Home
Authors
Tags
App
Get QuoteDark Inspirational Quotes App
" It doesn't mean a thing when others tell you you're good. You have to feel it yourself. "
Johnny Mathis
Yourself
Good
Mean
Related Quotes:
" When I was a kid, I had to try a lot of pyrotechnics just so people would know who I was. "
Johnny Mathis
People
Kid
Just
" 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. "
Johnny Mathis
Over
Price
Injuries
" I met a guy on the golf course who was a kinesiologist - after I looked up the word, I found out it meant exercise. I started working with him, and that was many years ago. "
Johnny Mathis
Exercise
Golf
Him
" I love the whole aspect of music, especially the singing; I never get tired of finding new songs to sing and sing them in a way that's interesting for the public. "
Johnny Mathis
Tired
Music
Interesting
" I cannot tell you how lucky I am: the songs that I sing, I like! "
Johnny Mathis
Lucky
I Am
Sing
" That's a big important deal, the way people see you from the stage. Once in a while, I'd ask people, 'How did you enjoy the show?' 'Hey, you looked great.' But how did I sound? That visual look is very important to people. "
Johnny Mathis
See
You
People
" I thought I sounded a little like Eartha Kitt for a long time, and I didn't like it. "
Johnny Mathis
Long
Time
Thought
" I have no way of knowing why my career has lasted so long other than the fact that people like the sound of my voice. Fortunately, I've been able to maintain it. "
Johnny Mathis
Why
Voice
People
" Over the years, I was lucky; right from the beginning, I studied with a lady who had a lot of... she was a classical singer, and of course, they're a little bit more into, you know, preserving the voice, making sure your instrument is ready to perform. "
Johnny Mathis
Lady
Beginning
Know
" There are not so many songs written about love today like there were in the past. It's all changed, but that's why my songs still last as big favorites today. "
Johnny Mathis
Past
Last
Like
" I've never been married, and I have no regrets about not starting my own family. I come from a large one, so there are so many people around all the time. I've been very happy, but I've never gotten married. That's about the size of it. I would have been a good father because I've been a father to my brothers' and sisters' children. "
Johnny Mathis
Good
Children
Family
" Sure, I've thought about retiring, but in my mind, if you can't sing the song anymore, change the song and sing a different one! "
Johnny Mathis
Change
Thought
You
" Dad would come home from doing odd jobs, and sometimes he'd come home late at night with lumber, and he'd rumble around with all this wood in our small place. We'd finish putting it away, and then we'd play that piano. I'll be eternally grateful to him. "
Johnny Mathis
Place
Night
Grateful
" I decided right away that whomever was going to advise me had to be fundamentally interested in music. This protected me from the skullduggery common to the music industry then and that still exists today. Of course, using this method meant that some things we didn't know and just had to learn how to do it together. "
Johnny Mathis
Together
Today
Music
" 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
Care
Future
I Can
" For me, hearing my voice is sometimes a little nauseating, especially at Christmas. "
Johnny Mathis
Voice
Me
Hearing
" I'm always thinking about songs and how I can sing a song that would resonate with my voice, my persona. I want it to be a pleasant experience that's not just about hearing my voice. I remember some singers whose voices were so pretty, it didn't matter what they sang - you loved it. "
Johnny Mathis
Voice
Experience
Loved
" I always have homemade chicken stock in the refrigerator. I'll reduce it, maybe add a little cream and a few shallots. Before you know it, eureka! It's the best. "
Johnny Mathis
Before
You
Always
" First, I try to take everything away that doesn't matter to singing. It sounds simplistic, but it works. There is absolute focus on singing: producing sounds and emotions that I have always enjoyed. This is key. "
Johnny Mathis
Key
Away
Try
" I invite a lot of my friends to some of the performances that I do locally, and some of them know that I'm involved with music, but they're not quite sure how. And so it's kind of fun to play golf with a lot of my friends and then invite them to hear me sing once in a while. "
Johnny Mathis
Friends
Music
Me
" 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
Moving
Singing
You
" When I go out shopping and pass a bookstore, I always grab a couple of cookbooks, so I have a library of them. I end up keeping many that I got years and years ago because they work so well. "
Johnny Mathis
Always
Shopping
Library
" I used to stay up all night, roam around, drink, and carry on like everybody else. That all changed when I got older, started to exercise and play golf. I knew by the time the day was over I would not feel like exercising, so I made it a point to exercise early. "
Johnny Mathis
Exercise
Time
Night
" Mitch Miller knew exactly what he wanted me to sing. He didn't want me to improvise at all. "
Johnny Mathis
Improvise
He
Want
" Even though there's no forum for me on the radio for the kind of music I sing anymore, I am still excited about having a career where I can sing the best music in the world, and people will come and hear me because of the hit records I've had in the past. "
Johnny Mathis
Best
People
Past
" I have no memories of my childhood in Texas. When I was about four, we moved to San Francisco. I was in the middle of seven brothers and sisters: three girls and four boys. Most of my older brothers and sisters got the blame for everything, and the little ones had a free ride. We loved each other but fought like cats and dogs. "
Johnny Mathis
Ride
Cats
Childhood
" People are stubborn about what they perceive to be the right thing or the wrong thing, and it takes a long time to filter this human condition. There's a waiting period until people catch up. But if you have patience - which it takes when someone thinks differently from you - everybody always catches up. That patience is a wonderful virtue. "
Johnny Mathis
Waiting
Time
People
" My parents were over the moon when I had some success with Christmas songs because that was the time of the year that meant so much to them. They were able to see their loved ones, and it was great to hear their son's voice on the radio while they visited. "
Johnny Mathis
Great
Moon
Parents
" There are situations when, in your singing, in your interpretation of songs, for instance, when you want a straight tone. And I have to work really hard at getting a straight tone... That's sort of like if you have curly hair, you have curly hair. "
Johnny Mathis
Curly
Singing
Want
" Most of our physical education teachers were just teachers, and they had to do the extra stuff on their own. I remember very vividly that they would hold a cane pole between two of the students down low, and we would all jump over it. And they would raise it and raise it and raise it. "
Johnny Mathis
Jump
Own
Teachers