Johnny Mathis Wiki: Bio, Age, Net Worth, Gay, Wedding, Nationality, Wife, and Ethnicity

Johnny Royce Mathis was born on 30th September 1935, and he is an American singer and songwriter. He has had many hit songs. He started his career with singles of standard music and later became famous as an album artist. Johnny has had several albums that have achieved gold or platinum status, and 73 of his records has made to the Billboard charts to date.

Johnny Mathis Wiki/bio

• Full Names: John Royce Mathis
• Popular As: Johnny Mathis
• Occupation / Profession: Singer
• Nationality: American
• Race / Ethnicity: White
• Date of Birth: September 30, 1935
• Age: 84 Years (as of 2020)
• Place of Birth: Gilmer, Texas, United States
• Father (Dad): Clem Mathis
• Mother:  Mildred Boyd
• Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): Six

According to Guinness Music Chart historian Paul Gambaccini, Mathis has had over 360 million records sold worldwide. This achievement of Johnny Mathis has made him the third most prominent selling artist of the 20th century. Moreover, he has also received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award accompanied by an induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three separate recordings.

Although he has often described as a romantic singer, his music entails traditional pop, Brazilian and Spanish music, and soul music. He even had a few disco songs for his album Mathis Magic in 1979.

Mathis has also recorded six Christmas music albums. In a 1968 interview, Johnny cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby as his musical attractions.

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Johnny Mathis Family

Johnny Mathis is the fourth child of his parents Clem Mathis and Mildred Boyd. Mathis grew up in San Francisco, California, settling on 32nd Avenue in the Richmond District.

 His father had worked in vaudeville, and when he saw his son’s talent, he bought an old upright piano for $25 (US$356 in 2018 dollars) and encouraged him. Mathis began learning the art of music and routines from his father. His first song was “My Blue Heaven.”

The first band he worked with was formed by his high school friend Merl Saunders. Johnny praised Saunders at his funeral in 2008, thanking him for giving the debut chance as a singer.

Johnny Mathis Education

Mathis was a distinguished athlete at George Washington High School in San Francisco. He played perfectly in high jump, hurdles, and basketball. In 1954, he registered at San Francisco State College on an athletic scholarship, expecting to become an English teacher and a physical education teacher. When he was in high school, Mathis’s name got frequently mentioned in the sports sections of the Northern California newspapers. He was often referred to as “the best all-around athlete to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area.”

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How old is Johnny Mathis

Johnny Mathis is 83 years old as of September 2019 as he celebrates his birthday on 30th September.

Johnny Mathis Net Worth

Mathis’ net worth is estimated to be a massive $400 million. He has sold over 360 million albums, making him the third bestselling artist of the 20th century.

Johnny Mathis Wedding | Wife | Children

Mathis has never been into marriage. However, Johnny states that he has no regrets for his stand. Besides, he has no children attached to him, even outside marriage.

Johnny Mathis Career

Mathis’s first record album, A New Sound In Popular Song, was a slow-selling jazz album. However, he stayed in New York City to sing in nightclubs. In late 1956, Mathis produced two of his most famous songs: “Wonderful! Wonderful!” and “It’s Not for Me to Say.” Moreover, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed him up to sing the latter song in the movie Lizzie (1957).

 In June 1957, his appearance on the popular TV program The Ed Sullivan Show helped him increase his popularity.

The week before his appearance at the Academy Awards, Johnny’s Greatest Hits got released. The album spent an unprecedented 490 consecutive weeks through 1967 (nine and a half years) on the Billboard top 200 album charts, including three weeks at number one. Later in 1958, Mathis made his second film appearance for 20th Century Fox, singing the song “A Certain Smile” in the film of that title. The song also got nominated for the Academy Award for the category, Best Original Song. 

His work, “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late,” was certified gold and silver in the US and UK by the RIAA and the British Phonographic Industry. It was his first number one song since his 1957 chart-topping “Chances Are.”

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Johnny Mathis Discography

He has done 73 studio albums, three live albums, 26 compilation albums, three video albums, and 100 singles. Johnny Mathis has recorded 73 studio albums, 18 of which achieved sales of 500,000 units and were awarded Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.

In the UK, Mathis spent three weeks at number one on the singles chart in 1976 with “When a Child Is Born” and had two compilations reached the top spot on the albums chart: 1977’s The Mathis Collection and 1980’s Tears and Laughter. “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” and “When a Child Is Born” both achieved Silver certification for singles by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of 250,000 units in the UK. The latter eventually reached the 500,000 marks to earn Gold certification. Sixteen of his LPs met the 60,000 album sales mark in the UK to be certified silver, with eight of those going on to sell 100,000 copies for Gold certification and one of those eight making it to the 300,000 total necessary for the Platinum award.

Johnny Mathis Homosexuality Rumors

Mathis was quoted in a 1982 US Magazine article, stating, “Homosexuality is a way of life that I’ve grown habitual to.” Despite the rumors, US Magazine never removed the statement. The interviewer, Alan Petrucelli, still has the tapes.

In 2006, Mathis said that his silence had been because of death threats he received as a result of that 1982 article.

Johnny Mathis Drugs & Alcohol Addiction

Mathis has undergone rehabilitation for both alcohol and drug addictions. He has supported many organizations through the years, including the American Cancer Society, the March of Dimes, the YWCA and YMCA, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and the NAACP.

Johnny Mathis Hobbies

He has never entirely abandoned his enthusiasm for sports, and today he is an enthusiastic golfer with nine-hole in ones.

He has hosted several Johnny Mathis Golf Tournaments in the United Kingdom and the US. Since 1985, he has been hosting a charity golf tournament in Belfast sponsored by the Shell corporation. The annual Johnny Mathis Invitational Track & Field Meet has continued at San Francisco State University since it started in 1982.

He also enjoys cooking, and in 1982, he published a cookbook called Cooking for You Alone.