Beyond the Sun
Remember when everyone did a Johnny Mathis impression? Perhaps not. But there was a time when even those who had no interest in, or acumen for, impersonating celebrities could perform a passable Johnny Mathis. It was sort of like doing Howard Cosell. It seemed anyone could sing a line from Mathis', "Chances aaaaaare, 'cause-I-wear-a-silly griiiiiinn ..." as readily as they could shout Cosell's "Welcome! To Monday! Night! Football!"
Those days of rampant mimicry have passed, and Mathis — who is 74 now, ladies and gentlemen — seems not to mind. "I had my time," he says, laughing. The legendary vocalist, whose classic intonations and vocal stylings have triggered millions of conceptions, is back in Las Vegas on Friday night. Well, not quite Las Vegas, but 40 or so miles southward at Primm's Star of the Desert Arena.
Mathis, who most recently headlined at the Las Vegas Hilton when in VegasVille, has not played Primm before. We'll see after Friday's show if he'll play there again. It's sort of a test drive, but we're expecting he'll find the underrated arena to his liking. Foreigner sure seemed to have a good time there.
During a phone conversation last week, Mathis talked of his former athletic career (he was about to try out for the U.S. Olympic track and field team in 1956 before being lured into a recording contract by Columbia Records), how he keeps in shape today, and some of his favorite Vegas venues. We started with a personal reference to his days growing up in San Francisco:
"I have to start by telling you that I happen to know some people who went to high school with you at Washington High in San Francisco. Many years ago, one of them told me that if I ever had a chance to interview Johnny Mathis to ask about his track career. She said you could have been the next Jesse Owens."
"I was really active athletically, definitely. I was a hurdler, a sprinter. I played basketball for years. I was a serious athlete (Mathis earned a track scholarship to San Francisco State University). I've paid the price over the years, though, a lot of injuries and surgeries related to my sports career, my hips and knees took a lot of wear and tear. I've had several unavoidable problems because of my athletic career."
"So what kind of shape are you in today?"
"I'm OK. I met a guy on the golf course, 20 years ago, who put me on an exercise routine and I'm regular with it. I get up at about 5 a.m., work out for 90 minutes, and I'm good for the rest of the day."
"You do this every day?"
"Yes."
"Oy."
"It is kinesiology, which works with movement of the body. It's wonderful. Before, I was limping around. But this has negated any physical problems I've had."
"You're a good golfer, then? Where do you play?"
"I'm a 12 handicap, still. I used to carry my clubs and play all day long. I play at the Riviera in Pacific Palisades, beautiful course."
"Musicians who have worked with you over the years in Las Vegas have marveled at your voice. How do you keep it in top condition?"
"Each person's voice is very different, so you need to find what works for you. Make sure you keep to your routine. My voice seems to respond when I limit excessive talking. I don't do any of the bad things anymore that can harm your voice, which people used to do in the old days."
"Like, smoke? Drink? Those kinds of bad things?"
"Smoke and drink, yes. But I've done nothing bad — it's been at least 25 years that I quit smoking and drinking. For drinking, I got some professional help to quit (Mathis also went through rehab to kick an addiction to prescription medications). Smoking, that was probably the worst thing you could ever do for a voice, and of course I smoked at the time, especially when I was anxious before a show."
"How hard was it for you to get clean?"
"Well, I didn't want to live the way I was living. I had to make a change, it was very important to me to change, but you don't really know what kind of effect it is having while you're doing it."
"Smoking is as hard to quit as anything."
"Yes, and it was very detrimental to me vocally, but fortunately I had a very good voice teacher (Connie Cox) — she was around during most of the early part of my career when I was forming my vocal chords. She would listen to me, then listen to my recordings, and she could hear that my voice wasn't what it could be."
"There was a time when your voice was so universally recognizable that everyone could do a pretty good impression of you. What was that like?"
"It's so flattering to hear somebody imitate me, but I guess nowadays they're doing John Mayer (laughs). But it used to be — even Sammy Davis did one. That was something, because he was such an incredible vocalist. But all of a sudden it went away and they stopped doing it."
"You happy with the move from the Hilton to the Star of the Desert?"
"It's a new venue for me, and to be honest I have no idea why we aren't at the Hilton, but things change. I don't know the venue, but if there are wonderful acoustics and a comfortable situation for the audience, it'll be a good show."
"You've played Las Vegas for decades. What have been your favorite places to perform here?"
"I started at the Sands, and of course during my tenure there the people who were working there were icons in music history, the Rat Pack, all of them. (The Copa Room) was a wonderful little venue. I worked Circus Maximus at Caesars Palace, which was great. I had a wonderful engagement at the Sahara, a nice little room with a balcony at the top."
"Any memories stand out?"
"Yes, it was odd, the kind of people who I was performing with, all comics. I kind of got tired of the comic/singer, comic/singer lineup, so one night I finally said, 'Can't we get someone else? What about ... (famed jazz pianist) Erroll Garner?' I just blurted it out — 'Erroll Garner!' I wanted someone who wasn't a comic, and Erroll Garner just came to mind. But then, Erroll Garner did perform as the opening act — they actually went out and got Erroll Garner."
"That's influence, right?"
"I guess so, yes (laughs)."
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.
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