History Music / JohnnyMathis

Of mixed African-American and Native American heritage, Mathis was born in Gilmer, Texas, the fourth of seven children, but grew up in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco, California. Taking inspiration from his father, a vaudeville singer and pianist, he learned to play the piano and perform songs for family and friends. When Mathis was 13, voice teacher Connie Cox accepted him as her student in exchange for work around her house. Mathis studied with Cox for six years, learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical and operatic singing. The first band he sang with was formed by his high school friend Merl Saunders. Mathis eulogized Saunders at his funeral in 2008, thanking him for giving Mathis his first chance as a singer.

* RearrangeTheSong: "Love Never Felt So Good" originated as a demo by Music/MichaelJackson in 1983, before having much of its lyrics rewritten by Paul Anka for Mathis' use. Jackson's demo would later be given a remix on his 2014 posthumous album ''Music/{{Xscape}}''.

* {{Retraux}}: Fitting its nature as an archival album, the standalone CD release of ''I Love My Lady'' [[https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5cd9bd23348cd9470f0bee38/1560534212544-J2J53BKR9EO8A1NJI1TL/Mathis+Lady.jpg?format=2500w brings back]] the standardized packaging featured on CD releases by Creator/ColumbiaRecords and its subsidiaries during the 1980s. The disc tray is solid black (as was standard for [=CDs=] before the mid-1990s), the spines feature blocky red text on a white background, the back cover has a large white barcode stripe on the left, and the disc label is identical to a vintage '80s Columbia disc. The hype sticker is even based on the one used for Columbia's "Nice Price" series of budget reissues for best-selling albums. The only major deviation is that the front cover excludes the Compact Disc logo and the "Digitally Mastered Analog Recording" badge.

* ''I Love My Lady'' (1981)

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* ChristmasMusic: He's recorded several Christmas albums, with the first (1958's ''Merry Christmas'') being one of the best-selling holiday albums of all time.
* GreatestHitsAlbum: ''Johnny's Greatest Hits'' codified the format when it was first released in 1958, and it remained a fixture on the Billboard chart for about a decade.

John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter of popular music. He was born in Gilmore, Texas, the fourth of seven children, but moved to San Francisco, California, where he grew up. Taking inspiration from his father, a vaudeville singer and pianist, Mathis learned to play the piano and perform songs for family and friends. When Mathis was 13, voice teacher Connie Cox accepted him as her student in exchange for work around her house. Mathis studied with Cox for six years, learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical and operatic singing. The first band he sang with was formed by his high school friend Merl Saunders. Mathis eulogized Saunders at his funeral in 2008, thanking him for giving Mathis his first chance as a singer.

His professional debut came at the age of nineteen, and from there he has enjoyed a long career with singles, albums, compilations and collaborations, and is one of only a handful of artists to carry the distinction of having the longest tenure of any recording artists on the Columbia label. He has had five of his albums on the Billboard charts simultaneously, an achievement equaled by only two other singers: Music/FrankSinatra and Music/BarryManilow. He has released 200 singles and had 71 songs charted around the world. Chances are, you’ve heard at least one of his songs in motion pictures or television.

* GreatestHitsAlbum: ''Johnny's Greatest Hits'' codified it when it was first released in 1958, and it remained a fixture on the Billboard chart for about a decade.