordings, and Rojon Productions, incorporated in California on his 29th birthday, September 30, 1964, to handle all of his concert, theater, showroom, and television appearances, and all promotional and charitable activities. (Previously,
===Popularity plateau===
While Mathis continued to make music, the ascent of the Beatles and early 1970s album rock kept his adult contemporary recordings out of the pop singles charts, until he experienced a career renaissance in the late 1970s. Mathis had the 1976 [[Christmas number one single]] in the UK with the song "[[When a Child Is Born]]" and later, in 1978, 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 reached number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 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 1957 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 100. In 1983, 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 1995, featured the title track among other songs by Mathis and Williams.
===Recent years===
Mathis returned to the British Top 30 album chart in 2007 with the Sony BMG release ''The Very Best of Johnny Mathis''; in 2008 with the CD "A Night to Remember"; and again in 2011 with "The Ultimate Collection"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/johnny%20mathis/|title= Johnny Mathis – Albums |publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date= February 17, 2014}}</ref>
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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 mid-1960s, Mathis has been with Columbia Records throughout his career, from 1956 to 1963 and from 1968 to the present. (Dylan spent a couple of years at [[Asylum Records]] then re-signed with Columbia; Bennett recorded for [[Verve Records|Verve]] and his own Improv label from 1972 to 1986 when he returned to Columbia; Joel has been with the label since his 1973 album "[[Piano Man (Billy Joel 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 (musician)|Prince]]. Mathis has released 200 singles and had 71 songs charted
==Other appearances==
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==Personal life==
Despite missing the Olympic high-jump trials, Mathis retains his enthusiasm for sports.
Mathis has undergone rehabilitation for alcoholism and prescription drug addiction<ref name=Star/> 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]].
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Mathis is a convert to [[Catholicism]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Johnny Mathis {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/johnny-mathis#:~:text=Born%20John%20Royce%20Mathis%20September,Religion:%20Roman%20Catholic.|access-date=August 19, 2021|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=November 22, 2016|title=Johnny Mathis Appreciation Society: The Beginning, with Clem, John's Father|url=http://johnnymathisappreciationsociety.blogspot.com/2016/11/johnny-mathis-appreciation-society.html|access-date=August 19, 2021|website=Johnny Mathis Appreciation Society}}</ref>
Mathis was quoted<ref name=Telegraph2002>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3584124/Sometimes-I-feel-like-a-kid-again.html 'Sometimes, I feel like a kid again'], by Michael Shelden, in ''[[the Daily Telegraph]]''; published October 14, 2002
In November 2015, Mathis returned home from a concert in [[Ohio]] to find his Hollywood house destroyed by a fire. He had owned it for 56 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abc7.com/1065602/|title=Fire tears through singer Johnny Mathis' Hollywood Hills home|first=Leanne|last=Suter|date=November 3, 2015|website=ABC7 Los Angeles}}</ref> On January 17, 2023, a series of powerful storms drenched the hillside in front of
While the character Shy Baldwin from ''[[The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel]]'' is a [[composite character]] based on several different singers, [[Rachel Brosnahan]] said
==Honors and awards==
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===Grammy Hall of Fame===
Mathis has been inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]] for three separate recordings – in 1998 for "[[Chances Are (song)|Chances Are]]", in 2002 for "[[Misty (song)|Misty]]", and in 2008 for "[[It's Not for Me to Say]]
{| class=wikitable
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===Other===
On June 1, 1972, 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 (film)|Same Time, Next Year]]'' was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]]. 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 1958, when he sang "[[Wild Is the Wind (song)|Wild Is the Wind]]" by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington from the movie of the [[Wild Is the Wind (1957 film)|same name]]. Mathis was also awarded the [[Society of Singers]] Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.singers.org/special-events/|title=Ella Award Special Events|date=February 12, 2011|access-date=May 10, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514064028/http://www.singers.org/special-events/|archive-date=May 14, 2015}}</ref> In 2007, he was inducted into the [[Hit Parade Hall of Fame]]. In 1988, 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 2011, Mathis received the Golden Plate Award of the [[American Academy of Achievement]] presented by Awards Council member General [[Colin Powell]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=
In 2017, 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 1956 to pursue his music career.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.johnnymathis.com/news.html |title=Johnny Mathis News & Information |date=May 25, 2017 |access-date=November 4, 2017 |archive-date=October 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020021928/http://www.johnnymathis.com/news.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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{{Main|Johnny Mathis discography}}
===Books===
* {{cite book |last1=Jasper |first1=Tony |title=Johnny Mathis: The authorised biography of Johnny Mathis |publisher=W. H. Allen UK |year=1984 |isbn=0-86379-011-9}}
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book | last=Mathis | first=Johnny |author2=Brash,
== References ==
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[[Category:1935 births]]
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[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]
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