Editing Johnny Mathis (section)

==Career==
===Early years===
While singing at a Sunday afternoon jam session with a friend's jazz sextet at the [[Black Hawk (nightclub)|Black Hawk Club]] in San Francisco, Mathis attracted the attention of the club's co-founder, Helen Noga. She became his music manager and found Mathis a job singing weekends at Ann Dee's 440 Club. In September 1955, Noga learned that [[George Avakian]], head of Popular Music A&R at [[Columbia Records]], was on vacation near San Francisco. After repeated calls, Noga persuaded Avakian to hear Mathis at the 440 Club. After hearing Mathis sing, Avakian sent his record company a telegram reading: "Have found phenomenal 19-year-old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts."<ref name="lvol"/>

At San Francisco State, Mathis became noteworthy as a high jumper, and he was asked to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team that traveled to [[Melbourne]] in November 1956.<ref name="mathis">{{cite web|access-date=May 12, 2011|title=Johnny Mathis Official Website|url=http://www.johnnymathis.com/}}</ref> However, on his father's advice, Mathis opted to embark on a professional singing career.

Mathis' first album, ''[[Johnny Mathis (album)|Johnny Mathis: A New Sound In Popular Song]]'', was a slow-selling jazz album, but he stayed in New York City to sing in nightclubs. His second album was produced by [[Columbia Records]] vice president and record producer [[Mitch Miller]], who helped to define the Mathis sound. Miller preferred that Mathis sing soft, romantic ballads, pairing him with conductor and music arranger [[Ray Conniff]], and later [[Ray Ellis]], [[Glenn Osser]], and [[Robert Mersey]]. In late 1956, Mathis recorded two of his most popular songs: "[[Wonderful! Wonderful!]]" and "[[It's Not for Me to Say]]".<ref name=pc23>{{Pop Chronicles|23}}.</ref> That same year, [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] signed him to sing the latter song in the movie ''[[Lizzie (1957 film)|Lizzie]]'' (1957).

===Showbiz millionaire===
[[File:Johnny Mathis signing autographs.jpg|thumb|Mathis signing autographs in 1959]]
In June 1957, Mathis appeared on the TV program ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'', which helped increase his popularity. Later that year, Mathis released his second single to sell one million copies, "[[Chances Are (song)|Chances Are]]".<ref name=Millionaire>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=December 24, 1958|title=Mathematics on Mathis|page=57|url=http://www.archive.org/stream/variety213-1958-12#page/n295/mode/1up|access-date=May 21, 2019|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> In November, he released "[[Wild Is the Wind (song)|Wild Is the Wind]]", which featured in the [[Wild Is the Wind (1957 film)|film of the same title]] and was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]]. Mathis performed the song at the ceremony in March 1958.

The week before Mathis appeared at the Academy Awards, ''[[Johnny's Greatest Hits]]'' was released. The album spent an unprecedented 490 consecutive weeks (nearly nine and a half years) on the ''Billboard'' top 200 album charts,<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Top LP's|date=July 20, 1968|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]| page =70}}</ref> including three weeks at number one. It held the record for the most weeks on the top [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] albums in the U.S. for 15 years, until [[Pink Floyd]]'s ''[[The Dark Side of the Moon]]'' (March 1973) reached 491 weeks in October 1983.<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Top LP's & Tapes|date=October 29, 1983|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]| page =73}}</ref>

Later in 1958, Mathis made his second film appearance for [[20th Century Fox]], singing the song "[[A Certain Smile (song)|A Certain Smile]]" in the [[A Certain Smile (film)|film of that title]]. The song was also nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Original Song]]. By the end of the year, Mathis was set to earn $1&nbsp;million a year.<ref name=Millionaire/> Critics called him "the velvet voice".<ref name="stationave"/> In 1959, Mathis released his album ''[[Heavenly (Johnny Mathis album)|Heavenly]]'', which topped the ''Billboard'' album chart for five weeks during its historic 295-week run.<ref>{{citation | last = Whitburn  | first = Joel | title = Joel Whitburn Presents Top Pop Albums, Seventh Edition  | year = 2010 | publisher = Record Research Inc. | isbn = 0-89820-183-7 | p=503}}</ref>

In 1962, ''[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]'' magazine listed Mathis as one of 30-35 millionaires on its list of "America's 100 Richest Negroes".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]|date=May 1962|access-date=November 15, 2020|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b9cDAAAAMBAJ|pages=130–137|title=America's 100 Richest Negroes}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 2, 1962|title=5 From Show Business In 'Ebony' Roster of 100 U.S. Negro Millionaires|page=1}}</ref> He had two of his biggest hits in 1962 and 1963, with "[[Gina (song)|Gina]]" (number 6) and "[[What Will Mary Say]]" (number 9).

===Split from Noga===
In October 1964, Mathis sued Noga to void their management arrangement, which Noga fought with a countersuit in December. After splitting from Noga, Mathis established Jon Mat Records, incorporated in California on May 11, 1967, to produce his recordings, and Rojon Productions, incorporated in California on September 30, 1964, to handle all his concert, theater, showroom, and TV appearances, and all promotional and charitable activities. (Previously, Mathis had founded Global Records to produce his Mercury albums.) Mathis' new manager and business partner was Ray Haughn, who helped guide Mathis' career until his death in 1984.

===Popularity plateau===
[[File:Johnny Mathis (1974).jpg|thumb|Mathis in 1974]]
While Mathis continued to make music, the ascent of the Beatles and early 1970s album rock kept his adult contemporary recordings off the pop singles charts until he experienced a career renaissance in the late 1970s. Mathis had the 1976 [[Christmas number one single]] in the UK with the song "[[When a Child Is Born]]", and two years later, he recorded "[[Too Much, Too Little, Too Late]]" with singer [[Deniece Williams]]. Nat Kipner and John McIntyre Vallins arranged its lyrics and music. Released as a single in 1978, it reached number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop chart, number nine on the Canadian Singles Chart, and number three on the U.K. Singles Chart. It also topped the US R&B and adult contemporary charts. "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" was certified gold and silver in the U.S. and the U.K. by the RIAA and the British Phonographic Industry, respectively. It was his first number one hit since "Chances Are".

The duo released a follow-up duet, their version of "[[You're All I Need to Get By]]", that peaked at number 47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1983, they were credited with performing "Without Us", the theme song for the American television sitcom ''[[Family Ties]]'' from its second season onward. The success of his duets with Williams prompted Mathis to record duets with various partners, including [[Dionne Warwick]], [[Natalie Cole]], [[Gladys Knight]], [[Jane Olivor]], [[Stephanie Lawrence]], and [[Nana Mouskouri]]. A compilation album, also called ''Too Much, Too Little, Too Late'', was released by Sony Music in 1995 and featured the title track among other songs by Mathis and Williams.

===Recent years===
[[File:Johnny Mathis.JPG|thumb|Mathis performing in 2006]]
From 1980 to 1981, Mathis recorded an album with [[Chic (band)|Chic]]'s [[Bernard Edwards]] and [[Nile Rodgers]], ''[[I Love My Lady]]'', that remained unreleased in its entirety until its 2017 appearance in the 68-disc collection [[The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection]]. (Three tracks appeared on a Chic [[box set]] in 2010 and a fourth, the title track, on Mathis's ''Ultimate Collection'' in 2011 and the Chic Organization's ''[[Up All Night (The Chic Organization album)|Up All Night]]'' in 2013.)

Mathis returned to the British Top 30 album chart in 2007 with the Sony BMG release ''The Very Best of Johnny Mathis''; in 2008 with the CD "A Night to Remember"; and in 2011 with "The Ultimate Collection".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/johnny%20mathis/|title= Johnny Mathis – Albums |publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date= February 17, 2014}}</ref>

Mathis continued to perform live until 2025. Starting in 2000, he limited his concert performances to about 50 to 60 per year. Mathis was one of the last pop singers to travel with his own full orchestra, as opposed to a band. He frequently collaborated with comedians [[Gary Mule Deer]] and [[Brad Upton (comedian)|Brad Upton]], who provided stand-up comedy routines in between his sets.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Swick |first1=Shaun |title=30 Years of Comedy: Q&A with Brad Upton |url=https://www.cityartsmagazine.com/30-years-comedy-qa-brad-upton/ |website=City Arts Magazine |date=August 26, 2014}}</ref>

On January 14, 2016, Mathis performed to a sold-out audience in [[The Villages, Florida]], as part of his 60th Anniversary Concert Tour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.villages-news.com/johnny-mathis-show-at-the-sharon-had-been-set-in-motion-by-the-late-oscar-feliu/|title=Johnny Mathis' show at The Sharon had been set in motion by the late Oscar Feliu|first=Tony|last=Violanti|publisher=Villages-News.com|access-date=February 24, 2016|date=January 15, 2016}}</ref>

On March 26, 2025, it was announced that Mathis would be retiring from touring on May 18, 2025, due to "age and memory issues". Mathis committed to performing all scheduled dates up to that point and canceled the remainder of his previously planned concerts.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Carly |date=March 26, 2025 |title=Johnny Mathis to Retire From Live Stage Performances Due to 'Age and Memory Issues' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/johnny-mathis-retire-stage-performances-concerts-1236173693/ |access-date=March 29, 2025 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref> On May 18, 2025, Mathis performed his last concert at the [[Bergen Performing Arts Center]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Casey |first1=John |title=Johnny Mathis takes a final bow at N.J. concert |url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/johnny-mathis-final-concert |website=advocate.com |publisher=The Advocate |access-date=May 19, 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

===Career achievements===
Mathis, [[Bob Dylan]], [[Barbra Streisand]], [[Tony Bennett]], [[Billy Joel]], and [[Bruce Springsteen]] are Columbia Records' longest-tenured artists. With the exception of a four-year break to record for [[Mercury Records]] in the mid-1960s, Mathis has been with Columbia throughout his career, from 1956 to 1963 and since 1968.

Five of Mathis' albums have been on the ''Billboard'' charts simultaneously, an achievement equaled by only three other singers: [[Frank Sinatra]], [[Barry Manilow]], and (posthumously) [[Prince (musician)|Prince]]. Mathis has released 200 singles and had 71 songs chart worldwide.