Here’s Johnny

Friday, Oct. 12, 2001 | 4:37 a.m.

Chances are you get misty when you listen to Johnny Mathis sing one of his wonderful, wonderful songs.

The 66-year-old romantic crooner has been tugging the heartstrings of audiences for more than 45 years, his instantly recognizable voice as rich and velvety as ever.

Mathis' first No. 1 hit was "Chances Are," in 1957, followed by other popular singles including "The Twelfth of Never," "Wild is the Wind," "Come to Me" and his signature tune, 1959's "Misty."

During a recent telephone interview with the Sun from his home in Los Angeles, Mathis discussed his career and his longtime association with Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Sun: How long have you been performing in Las Vegas?

Johnny Mathis: I was about 20 when I first started with the Sands. I did a month at a time, two shows a night and three or four on the weekend.

Sun: That would have been around 1955 -- about the time segregation was an issue here. Did you experience any of the racism other black entertainers experienced?

JM: No. Really, I was very lucky. I started at the Sands and (entertainment director) Jack Entratter was a very entertainer-friendly person. He and Lena Horne were close friends, and they were big fans of mine, as well as my friends. Sammy Davis and (Frank) Sinatra and all of them were performing there and they really had sort of civilized (Vegas) by the time I got there.

I stayed at a lovely little bungalow by the pool at the Sands. It was cool.

Sun: Where else have you performed in Vegas?

JM: I was at the Sands for years, then the Sahara, Riviera, Flamingo and the Dunes. Then for years I was at Caesars Palace. I've been performing at the Hilton for about 10 years now. We try to do three performances a year there.

Sun: You've been a performer almost all of your life. You actually started when you were 10 years old?

JM: Yes, with the Meryl Saunders Band. Meryl was a friend of mine and we went all over San Francisco. It was just stuff that kids do, we never dreamed we would ever do anything other than make a few bucks. I just saw Meryl recently. I sang with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and he brought his dad backstage to see me. His dad and mom had to listen to us when we had the band, because they were the only ones with a house big enough for all of us.

Sun: Your success seems to have come without a lot of effort.

JM: It didn't come easy. I started studying classical music when I was about 10. My dad enjoyed listening to me sing and he wanted to do something extra for me, so along the way we tried a lot of different teachers until we found a really good one in Connie Cox. I studied with her for seven years, strictly classical music, with no intention of me becoming a classical singer. She felt that if I could produce the tones properly then I could probably sing as long as I wanted to because I wouldn't have any voice trouble.

Sun: So you were destined to become a singer?

JM: That's really how it started. I studied very hard when I wasn't high-jumping and running the hurdles, which was what I did in high school and college. I got to the Olympic trials as a high jumper in 1954. A bad back led me to cut that off and then I turned to singing. Before I knew it George Avakian (of Columbia Records) invited me to New York to make my first album at the age of 19, and I hung around there for about a year with no money and all alone. I was really kind of ready to come home, and then one of my recordings we had done really took off, I think it was "Wonderful, Wonderful."

Sun: How did you get hooked up with Avakian?

JM: I actually was discovered by Helen Noga, who owned a jazz club in San Francisco called the Black Hawk. When I was 13 I started going to the Black Hawk on Sunday afternoons for jam sessions. Helen introduced me to jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Erroll Garner, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson -- all the people who played at her nightclub. Helen introduced me to George when I was 19.

Sun: You started out as a jazz singer?

JM: George signed me to my contract with Columbia Records in 1957. He wanted me to be the next great jazz singer. Of course I never was, but (Columbia) brought me to the attention of (conductor) Mitch Miller and (arrangers) Percy Faith and Glenn Osser, and that's where I sort of got a little direction as far as what I would be doing the rest of my life -- singing mostly romantic ballads.

Sun: You have maintained a busy schedule for 45 years. Have the recent terrorist attacks affected your travels?

JM: I've been traveling by myself since I was 20 years old, when I first went to Great Britain and Europe and the Far East. You sort of grow up a person of the world as opposed to this little space that we all sort of live in and feel very secure in. So I've always felt rather more comfortable than most people traveling so I haven't been too concerned about the things that happened recently, except it seems to be the most awful thing that could happen and I don't know where it's going to lead.

Sun: How have things impacted your show?

JM: I've done four shows since then. I've found that a lot of people in the audiences are crying, weeping whenever I sing something that reminds them of something or someone. I sing a lot of very romantic type songs and songs with messages and people weep. I think they like something that is comforting and warm and that is familiar.

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