Johnny Mathis Quotes

People are stubborn about what they perceive to be the right thing or the wrong thing, and it takes a long time to filter this human condition. There's a waiting period until people catch up. But if you have patience - which it takes when someone thinks differently from you - everybody always catches up. That patience is a wonderful virtue.

- Johnny Mathis

I decided right away that whomever was going to advise me had to be fundamentally interested in music. This protected me from the skullduggery common to the music industry then and that still exists today. Of course, using this method meant that some things we didn't know and just had to learn how to do it together.

- Johnny Mathis

I always have homemade chicken stock in the refrigerator. I'll reduce it, maybe add a little cream and a few shallots. Before you know it, eureka! It's the best.

- Johnny Mathis

When I was very young, it was all, 'Here's little Johnny,' and I got stuck with it, but I prefer John. There comes a time in a man's life when he shouldn't have a name ending in 'y'.

- Johnny Mathis

When I got a chance, I went back and shared those experiences that were important to me. George Washington High, the campus at San Francisco State, and even back to Emerson Elementary school and Roosevelt Junior High. I was happy to do it, to go back and see if all the same teachers were there.

- Johnny Mathis

I drank too much, only champagne.

- Johnny Mathis

Dad would come home from doing odd jobs, and sometimes he'd come home late at night with lumber, and he'd rumble around with all this wood in our small place. We'd finish putting it away, and then we'd play that piano. I'll be eternally grateful to him.

- Johnny Mathis

It's always nice to hear people say, 'You sound the same,' when I know I don't.

- Johnny Mathis

My aspirations were never anything other than I really, really admired certain singers over the years, and I just wanted to do the best I could. And that has been kind of like the way I've been fortunate enough to be able to have a career, have some success, and yet continue to learn my craft.

- Johnny Mathis

I've never been married, and I have no regrets about not starting my own family. I come from a large one, so there are so many people around all the time. I've been very happy, but I've never gotten married. That's about the size of it. I would have been a good father because I've been a father to my brothers' and sisters' children.

- Johnny Mathis

Every performer has a little gem, a little pearl they have done that nobody pays much attention to. And then one day, somebody does recognize it, which is so gratifying.

- Johnny Mathis

I invite a lot of my friends to some of the performances that I do locally, and some of them know that I'm involved with music, but they're not quite sure how. And so it's kind of fun to play golf with a lot of my friends and then invite them to hear me sing once in a while.

- Johnny Mathis

My claim to fame has always been that iconic picture that ended up in 'The San Francisco Chronicle' of Bill Russell jumping over my head.

- Johnny Mathis

Even though there's no forum for me on the radio for the kind of music I sing anymore, I am still excited about having a career where I can sing the best music in the world, and people will come and hear me because of the hit records I've had in the past.

- Johnny Mathis

I believe it was Nat King Cole that my dad took me to see, and we were sitting in the dressing room, and I blurted out to him, 'Why didn't you sing this?' Referring to whatever song I had wanted to hear, and he told me he was tired of singing it.

- Johnny Mathis

No, I don't regret my decision at all, especially after I started this music career. My eyes were as big as saucers.

- Johnny Mathis

I've found that the more friends I have, the luckier I am.

- Johnny Mathis

I also met, early on Ella Fitzgerald. Her songbooks are some of the most amazing bodies of work.

- Johnny Mathis

I've found that if I limit my talking, just everyday talking, a couple of days before I have to sing, my voice is stronger. That really is about the only precaution that I take: I try to rest it as much as possible and keep the nutritional value of my food up.

- Johnny Mathis

I had a good record company right from the beginning, and I'm still with them after all these years. I think I may be the only person in the world that's had a tenure this long with any record company.

- Johnny Mathis

All of a sudden, I was in charge of my own decisions in the studio, and I didn't have someone to guide me on what I was doing, right or wrong... I wasn't a producer, and I didn't realize until then how important producers were and how much they assisted me in my work. I tried to do what I could, but I had no idea what would be good for the market.

- Johnny Mathis

Every time I try to tell people things about my career, I wonder if that's the truth or something I'm fantasizing about.

- Johnny Mathis

Most of the people I hang out with who sing love it, and they just want to do it until they die. I still look forward to the performances. And believe it or not, they're all kind of different. Even though you sing the same songs, and maybe you go to the same venues, it just feels completely different every time you go on stage.

- Johnny Mathis

I had stage fright for years and years, and I could hear it in my singing. But since I've done it so often for so many years, you'd think that I'd relax a little bit, and I think that I have.

- Johnny Mathis

Most of our physical education teachers were just teachers, and they had to do the extra stuff on their own. I remember very vividly that they would hold a cane pole between two of the students down low, and we would all jump over it. And they would raise it and raise it and raise it.

- Johnny Mathis

I've recorded in Portuguese, too. I didn't set out to just sing ballads or romantic songs.

- Johnny Mathis

I got an invitation to go to the Olympic trials. And in the same week, I got a telegram from a... big executive at Columbia Records.

- Johnny Mathis

That's a big important deal, the way people see you from the stage. Once in a while, I'd ask people, 'How did you enjoy the show?' 'Hey, you looked great.' But how did I sound? That visual look is very important to people.

- Johnny Mathis

I love Puccini and that oriental influence in his music.

- Johnny Mathis

The fact that I'm not a good musician - I throw it around, tell people that - it doesn't matter that much. It only matters to me, because I idolized good musicians. I absolutely worshiped them.

- Johnny Mathis

I think there are a lot of people who really want to be famous, they really do. I don't. It sort of gets in the way of the everyday things that I do.

- Johnny Mathis

I used to stay up all night, roam around, drink, and carry on like everybody else. That all changed when I got older, started to exercise and play golf. I knew by the time the day was over I would not feel like exercising, so I made it a point to exercise early.

- Johnny Mathis

I go to the gym rather early with a workout pal. I get there at 7, or a little before, and do weights and a little cardio for an hour, five days a week.

- Johnny Mathis

When I go out shopping and pass a bookstore, I always grab a couple of cookbooks, so I have a library of them. I end up keeping many that I got years and years ago because they work so well.

- Johnny Mathis

I have one room off my kitchen filled with nothing but cookbooks and recipes that are sent to me from around the world. Every two years, I have to go through them and pick out ones to send to the local schools. There's a need for books, especially cookbooks.

- Johnny Mathis

As long as those things are on vinyl or tape or what have you, the record companies are going to release them someday.

- Johnny Mathis

I was always a little bit afraid because I found out at a very early age that once you make a record, all the mistakes and all the good things are there for eternity.

- Johnny Mathis

When I do an album I try to find a producer that's excited about something that they want me to sing, and I check with the record company to find out what they think they can sell - which is their No. 1 priority.

- Johnny Mathis

When I was 12 and started to take singing lessons from a woman, she told me that I would probably spend the rest of my life taking care of my voice.

- Johnny Mathis

I was really active athletically, definitely. I was a hurdler, a sprinter. I played basketball for years. I was a serious athlete.

- Johnny Mathis

I'm just one of the lucky people. I have no other reason for my longevity.

- Johnny Mathis

At this stage, most of the awards I get are concerned with my longevity. Even I'm amazed at myself because there have been new generations since I've been born and new music that they create, so it's amazing to still be on the radar.

- Johnny Mathis

First, I try to take everything away that doesn't matter to singing. It sounds simplistic, but it works. There is absolute focus on singing: producing sounds and emotions that I have always enjoyed. This is key.

- Johnny Mathis

Homosexuality is a way of life that I've grown accustomed to.

- Johnny Mathis

I'm still going strong. I have been very blessed and still am. I love singing. Obviously, at my age, I don't tour with as many dates throughout the year as I did in the past. But I do this to honor my father who was also a singer. I still miss him and his encouragement.

- Johnny Mathis

I'm always thinking about songs and how I can sing a song that would resonate with my voice, my persona. I want it to be a pleasant experience that's not just about hearing my voice. I remember some singers whose voices were so pretty, it didn't matter what they sang - you loved it.

- Johnny Mathis

For me, hearing my voice is sometimes a little nauseating, especially at Christmas.

- Johnny Mathis

I have to remember that no matter how often I perform, there are certain songs that the audience truly wants to hear, and even though I've sung it 100,000 times, it may be their first time hearing them.

- Johnny Mathis

I always felt like what I was doing wasn't selling toys; I was making a happy sound at Christmas. When people hear something so familiar, it brings them back to a special place, and that's been meaningful for me.

- Johnny Mathis

I think it's important to cultivate as many people as you can to see which ones you jive with. And it makes you happy. If one dies, you have another one. So living is a process that you have to do by yourself, and if you can learn a few little goodies along the way that might make it easier for you, so much the better.

- Johnny Mathis

There was a time when I was in the South, singing, and someone came to me before the show and said, 'There's been a threat on your life. Someone had phoned in and said they were going to shoot you if you go on stage.' I was singing 'Chances Are,' and I kept moving so they wouldn't have a shot at me.

- Johnny Mathis

I would say three-quarters of what I do depends on the sincerity of it. You can croak, but if you croak good, they'll still listen.

- Johnny Mathis

In other words, the celebrity gets out of hand, and if you're not careful, you will forget what you are about - and that is you are about making music that people want to hear.

- Johnny Mathis

Mitch Miller knew exactly what he wanted me to sing. He didn't want me to improvise at all.

- Johnny Mathis

When you say, 'I'm going to sing it once, and everyone is going to hear it forever,' that's kind of frightening.

- Johnny Mathis

The one who really captured me and became my absolute favorite was Nat King Cole. He was a genius at what he did. Most people don't realize what a great pianist he was. After listening to him for years, I finally met him, and he was the nicest human being.

- Johnny Mathis

I was a mediocre basketball player. But I was there, and I could remember the plays. And my basketball coach, after he retired from teaching, would come to my performances all the time. And I was very happy about that, because I was not memorable as a basketball player.

- Johnny Mathis

I've been very happy to see some of the success that I've had along the way in opening the eyes of people, especially people who listen to music.

- Johnny Mathis

I've had relationships with people from all over the world, but there has never been enough time in a day for me to have anything other than just close relationships. I've never been one to give myself over to anybody. I don't know what is wrong with me, but it never happened.

- Johnny Mathis

I've paid the price over the years, though: a lot of injuries and surgeries related to my sports career; my hips and knees took a lot of wear and tear.

- Johnny Mathis

I've lost a few notes on the top. But I've gained a little insight about what makes people comfortable when they're listening or watching a performance of mine. It usually has to do with singing something that isn't vocally too strenuous.

- Johnny Mathis

I have no way of knowing why my career has lasted so long other than the fact that people like the sound of my voice. Fortunately, I've been able to maintain it.

- Johnny Mathis

I've had several unavoidable problems because of my athletic career.

- Johnny Mathis

Tony Bennett and me are all the same... and he's still singing. I don't know what else to do.

- Johnny Mathis

My parents were over the moon when I had some success with Christmas songs because that was the time of the year that meant so much to them. They were able to see their loved ones, and it was great to hear their son's voice on the radio while they visited.

- Johnny Mathis

There are situations when, in your singing, in your interpretation of songs, for instance, when you want a straight tone. And I have to work really hard at getting a straight tone... That's sort of like if you have curly hair, you have curly hair.

- Johnny Mathis

The voice muscle doesn't last forever. I have a lot of friends who are classical and opera singers. My friend Beverly Sills stopped singing in her 50s, so I'm careful with mine. But I'll keep going as long as it lets me.

- Johnny Mathis

My favorite singer to this day is Nat King Cole. I've tried to emulate his phrasing. It is so absolutely beautiful to listen to his lovely voice.

- Johnny Mathis

It's very much like opera singers. They do the same thing. The first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, the thing they think about is their voice and how to take care of it.

- Johnny Mathis

Sure, I've thought about retiring, but in my mind, if you can't sing the song anymore, change the song and sing a different one!

- Johnny Mathis

When I was 13, I used to go to a jazz club. The owner of the club became my first business manager. She was very gutsy and had a lot of friends, one of whom happened to be the head of jazz at Columbia at the time. That's how it all began.

- Johnny Mathis

My mom and dad always tried to make Christmas special for us. We were poor, but it's funny because we had no idea.

- Johnny Mathis

I met a guy on the golf course who was a kinesiologist - after I looked up the word, I found out it meant exercise. I started working with him, and that was many years ago.

- Johnny Mathis

Pavarotti's is the best male voice, and Joan Sutherland had a big voice but also acquired great coloratura notes.

- Johnny Mathis

Over the years, I was lucky; right from the beginning, I studied with a lady who had a lot of... she was a classical singer, and of course, they're a little bit more into, you know, preserving the voice, making sure your instrument is ready to perform.

- Johnny Mathis

The world changes. The world is completely different now from when I was growing up. Back then, you didn't say things like they say now, out loud, about race and things. But that's just progress. When are we going to find out that we're all the same - we're all absolutely, without a doubt, the same?

- Johnny Mathis

Years ago, I went to Brazil and fell in love with it. I really like the music, samba, bossa nova, the language and the people.

- Johnny Mathis

I started off as a kid singing with my dad. My dad was my best pal. But he had seven kids, and I was the only one who was kind of interested in what he was playing and singing at the piano. And he was not only my dad, but he was my best pal, and I was interested in doing whatever he wanted to.

- Johnny Mathis

I was very fortunate to have a wonderful woman as my voice coach when I started singing professionally. I was only 19, so now it's been 60 years!

- Johnny Mathis

When you do interviews, you have to talk about yourself - and I like to find out about other people. I am so familiar with everything that I do. I've said it over and over again. I think it is boring.

- Johnny Mathis

I have no memories of my childhood in Texas. When I was about four, we moved to San Francisco. I was in the middle of seven brothers and sisters: three girls and four boys. Most of my older brothers and sisters got the blame for everything, and the little ones had a free ride. We loved each other but fought like cats and dogs.

- Johnny Mathis

The light dims a little bit as you get older and new generations come along. But it's around the holidays when I am remembered the most. It is very special, and I get a kick out of it now as much as I did when I first started.

- Johnny Mathis

Some of the stuff, I absolutely don't remember recording it, it's been so long. But I do like to try to throw in something a little different for the audience once in a while. Because a lot of these people who come to see have come back many, many times.

- Johnny Mathis

I love the whole aspect of music, especially the singing; I never get tired of finding new songs to sing and sing them in a way that's interesting for the public.

- Johnny Mathis

Each person's voice is very different, so you need to find what works for you. Make sure you keep to your routine.

- Johnny Mathis

I don't think about the future. It sort of will take care of itself; there's not really much that I can do other than fundamental things like taking care of my voice, keeping to my exercise routine, and getting some rest.

- Johnny Mathis

The thing that means most to me is the joy that my mom and my dad got because of my career... They raised seven children on domestic wages, in a city like San Francisco, and did nothing but work, work, work.

- Johnny Mathis

I think most people don't understand: I have nothing to do with that. I just open my mouth, and it comes out that way.

- Johnny Mathis

As a child, all I knew was that people kept asking me to sing, and because I liked to please, I would sing. It wasn't until my dad told me that my singing made him happy that I began to think my voice might be good.

- Johnny Mathis

Mancini was a big part of my life. I sang a lot of his music, and he became a good buddy.

- Johnny Mathis

I'd rather starve than not have what I really want to eat. I'm good at preparation.

- Johnny Mathis

It's the most personal thing that I do is sing. Because I can't tell a lie. I want them to know exactly what I'm feeling.

- Johnny Mathis

I thought I sounded a little like Eartha Kitt for a long time, and I didn't like it.

- Johnny Mathis

You know the secret to dunking a ball? Big hands. You've got to be able to palm it, and I couldn't.

- Johnny Mathis

It's a joy to listen to someone at the top of their craft.

- Johnny Mathis

I cannot tell you how lucky I am: the songs that I sing, I like!

- Johnny Mathis

There are not so many songs written about love today like there were in the past. It's all changed, but that's why my songs still last as big favorites today.

- Johnny Mathis

Christmas is never going to go away, and it's always going to be there. And there's always room for one more Christmas song, I think.

- Johnny Mathis

My mom loved my Christmas music, so I did an awful lot of it!

- Johnny Mathis

But I am very grateful for my success, and with success, of course, comes a whole lot of celebrity.

- Johnny Mathis

Nat was my hero right from the very beginning. My dad brought his music into the house and played it over and over again.

- Johnny Mathis

Sometimes being famous gets in the way of doing what you want to do.

- Johnny Mathis

Along the way, everyone's been saying, 'Make sure you take care of your voice because you're going to want to do it the rest of your life.' And it's absolutely true.

- Johnny Mathis