Mercer In-Sight Eye Care proudly sponsors the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nHis recent appearance on a PBS special aroused the latest interest in the career and span of Johnny Mathis\u2019s legacy, along with his announcement last year that he would retire from touring and public performances due to age (90) and concerns over his memory.\u00a0 But it also made people remember, and appreciate, the talent and achievements of one of the world\u2019s best singers, even if many had never heard him at his best.<\/p>\n
How good was Johnny Mathis?\u00a0 And what made his voice so recognizable?\u00a0 Well largely because of quality of his distinct tenor voice that had an almost ethereal quality.\u00a0 \u00a0And second, his amazing quality for intonation.\u00a0 For the entire span of his career, Mathis had the enviable quality hitting every note in exact tune, regardless range.\u00a0 And there\u2019s no better example than the accompanying performance that you can listen to, below.<\/p>\n
How popular was Johnny Mathis at his zenith?\u00a0 Mathis, along with Barbara Streisand, Tony Bennett, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, are the longest-tenured artists in the history of Columbus Records.\u00a0 Except for one brief period in the early 60s when he work with Mercury Records, Mathis has been contracted with Columbus for 57 years, consecutively.\u00a0 His sales have been that consistent\u2026that good!<\/p>\n
That good in terms of top-ten records like It\u2019s Not For Me To Say\u2026Chances Are\u2026Wonderful, Wonderful\u2026Misty\u2026and Twelfth Of Never<\/strong><\/em>\u2026but when Mathis recorded and charted Chances Are<\/strong><\/em> in 1963 little did anyone know that it would be his last #1-hit for a period of fifteen years!\u00a0 It left many in his day to wonder\u2026if was work was simply too good, and too prolific, to be properly appreciated<\/p>\nNor until 1978 did Mathis reach the top of the US Billboard chart again when he collaborated with friend Deniece Williams to record a Nat Kipner and John Vallins song entitled Too Much, Too Little, Too Late<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 Released as a single in 1978, it would top Hot 100 chart, the Adult Contemporary chart, the R&B chart, and the World Record singles chart.\u00a0 And outside the United States, the record peaked as the #9 hit in Canada and rose to #3 in Great Britain, where it has always been a tough climb for American artists.<\/p>\nAnd while Mathis has never outwardly fretted about the competitive quality of his work, his professional pride was said to have been hurt over the fact that with all those top-ten popular songs for so many years since Chances Ar<\/strong>e<\/strong><\/em>\u2026none of them reached #1 until he combined his talents with those of Deniece Williams.<\/p>\nWilliams was born in Gary, Indiana, and through her own brief career had won four grammy awards with twelve nominations, described as one of the great \u2018soul\u2019 voices by critics around the world.<\/p>\n
Ironically, out of high school her ambition was to become a registered nurse, but she dropped out of nursing school because, in her own words, \u201cYou have to be a good student to become a nurse, and I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she could sing, and before long after bouncing around as a club performer, she became a backup singer for Stevie Wonder, and later, Roberta Flack.<\/p>\n
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For all the questions about singer Johnny Mathis<\/strong> over his six-decade career as a recording artist\u2026the rumors, and the seeming endless comebacks to public recognition\u2026there is no question that Mathis is one of the world\u2019s most recorded artists, and that he stands second to no one in terms of his recognized popular songs.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pressprosmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mercer-In.Sight_embed020226.jpg\")
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