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" Mancini was a big part of my life. I sang a lot of his music, and he became a good buddy. "
Johnny Mathis
My Life
Music
Life
Related Quotes:
" I've lost a few notes on the top. But I've gained a little insight about what makes people comfortable when they're listening or watching a performance of mine. It usually has to do with singing something that isn't vocally too strenuous. "
Johnny Mathis
Listening
People
Singing
" 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
" I would say three-quarters of what I do depends on the sincerity of it. You can croak, but if you croak good, they'll still listen. "
Johnny Mathis
Good
Listen
Still
" 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
" The light dims a little bit as you get older and new generations come along. But it's around the holidays when I am remembered the most. It is very special, and I get a kick out of it now as much as I did when I first started. "
Johnny Mathis
Holidays
Light
Now
" 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
" 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
" Pavarotti's is the best male voice, and Joan Sutherland had a big voice but also acquired great coloratura notes. "
Johnny Mathis
Great
Had
Best
" I love Puccini and that oriental influence in his music. "
Johnny Mathis
Love
Music
His
" I go to the gym rather early with a workout pal. I get there at 7, or a little before, and do weights and a little cardio for an hour, five days a week. "
Johnny Mathis
Go
Early
Days
" I've found that the more friends I have, the luckier I am. "
Johnny Mathis
More
I Am
Found
" I believe it was Nat King Cole that my dad took me to see, and we were sitting in the dressing room, and I blurted out to him, 'Why didn't you sing this?' Referring to whatever song I had wanted to hear, and he told me he was tired of singing it. "
Johnny Mathis
Believe
King
Tired
" I have one room off my kitchen filled with nothing but cookbooks and recipes that are sent to me from around the world. Every two years, I have to go through them and pick out ones to send to the local schools. There's a need for books, especially cookbooks. "
Johnny Mathis
Me
Kitchen
World
" My aspirations were never anything other than I really, really admired certain singers over the years, and I just wanted to do the best I could. And that has been kind of like the way I've been fortunate enough to be able to have a career, have some success, and yet continue to learn my craft. "
Johnny Mathis
Success
Career
Enough
" The one who really captured me and became my absolute favorite was Nat King Cole. He was a genius at what he did. Most people don't realize what a great pianist he was. After listening to him for years, I finally met him, and he was the nicest human being. "
Johnny Mathis
Listening
Me
King
" 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
" 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
" My mom and dad always tried to make Christmas special for us. We were poor, but it's funny because we had no idea. "
Johnny Mathis
Mom
Always
Christmas
" I have to remember that no matter how often I perform, there are certain songs that the audience truly wants to hear, and even though I've sung it 100,000 times, it may be their first time hearing them. "
Johnny Mathis
First
Matter
Time
" 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
" My claim to fame has always been that iconic picture that ended up in 'The San Francisco Chronicle' of Bill Russell jumping over my head. "
Johnny Mathis
Always
Head
Fame
" I was a mediocre basketball player. But I was there, and I could remember the plays. And my basketball coach, after he retired from teaching, would come to my performances all the time. And I was very happy about that, because I was not memorable as a basketball player. "
Johnny Mathis
Time
Basketball
Remember
" I'm still going strong. I have been very blessed and still am. I love singing. Obviously, at my age, I don't tour with as many dates throughout the year as I did in the past. But I do this to honor my father who was also a singer. I still miss him and his encouragement. "
Johnny Mathis
Past
Age
Father
" It doesn't mean a thing when others tell you you're good. You have to feel it yourself. "
Johnny Mathis
Yourself
Good
Mean
" I thought I sounded a little like Eartha Kitt for a long time, and I didn't like it. "
Johnny Mathis
Long
Time
Thought
" 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
" 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
" Tony Bennett and me are all the same... and he's still singing. I don't know what else to do. "
Johnny Mathis
He
Me
Same
" 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
" The thing that means most to me is the joy that my mom and my dad got because of my career... They raised seven children on domestic wages, in a city like San Francisco, and did nothing but work, work, work. "
Johnny Mathis
Work
Children
City