Johnny Mathis Quotes

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Johnny Mathis

Profession : Musician

Birth : September 30, 1935

There was a time when I was in the South, singing, and someone came to me before the show and said, 'There's been a threat on your life. Someone had phoned in and said they were going to shoot you if you go on stage.' I was singing 'Chances Are,' and I kept moving so they wouldn't have a shot at me.

Johnny Mathis

I've found that if I limit my talking, just everyday talking, a couple of days before I have to sing, my voice is stronger. That really is about the only precaution that I take: I try to rest it as much as possible and keep the nutritional value of my food up.

Johnny Mathis

The thing that means most to me is the joy that my mom and my dad got because of my career... They raised seven children on domestic wages, in a city like San Francisco, and did nothing but work, work, work.

Johnny Mathis

I don't think about the future. It sort of will take care of itself; there's not really much that I can do other than fundamental things like taking care of my voice, keeping to my exercise routine, and getting some rest.

Johnny Mathis

As a child, all I knew was that people kept asking me to sing, and because I liked to please, I would sing. It wasn't until my dad told me that my singing made him happy that I began to think my voice might be good.

Johnny Mathis

For me, hearing my voice is sometimes a little nauseating, especially at Christmas.

Johnny Mathis

When I was very young, it was all, 'Here's little Johnny,' and I got stuck with it, but I prefer John. There comes a time in a man's life when he shouldn't have a name ending in 'y'.

Johnny Mathis

My music has always been enough.

Johnny Mathis

I've had relationships with people from all over the world, but there has never been enough time in a day for me to have anything other than just close relationships. I've never been one to give myself over to anybody. I don't know what is wrong with me, but it never happened.

Johnny Mathis

The light dims a little bit as you get older and new generations come along. But it's around the holidays when I am remembered the most. It is very special, and I get a kick out of it now as much as I did when I first started.

Johnny Mathis

I think most people don't understand: I have nothing to do with that. I just open my mouth, and it comes out that way.

Johnny Mathis

I thought I sounded a little like Eartha Kitt for a long time, and I didn't like it.

Johnny Mathis

Nat was my hero right from the very beginning. My dad brought his music into the house and played it over and over again.

Johnny Mathis

The fact that I'm not a good musician - I throw it around, tell people that - it doesn't matter that much. It only matters to me, because I idolized good musicians. I absolutely worshiped them.

Johnny Mathis

I would say three-quarters of what I do depends on the sincerity of it. You can croak, but if you croak good, they'll still listen.

Johnny Mathis

Mitch Miller knew exactly what he wanted me to sing. He didn't want me to improvise at all.

Johnny Mathis

My mom and dad always tried to make Christmas special for us. We were poor, but it's funny because we had no idea.

Johnny Mathis

It's always nice to hear people say, 'You sound the same,' when I know I don't.

Johnny Mathis

I always felt like what I was doing wasn't selling toys; I was making a happy sound at Christmas. When people hear something so familiar, it brings them back to a special place, and that's been meaningful for me.

Johnny Mathis

I started off as a kid singing with my dad. My dad was my best pal. But he had seven kids, and I was the only one who was kind of interested in what he was playing and singing at the piano. And he was not only my dad, but he was my best pal, and I was interested in doing whatever he wanted to.

Johnny Mathis