Johnny Mathis

John Royce "Johnny" Mathis (born September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas) is an African-American popular singer and one of the few living male vocalists associated with Traditional Pop music.

Mathis grew up in San F

John Royce "Johnny" Mathis (born September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas) is an African-American popular singer and one of the few living male vocalists associated with Traditional Pop music.

Mathis grew up in San Francisco, California and began singing publicly at school and church events shortly after his father discovered his talents. His father wisely found him a voice teacher when he was around 13 years old. He remains one of the very few popular singers who received years of professional voice training that included opera. He also was an athletic talent, earning four athletic letters in high school and a subsequent athletic scholarship to San Francisco State College; while there he was a basketball teammate with future Boston Celtics great Bill Russell. Mathis also remains a large part of San Francisco State College's sports history--in 1954 he broke Russell's high jump record by jumping 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m). At the time only four Olympic athletes had managed to clear this height. While training to become a teacher, he was talent-spotted at a concert and signed by Columbia Records. His most difficult decision was deciding whether to go to the Olympic tryouts he had been invited to or go to make his first recordings which were released in 1956. While Mathis opted for a recording career, he has never completely abandoned his enthusiasm for sports. An avid golfer who has completed a minimum of 5 holes-in-one, he has hosted several tournaments in his name in the USA and the United Kingdom.