“Christmas is very special for me. There were seven of us growing up and my mom and dad always made it such a wonderful, magical time.”
– Johnny Mathis
Celebrating 68 years in the music industry, legendary holiday icon Johnny Mathis returns to the Mayo Performing Arts Center to sing his greatest Holiday hits, romantic ballads, and personal favorites. Performing in an incredible variety of styles and categories, his sublime vocal approach to music eclipses passing fads and trends — from music composed for stage & screen to golden era jazz standards, contemporary pop hits in multiple languages to memorable Christmas classics, all of which has assured Johnny’s reputation as one of the most enduring vocalists in music history.
“Best-known for his supremely popular songs “Chances Are,” “It’s Not For Me To Say,” “Misty”, “and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” the GRAMMY Nominated artist has recorded 80 original albums, sold millions of records worldwide, earning multiple industry awards, including his recent critically acclaimed 7th holiday album ” Christmas Time Is Here” all of which have made Johnny the undisputed “Voice of Christmas.”
So come for a Sleigh Ride, and hear why it’s just not Christmas without Johnny Mathis!
JOHNNY MATHIS
The fourth of seven children, John Royce Mathis was born on September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas to Clem & Mildred Mathis. As a young 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. “Those are the memories I have when I sing these Christmas songs,” Johnny says, “And then to get lucky and fortunate enough to have (the songs) become staples every year for the listening public – it’s just everything that I ever dreamed of, because it brings back their memory to me every time I hear them.”
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 & 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. He was also a successful track & field athlete, and was offered a chance to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials in Melbourne, Australia.
In the same week Columbia Records called, so he chose to go to New York to record his first professional album, which was released on July 16, 1956.
Best-known for his supremely popular hits like “Chances Are,” “Misty,” “Wonderful, Wonderful,” and “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas,” Johnny has recorded close to 80 albums, 6 Christmas albums, and has sold millions of records worldwide. During his extensive 6+ decade career he has had 3 songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, achieved 50 Hits on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart, and ranks as the all-time #6 album artist in the entire history of Billboard’s Pop Album Charts. He has received 5 GRAMMY Nominations, and the 2003 GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2011 he received the Gold Medal of the Academy of Achievement in Washington, D.C. In 2014 he was inducted into the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame. And in 2017 he was given the Lifetime Achievement award by the mayor of Los Angeles, and received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from his Alma Mater San Francisco State University.
In addition to all this Johnny & his music have appeared in numerous films & TV shows, including The Tonight Show, Family Ties, Criminal Minds, Mad Men, The Muppet Show, Silver Linings Playbook, Gremlins, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, just to name a few. In 2017 he released his 78th studio album titled “Johnny Mathis Sings The Great New American Songbook”, and debuted his 2 “lost” albums – “I Love My Lady” produced & written by Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards of the pivotal group CHIC; “The Island” with Sergio Mendes. To this day he still tours & records new musical collaborations with other artists and solo projects. Johnny also continues to be Columbia Records longest signed recording artist, and recognizable to fans of all ages as The Voice Of Christmas!
In spite of a very busy tour schedule & many charity events, Johnny still finds time to enjoy a little free time. He was an avid tennis player until the late 1960s, when a good friend turned him on to his now life-long love of golf. He plays golf almost every day when he’s not traveling, and has even hosted his own golf tournament, The Johnny Mathis Seniors PGA Classic. He is also quite the gourmet chef thanks to his parents, who taught him how to cook at an early age.
2024 marks his 68th anniversary as a recording artist, so what’s next for Johnny? “I don’t think about retiring. I think about how I can keep singing for the rest of my life. I just have to pace myself.”
