Johnny Mathis | Biography, Songs, & Facts - Encyclopedia Britannica

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• Introduction & Top Questions
• Early life
• Signing with Columbia Records
• “Chances Are” and other timeless classics
• King of easy listening
• Later career and final concert
• Honors

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External Websites

• NPR - Johnny Mathis On Song Travels
• Hollywood Walk of Fame - Johnny Mathis
• Official Site of Johnny Mathis
• Academy of Achievement - Biography of Johnny Mathis
• CBS News - Johnny Mathis: Wonderful! Wonderful!
• Songwriters Hall of Fame - Johnny Mathis
• PBS - American Masters - Johnny Mathis
• The Washington Post - Johnny Mathis, the voice of the �50s, was always ahead of his time. Now he�s ready to talk about it.
• ABC Listen - Johnny Mathis is still making music
• All About Jazz - Biography of Johnny Mathis
• Turner Classic Movies - Johnny Mathis
• AllMusic - Johnny Mathis

Johnny Mathis American singer Ask Anything Homework Help Also known as: John Royce Mathis Written by John M. Cunningham John M. Cunningham graduated from Kalamazoo College in 2000 with a B.A. in English. He worked at Britannica from 2004 to 2018. A student of pop culture and the arts, he wrote about popular (and semipopular)... John M. Cunningham Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 16, 2026 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything Top Questions

What is Johnny Mathis best known for?

Johnny Mathis is an American singer best known for his smooth vocal delivery of romantic pop ballads. One of his most popular songs is his affecting rendition of the Erroll Garner composition “Misty” (1959).

When was Johnny Mathis’s final concert?

Johnny Mathis announced his retirement from performing in 2025. He played his last concert in May 2025 in New Jersey.

What honors did Johnny Mathis receive for his music?

Johnny Mathis received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy in 2003, and several of his songs, including “Misty” and “Chances Are,” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Johnny Mathis (born September 30, 1935, Gilmer, Texas, U.S.) is an American pop singer who achieved wide and enduring popularity as an angelic-voiced crooner of romantic ballads. He is perhaps best known for his affecting rendition of the Erroll Garner composition “Misty” (1959).

Early life

Mathis grew up in a large working-class family in San Francisco, one of seven children born to Clem and Mildred Mathis. He developed an appreciation of music from his father, a former vaudeville performer, and, as a child, he sang regularly in church and at school events. From age 13 he also took vocal lessons, which provided him with a classical foundation for his burgeoning talent. Mathis meanwhile excelled at high-school sports and earned an athletic scholarship to San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University).

Signing with Columbia Records

While in college Mathis began singing at local jazz clubs, through which he attracted the attention of a Columbia Records representative, who sent a telegram to the label that read, “Have found phenomenal 19 year old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts.” Although his skill at the high jump earned him an invitation to attend trials for the 1956 Olympic Games, Mathis decided instead to pursue a musical career with Columbia, and he left school without graduating.

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“Chances Are” and other timeless classics

Mathis’s first recording, Johnny Mathis: A New Sound in Popular Song (1956), was in a jazz vein, with arrangements by Gil Evans and others. It failed to make an impression with audiences, however, and Columbia executive and producer Mitch Miller subsequently rebranded Mathis as a pop balladeer. The switch proved beneficial, as the singer soon generated a string of hits, beginning with the lushly orchestrated “Wonderful! Wonderful!” (1956). The dreamily romantic tunes “It’s Not for Me to Say” (1957) and “Chances Are” (1957) further highlighted his smooth and precisely controlled tenor. Mathis found additional success with the albums Johnny’s Greatest Hits (1958)—believed to be the first-ever compilation of an artist’s previously released hit singles—and the holiday-themed Merry Christmas (1958), both of which sold steadily for years after their release. In the late 1950s he also recorded songs for several movies.

King of easy listening

In 1964 Mathis founded his own management and production company, Rojon Productions. As the traditional pop standards and show tunes that dominated his early albums waned in popularity, he expanded his easy-listening repertoire with songs by such contemporary hit makers as the Beatles, Burt Bacharach, and Antônio Carlos Jobim. With the album I’m Coming Home (1973), Mathis also began to dabble in soul music. By then his most commercially successful days were behind him, although he scored a surprise number-one hit with “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” (1978), a duet with rhythm-and-blues singer Deniece Williams. Additional duets with Williams followed, as well as with other performers, including Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight.

Later career and final concert

Greatly admired for his professionalism, Mathis performed and recorded regularly into the 21st century, his later albums ranging from the Henry Mancini collaboration The Hollywood Musicals (1986) and the Duke Ellington tribute In a Sentimental Mood (1990) to Let It Be Me: Mathis in Nashville (2010), a collection of mellow country songs, and Johnny Mathis Sings the Great New American Songbook (2017), on which he covered popular hits of the 1990s and 2000s. Apart from several in the mid-1960s, all his albums (some 100) were released by Columbia.

A tireless performer into his late eighties, Mathis announced his retirement in 2025, citing his age and memory issues. He played his last concert in May in New Jersey, capping off nearly 70 years of touring.

Quick Facts Byname of: John Royce Mathis (Show more) Born: September 30, 1935, Gilmer, Texas, U.S. (age 90) (Show more) Awards And Honors: Grammy Award (2003) (Show more) See all related content Access for the whole family! Bundle Britannica Premium and Kids for the ultimate resource destination. Subscribe

Honors

Among Mathis’s numerous honors was a Lifetime Achievement Award (2003) from the Recording Academy. Several of his songs, including “Misty,” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2024 the U.S. Library of Congress added his 1957 single “Chances Are” to the National Recording Registry, a list of audio recordings deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

John M. Cunningham The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica