'The most difficult job in the world'

Press, 9 December 1981, Page 1

'The most difficult job in the world'

By

JOHN DURNING

Johnny Mathis believes that the most difficult thing in the world to do is to stand up in front of a crowd and sing. This is a strange confession from a man who has been singing for more than 30 years and has record sales in excess of 100 million. “I still don’t really know how to handle it,” he said in Christchurch yesterday. “It is an unnerving experience. I get up in front of an audience and hope I do it right.” Mr Mathis is in Christchurch as part of a world tour to celebrate his 25 years in show business. Dressed in white slacks and sneakers, with a navyblue double-breasted jacket and open-neck shirt, Mr Mathis looked a well preserved 45. “If you don’t mind, I will leave my dark glasses on,” he said. “I feel so tired after a month of travelling and the flight from Brisbane.” Mr Mathis, one of seven children of parents who worked for a San Francisco millionaire, loved to accom-

pany the piano-playing of his father. At the age of 13 he began taking lessons in opera and voice. Besides his interests in music he was an active sportsman and won an athletic scholarship to San Francisco State College. In 1956 he was invited to the Olympic Games trials being held in Berkeley, his special events being the high hurdles and the high jump. At this time he was singing on campuses, and during a Sunday afternoon jam session at the 440 Club in San Francisco a Columbia Records executive heard him. A contract was signed, sports took a background role, and Johnny Mathis headed for New York and the studios, saying that he would be back in three days. He did not return for three years. “I think I sang better at 19 than now, but I was fortunate to have such a good training,” he said. “I love to sing, to sing from the bottom of my heart. I sing romantic songs, mushy, if you like, but I

enjoy it and will keep on doing it. “Singing is very physical. It puts a tremendous strain on the voice, and the voice is one of the first things to go. When you meet old people you notice how weak their voices are. “In the beginning I never thought that I would make it. I was 19 and singing songs for 80-year-olds. No-one could classify me. Maybe that was an advantage in the long run.” It took Mr Mathis 22 years to achieve a No. 1 hit record, and then it was a duet with Deniece Williams. “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late,” reached the top in 1978. He is in the “Guinness Book of Records” for having his album. “Johnny’s Greatest Hits,” on the “Billboard Magazine” charts for 9% years. With success goes the trimmings — a mansion overlooking Los Angeles in the Hollywood Hills, built by Howard Hughes for Jean Harlow, with a huge indoor swimming pool, sauna, and movie room. There is also a ranch at Santa Barbara.