Guest Artist Bio
Johnny Mathis
The fourth of seven children, John Royce Mathis was born on Sept. 30, 1935, to Clem and Mildred Mathis. As a small boy, he learned an appreciation of music from his father, who taught him his first song, “My Blue Heaven”.
In high school, Mathis 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. In 1954, while at San Francisco State College, Mathis 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.
In early 1956, Mathis was asked to attend the trials for the 1956 Olympic team. At the same time, after having been discovered by George Avakian, then head of Jazz A&R at Columbia Records, at Ann Dee’s 440 Club in San Francisco, Columbia Records requested that Mathis come to New York to start arrangements for his first recording session. Mathis gave up his chance to become a member of the U.S. Olympic Team and went to New York to record his first album in March 1956.
In the fall of 1956, Mathis recorded two singles that were to become among his greatest hits: “Wonderful, Wonderful” and “It’s Not for Me to Say.” Subsequently, MGM Studios signed Mathis to sing “It’s Not for Me to Say” in the film Lizzie. In 1958, Mathis made another motion picture appearance in A Certain Smile. These successes were followed by the monumental single “Chances Are,” which became Mathis’s first No. 1 hit.
In June 1957, Mathis appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, where he was introduced to the record buying public and became a national celebrity and household name. It was not uncommon for Mathis to have as many as four albums on the BILLBOARD Top Albums chart at the same time.
Mathis’s accomplishments are numerous and varied. He holds many records and has set many precedents in the music industry. In 1958, two years after being signed by Columbia Records, Johnny’s Greatest Hits was released. It went on to become one of the most popular albums of all time and spent an unprecedented 490 continuous weeks – almost 10 years – on the Billboard Top Albums Chart, a record noted in the Guinness Book of World Records.
In June 1972, he was awarded his own star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. Mathis has received three Grammy nominations. The first was for “Misty”in 1960 in the category of Best Male Vocal Performance – Single Record or Track. The second was in 1992 for “In a Sentimental Mood /Mathis Sings Ellington” in the category of Best Traditional Pop Performance. The most recent nomination was in 2006 for “Isn't it Romantic,” in the category of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
Mathis has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame two times: in 1998, for “Chances Are” and in 2002 for “Misty”. Most impressive of all is his 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Mathis marked his 50th anniversary as a recording artist in 2006.
In his free time, Mathis loves to golf and plays golf almost every day when he's not traveling. His other favorite avocation is cooking. Mathis is a gourmet who cooks for himself and often others when he's home or traveling. His mother taught him at an early age how to cook up a storm and do it well. He has enjoyed doing so all his life.