Johnny Mathis Interview (page: 3 / 7) Grammy Hall of Fame	Print Interview

What was your mom doing when your dad was encouraging you to sing? Did she want you to do something else?

Johnny Mathis: No, Mom was right there all the time, but she was always five or six steps in the background. She loved -- not to participate -- but to be someone who enjoyed watching. She was not musical, so she was a little bit fascinated by it all.

She must have been quite encouraging in her way.

Johnny Mathis: She was there at all times. The greatest thing I think that I learned from her -- besides the obvious things, her humility, her generosity -- is I learned to cook all my own food at an early age, and I cooked all my life.

Are you still cooking?

Johnny Mathis: Oh yes.

What are you favorite things to cook?

Johnny Mathis: Whatever someone else doesn't cook better! I'm not above going to a restaurant that really knows what they're doing, but I've cooked all my life.

You're a man of many talents.

Johnny Mathis: Men make really good chefs, I think.

Was there a particular song or book that inspired you as a young person?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Johnny Mathis: I think the thing that motivated me most musically -- and that's about all I can think of, because my life has been all about music -- the rest of the things I've sort of learned along the way. For instance, how to take care of my body physically, so that I'll be able to sing when I'm required to. That I learned at an early age, because of my athletics in college and high school. So I learned to exercise regularly so that I could be strong physically to support the tones. I was fascinated from a very early age by opera singers. They were the ones that I listened to, and that my teacher Connie Cox played for me ad nauseam. She felt that if I could learn from them the technique of producing the tones properly -- not just producing them, but producing them so that I wouldn't do harm to my vocal cords -- that was the thing that was important to her. And that was the thing that has stood me in good stead all these years.

[ Key to Success ] Preparation

You've obviously kept your vocal cords in great shape.

Johnny Mathis: I've had a few little minor irritations with my vocal cords, but nothing serious.

Could you tell us about the athletic events you participated in? We know you were a high jumper.

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Johnny Mathis: I was a high jumper and a hurdler on the track team. I also played basketball for the 130-pound team at Washington High School. I had wonderful coaches who understood that my first love was music but I would try to do as best I could in basketball. And I did pretty good. I won several letters that I still have which are very, very dear to me. I was a little bit more athletically inclined as a high jumper, so much so that I got a chance to go to the Olympic trials as a high jumper, which at the time was being held at Berkeley, the University of California.

Did you go?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Johnny Mathis: No. During the same week that I was to go, I got an opportunity to go to New York and make my first recording. I was 19 years old and I wanted to go and join my buddies in high jumping and trying out for the Olympic team. But I took one look at my dad and he just smiled, knowing what we were going to do, and that was to go to New York and make my first recording.

Do you feel that was your decision or did he make it for you?

Get the Flash Player to see this video. Johnny Mathis: Dad was the greatest guy in the world. He would never push. He always offered and made things available for you and opened the door for me. If I wanted to go through, fine. If not, he was prepared too, because there were many opportunities before I made my first recording to leave San Francisco with different jazz bands. Even Louis Armstrong once wanted me to go sing with him on the road. But my father looked at me and said, "I don't think so. I think you should go back to school." But that was about the only time that he put his foot down. But he felt that if I went to New York and made a recording and nothing really happened, I could still go back and do my schooling.

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