Johnny Mathis

Never appreciated how his music makes my mom act.She hears his records and gets all giddy. Its creepy,Johnny thinks he is America's Don Ho

"Chances Are" has to be one of the most romantic songs ever. The finale - when his voice goes to a higher pitch - is so beautiful.

Please. Johnny Mathis and Don Ho don't belong in the same sentence.

Johnny Mathis is one of the all-time greats. He's magnificent and was openly gay long before anyone else of comparable stature in the entertainment industry.

Don Ho was Hawaiian, and Hawaii is part of the United States, so Don Ho was the American Don Ho.

This still wrecks me every time I see it. It was the first time I'd heard that song since I was a kid.

Until the 12th of Never

And that’s a long, long time.

Wonderful singer

Johnny is very homosensual

"Wonderful, wonderful" is a pop masterpiece.

"It's Not for Me to Say" is lovely.

Great singer. His xmas songs are a must every year.

👨🏽‍🎨

to the poster above, he was NEVER openly gay, not even today. Also a big ol' Republican - so fuck him

He doesn't have to be openly gay or live his life the way you want him to. He's an 83 year old man.

He absolutely is openly gay, R13. You don't know what you're talking about. He was recently profiled in the Washington Post, and he talked at length about being gay.

His Open Fire, Two Guitars album is gorgeous music.

I used to live in San Francisco and a friend and I used to drive up to Harrah's in Lake Tahoe to see him perform live. A great entertainer.

It's to be expected, but the last time I saw him, probably 10 years ago, his voice wan't what it used to be. Still beautiful, but the high notes just weren't there.

Watch him hold the last note in 'Pieces of Dreams' on the Tonight Show in the 1970s. In my opinion, this was his peak decade, both in hotness and vocal perfection

Oh Johnny is gay. .....I can't wait to burst some love bubbles with that ......

One of the all-time greats...but he could lay on the cheese at times, as he does at R17.

I used to see him the Gelson's in West Hollywood in the 90s, wearing his tight white jeans and looking HOT. My boyfriend and I were arguing about something and he gave us the cutest smile.

I'm from England, and my mother rarely got to do something fun for herself but I remember when she hot to go and see Johnny Mathis. She was absolutely thrilled.

We lost her last year so thanks for making me remember that, it made me smile. He really has a beautiful voice.

Beautiful Christmas song.

He did a disco version of Begin the Beguine. How could anyone think he was straight after that?

Oh, R17, that made me melt. Ridiculous, but I’m sitting here in tears.

r21 My mother saw Mathis whenever he performed in our Midwestern town. She'd go with her sister. Oddly enough, she never listened to him otherwise; she didn't buy his albums or even listened to the radio stations that would play his music -- she was strictly Smooth Jazz. She would always rave about how wonderful his voice was though. We lost mom two years ago and aunt Audre several months after that.

He brought both of them a great deal of happiness

Mathis came out in the early 80's.

Why he isn't celebrated more in the gay community and considered a pioneer is baffling.

My uncle (in NYC) told us even back in the early 80s that JM didn't really hide that he was gay in public, he would be out and about with his young gay guys when he was in NY.

My mother couldn't have cared less, she loved her Johnny.

He spoke about his coming out a few years ago.

I have mixed feelings about his music because my father was cheating on my mother with a bleached blonde who wore a fur coat and I found out when he asked me if I would be happy with a new mommy. Ugh. Apparently Johnny Mathis was her favorite singer and my father played his records at home because of her. I liked his voice but Chances Are reminded me of the home-wrecker. When I pitched a fit and told my father that I already had a mother and didn't want a "new one" and didn't like the bleached blonde he broke it off with her. It changed the way I viewed my father for the rest of my life. Not that Johnny had anything to do with it but certain music always brings up memories for me and this one was not pleasant.

Saw Johnny in concert with a full orchestra last year, and while of course his voice isn't what it was, it was still pretty fucking great. His placement and breath control are amazing. He did a 90-minute set and his leaning on the back of a chair or the mic stand every now and then was a sign of age much more than any vocal deterioration. His high notes in Misty were perfection.

Amazing to think how many straight couples made out to this gay guy's recordings in the back seat, living room, bedroom or elsewhere. Still hoping that his nude Playgirl photos are taken out of the safe at some point for us to see. He's acknowledged posing for them.

R30 That's so nice to hear.

This was a few weeks ago. Pretty good for 83 . . . . . . . . .

Pretty amazing.

At this stage he'd be best in venues like the Cafe Carlyle. Something small intimate.

He's amazing. Growing up, my Dad had some 'greatest hits' albums of the 40s and 50s, and we listened to them as we played pool in the basement. Even back then, I found his voice mesmerizing. It was only later that I found out how very handsome he was. He's Barbra's favorite singer, and Johnny Carson always said he was the best balladeer ever. Awful Frank Sinatra nicknamed him 'The African Queen'. I will be broken-hearted when he finally dies.

I think lots of folks in show biz, especially other male singers and comedians who played Vegas, were scared of Sinatra and his cronies. It was almost obligatory for when someone like Carson asked a new singer who their favorite singer was they'd maybe list someone and almost have to say, "and of course Frank Sinatra". I think Sinatra might have blackballed some singers like Andy Russell, Matt Munro among others.

R17, thank you for posting that. It was superb.

I remember how, in the 1980s, he talked openly about a relationship he had with a male saxophone player. He wasn't loud about it, but he was definitely out. And it was suspected long before that. Anyone who wants a real thrill should listen to Johnny Mathis and Jane Oliver sing "The Last Time I Felt Like This." A duet of two of our greatest singers.

Jane Olivor, not Oliver. Damned autocorrect.

I'm listening to his original Christmas album even as I type.

R35 I am no fan of Sinatra as a person. But Sinatra and his friends all derogatory nicknames for each other.

^ Do you really think Mathis was a Sinatra friend?

R42. No I don't the point that you missed. Is that he even referred to his friends in a derogatory way when it came to nick names.

My mother loved him. I made fun of her. I'm an asshole. She was right.

[QUOTE]^ Do you really think Mathis was a Sinatra friend?

What the poster inferred is that Sinatra might have still had plenty of respect for Mathis and didn’t mean it derogatorily.

[R44]

Me too,on both accounts.He was so chessy to me .....then

Now,since iam older i do appreciate his vocal stylings.The Christmas album is a family staple

The Last Time I Felt Like This - Johnny Mathis & Jane Oliver - Oscars 1979

R38. Thanks for your post. I have always been transfixed and mesmerized by Johnny Mathis and Jane Olivor, two of the greatest ever.

"The Last Time I Felt Like This" from Same Time, Next Year – Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman was nominated for the Academy Award but lost to "Last Dance" from the movie, Thank God It's Friday, music and lyrics by Paul Jabara, sung by Donna Summer.

He was the first African American heart-throb.

I shook his hand when he was on Atlantic City's boardwalk years ago.These revelations hurt ,i thought ....at that meeting.I could be Mrs.Johnny Mathis. Thanks for bursting my bubble. He smelled so nice.An was posing with fans. I still love him

He does a beautiful job on the opening credits on DL fave flick THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.

Also perfect on A CERTAIN SMILE.

used to see him every year when he would play Carnegie Hall. Two hours of him in a double breasted tux standing perfectly still and giving one of the most mesmerizing performances every time. And he was very handsome ( this was in the 90's)...yes I am an eldergay.

I saw Johnny Mathis is concert. Unforgettable. Class and talent to the utmost.

Nice to see an entire DL thread without any bitterness and negativity towards a performer!

It's a MIRACLE! Also quite *shocking*!!!!

I'm a lesbian who grew up in a strict evangelical home. My mother adored Johnny Mathis's voice, and to this day I could still sing (terribly) the entire "Merry Christmas" album from start to finish, if called upon.

She used to whisper to me that he was "as queer as a three-dollar bill" and "light in the loafers." So Johnny's gayness was no secret, even among the most sheltered homophobes. By the time I was 13 or so, I knew that I was gay, too ― my church and family took the news as badly as you might imagine, but that's a story for another thread ― and I began to love him for a new reason: I knew he was like me, yet he seemed unafraid of himself.

AND he was an Olympic-level track star!

That Old Black Magic- Johnny Mathis

gives me chills

Fuck off, R13.

JOHNNY MATHIS - BEGIN THE BEGUINE

He's friggin gorgeous.

And yet the Kennedy Center continues not to honor Johnny Mathis and Liza Minnelli. An utter disgrace to ignore these two national treasures.

Johnny Mathis Appreciation Society

Regarding the Kennedy Center:

Now, before anyone gets the idea that I don't think John deserves a Kennedy Center Honor, let me just say this: I very much believe that he does. No one can sing a love song like John. No one has captured the hearts and imaginations of lovers and would-be lovers like John.

The one element the board of the Kennedy Center insists on is excellence, and certainly they have no quibble with the quality of John's work because that can't be any more outstanding. John's intonation is perfect; his breath control is breathtaking; and, at eighty-two, only one of his songs, his signature song, "Misty," has had to be transposed to a slightly lower key. Without a doubt, Johnny Mathis has perfected his art. So, where's the problem? And where's John's Kennedy Center Honor? It's a little hard to say, but I think I know the answer.

The problem lies in innovation. Despite John's instantly recognizable voice, and despite the fact that Tony Bennett has been honored, the board of the Kennedy Center does not consider John innovative. He does not write his own songs. He sings, for the most part, songs that others have sung. Yes, he makes them his own, but I'm not sure the board recognizes or appreciates that. :-( Look at one of this year's honorees, Cher. Could anyone else be Cher but Cher? No! She has been honored, primarily, for achieving megastar success in pop when pop was male-dominated. One of last year's honorees, LL Cool J, practically invented hip-hop. Gloria Estefan made the "Cuban-Miami" sound mainstream. Merle Haggard created the "Bakersfield" sound. My beloved godmother, Ella Fitzgerald, invented scat singing, and she was certainly its queen. Johnny Mathis has, long ago, mastered excellence and perfection, but I guess the board does not consider that enough. Sure, it breaks my heart, too, but what's a girl to do? I write the board every year, and every year, the board doesn't seem to put much stock in my letters.

The board of the Kennedy Center is wrong. Simply wrong. To the board: Make this right!

I always thought he was so gorgeous. He had to choose between and the Olympics trials, since he was a gifted athlete.

Tony Bennett writes his own songs?

R62. Thank you for pointing that out. Oh, the irony.

He was hot when he was younger, but that recent clip is scary.

He is a good golfer and has made NINE holes in one.

[quote]He was hot when he was younger, but that recent clip is scary.

I wonder what you'll look like at 83...

My mother adores Johnny Mathis as well. He was her first big crush at 12 years old. Knew that he was gay by the time she was an older teen and couldn't have cared less. I couple of years ago I took her to see him, having never had the opportunity before. This was about three years ago, so he was 80 or so then. His voice was AMAZING. I never heard him live before so I can't say that the quality of his voice declined for sure, but to me, his voice was perfect. An amazing performer. My mother and I were both swooning. And yes, I was a guy swooning with his mother over an 80 year old man!

I am downright touched by Datalounge's unconditional love and support for Johnny Mathis this weekend, and it's not often you (us?) bitches make me feel that way. Carry on!

He will always be an amazing talent! Even his first Christmas album was fantastic and my family used to play it as we decorated the tree. Such fond memories.

My grandmother loved him. He's someone who's had a long career in show business and never really was recognized for the huge talent that he was... he was a black man in the 1950s who was able to sing beautifully to audiences of gushing young white women at a time when he wasn't allowed to drink at the same water fountain as they were... and he was gay. 'Nuf said. So underrated

Thanks for the good Mathis memories guys

His voice is beautiful

Johnny Mathis: gracious, humble, polite and a gentleman. And overwhelmingly talented. You can't say that about many of the performers today.

Johnny appears in the film Lizzie, singing Warm and Tender, and It's Not For Me To Say.

R50 - thanks for mentioning The Best of Everything. I cry if I mime singing along with him.

RELEASE THE NUDES!!!

Long may he reign!

I always said if I ever married our first dance would be to Johnny's All The Things You Are

Yeah, I know....Mary!!

His first greatest hits album, released in 1958, once held the record for the most weeks on the Billboard album charts (490 non-consecutive weeks.) In 1983, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" broke that record.

Listen to these two voices together.

In interviews Barbra mentions Mathis is her favorite singer.

He was hot in R61. I’d like to climb in that bed and tear that ass up.

It's just not Christmas without Johnny

[quote]And yet the Kennedy Center continues not to honor Johnny Mathis and Liza Minnelli.

I came here to say the same thing and you beat me to it.

R60, so how does Barbra get a Kennedy Award? She doesn't compose. How was she innovative?

I was extremely lucky to have befriended someone in high school who was two years older than me. He came from a very typical Italian American family. We bonded over our love for smoking pot. Then our passion for music. Because of him. I went from a little burn out who listened mostly to heavy rock music. To someone that became passionate about artist like Sinatra, Darin, Presley and Johnny Mathis among others. He wasn't a musician like me but he had more insight and appreciation into the songwriting and arrangements than most of my musician friends.

The album that I play the most of JM is Killing Her Softly which he released in 1973. The arrangements of these well known songs are amazing and JM is in top vocal form. It is out of print unfortunately. I bought the vinyl many years ago and put them onto a cd. I'm sure some of the songs are on you tube if interested.

Here is the track listing: Side one "Killing Me Softly with Her Song" (Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel) – 5:18 "Aubrey" (David Gates) – 3:37 "And I Love You So" (Don McLean) – 3:26 "Break Up to Make Up" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed, Kenneth Gamble) – 3:50 "Arianne" (Martin Charnin, Christian Roudey) – 3:29 Side two "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" (Jim Weatherly) – 4:26 "Wildflower" (Doug Edwards, David Richardson) – 4:21 "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (Stevie Wonder) – 2:41 "Sing" from Sesame Street (Joe Raposo) – 3:04 "Good Morning Heartache" (Ervin Drake, Dan Fisher, Irene Higginbotham) – 2:25 "Show and Tell" (Jerry Fuller) – 3:12

[quote]And yet the Kennedy Center continues not to honor Johnny Mathis and Liza Minnelli.

For what it's worth, there was a blind gossip item claiming that Liza was on the list to be honored this year but isn't well enough to travel to D.C. (Attendance at the event is required.)

^^That it, it was a blind item but was clearly referring to Liza.

r83 My second Oscar says otherwise.

One of my favorite Johnny songs, Priceless, from 1984 and written by the great Leon Ware. It has a real mid-80s Al Jarreau vibe:

Does anyone know if Johnny has a longtime partner? I'd like to believe he does especially at his age.

Oh, that's an interesting question! I second the call for gossip. He's talented, handsome, and wealthy, so I can't imagine he's single...

I’d rather not know about the possibly sordid details of his private life. Might ruin my perception of him.

Love him, as a kid I thought he was beautiful

Johnny and Liza should have been honored years ago...and not made them wait until he's in his 80s and they still didn't give it to him! Liza knocked herself out on stage entertaining for years--and winning an Oscar and selling out concerts all over the world. And the Kennedy Center waited until now when it's difficult for her to travel? The KC board members ought to be ashamed of themselves.

R83. There is no specific criteria for the honor. The "innovative" reason was simply speculation on the blog writer's part. The KC board just throws a bunch of names out and votes. Yes, they have to be a great talent and made a name. Both Johnny and Liza have done that. The KC board has honored many, many singers throughout the years, most of whom don't write their own songs. Even Barbra doesn't write her own songs. Yes, she did write Evergreen, which is arguably one of her most lackluster songs. But nearly everything else she sings has been written by actual song writers. But her voice, her time on Broadway, winning a Oscar, multiple Grammys, becoming a movie director all qualify her for being innovative.

I was looking at pictures from last night where this year's recipients received their medals.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is blazingly talented & certainly worthy but he's also very young.

I'd have given it to Mathis & allow Miranda to get it another year.

[quote] The problem lies in innovation.

What did Mary Martin do that's so fucking innovative?

[R90]

He was when i met him in NY in the late 90s. An yes,his underwear is packed with goodies front and back.

-my encounter with Johnny Mathis

His Xmas music sucks!

He was on Home & Family last week and he looks to be near death. But he still sounds fabulous with minimal vocal deterioration for a singer his age. He sounds better than Tony Bennett.

How old?

My favorite is "99 Miles From LA"

R98, Mathis is 83, Bennett is 92. A lot can happen (or not happen) in 10 years.

Mathis is just 5'6" tall.

Is it true that Johnny only likes vanilla?

R105 Forget the five feet, I'll take his six inches

^ gerontophile

[R103]

Yup......

Did anyone purchase the Voice of Romance 68-CD box set that came out last year? It looks gorgeous! But it's quite expensive.

BTW, his unreleased CHIC-produced album is coming out next year (although most of the songs have leaked).

Guys, please help us n getting Johnny a nomination to the Kennedy Center Honors. I think we all agree on how wonderful he is. He's a gay, black artist who had a successful career starting back in the 50s. My ex is gay (obv) and black, and it wasn't an easy ride. He's been loved by generation after generation, and I can't imagine anyone being bothered to learn he's gay.

This always sends chills down my spine, so mich passion!

My fave Xmas song of his

Still hoping that his Playgirl nudes would surface. The photographer, Pat Dallas, marveled that his cawk was unique and one she'd never seen before. Now won't that make you even more curious.. I hardly look at guys crotches but I can't help it with Johnny, it's just so eye-catching. He just bulges through those tight pants he likes so much.

I told my mother that I wished to retract my teasing about her crush on him and she said, "You never listen." Asked if she knew he was gay and she said of course.

[R111]He is uncut and kinda crooked....so

So Johnny is another snow queen, huh? Fuck em.

My mother had a few of his albums back in the 70s. My fav is Chances Are. His voice brings me back to that era.

Crazy (Oprah2010 11 22)

His original recording of "Chances Are" is from 1957.

I wonder what people made of it in '57. How could he be classified?

He wasn't the traditional crooner like Dean Martin, Vic Damone, Julius La Rosa. Mathis wasn't trying to imitate Sinatra or Nat King Cole.

I guess becuae of his youthful sound the closest in that era would be Pat Boone. Or maybe Tony Williams of the Platters. But he really was in a class all by himself.

And note how his singing style really didn't change over the years.

Beautiful

omg one of the all time great voices....

there were the beatles…..and johnny

LOVE U BABY

Thanks for posting way back at r17. That was exquisite and I will return to playing it over and over.

Count me as another with a mom who adored him. She’s been gone 21 years as of today and having watched all of the clips posted here, now I get it. What an elegant man.

Great album with Deniece Williams...

its said juicy thick young cumwads lubricate the vocal chords before a concert.....

I think he's one of the handsomest men who has ever lived. His voice soothes me. I would do just about anything for him. I felt ashamed last year for Googling for shirtless photos of him, but I was so very happy to have found a few. Please, please, please, let's get him a Kennedy Center Honor. It doesn't cost anything to nominate him.

I, personally, do not like him at all.

Why?

i don't like his cuddle-fuck voice, that's why.

[quote]I, personally, do not like him at all.

So why are you here? Why would you not only read but post about someone you don't like? What's wrong with you?

Best scene...

[quote]vocal chords

Oh, dear.

I like him so much I even like the movie CHANCES ARE.

He's not considered an R&B singer, is he? Just a really good crooner who doesn't really sound black or white? Must've helped his career in the pre civil rights era.

And there he is, on screen, lovely and fragrant, singing at the piano in the dive bar when Lizzie (DL Fave Eleanor Parker) sashays in, all slutty and vampy. By day, Elizabeth is a mousy museum assistant, but then Lizzie takes over at night and goes on the prowl, to such "underworld" places where pretty gay black boys entertain lushes and bums!

My mom always listened to him when I was little, and it drove me crazy. Now that I am older, and she is not well, I can't even hear his beautiful voice without crying.