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" No, I don't regret my decision at all, especially after I started this music career. My eyes were as big as saucers. "
Johnny Mathis
Music
Eyes
Regret
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" Christmas is never going to go away, and it's always going to be there. And there's always room for one more Christmas song, I think. "
Johnny Mathis
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Song
Christmas
" For me, hearing my voice is sometimes a little nauseating, especially at Christmas. "
Johnny Mathis
Voice
Me
Hearing
" When you say, 'I'm going to sing it once, and everyone is going to hear it forever,' that's kind of frightening. "
Johnny Mathis
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Going
" I really, really enjoy music and that's why I do what I do. "
Johnny Mathis
Enjoy
Really
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" 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
" When I was 13, I used to go to a jazz club. The owner of the club became my first business manager. She was very gutsy and had a lot of friends, one of whom happened to be the head of jazz at Columbia at the time. That's how it all began. "
Johnny Mathis
She
Friends
Head
" 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
" 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 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
" 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
" 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 always felt like what I was doing wasn't selling toys; I was making a happy sound at Christmas. When people hear something so familiar, it brings them back to a special place, and that's been meaningful for me. "
Johnny Mathis
Christmas
Happy
Place
" 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
" 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'd rather starve than not have what I really want to eat. I'm good at preparation. "
Johnny Mathis
Rather
Good
Want
" 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 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
" 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
" I've been very happy to see some of the success that I've had along the way in opening the eyes of people, especially people who listen to music. "
Johnny Mathis
Music
Success
See
" I was always a little bit afraid because I found out at a very early age that once you make a record, all the mistakes and all the good things are there for eternity. "
Johnny Mathis
You
Mistakes
Good Things
" 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
" When you do interviews, you have to talk about yourself - and I like to find out about other people. I am so familiar with everything that I do. I've said it over and over again. I think it is boring. "
Johnny Mathis
I Am
Think
Find
" 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
" I love Puccini and that oriental influence in his music. "
Johnny Mathis
Love
Music
His
" Most of the people I hang out with who sing love it, and they just want to do it until they die. I still look forward to the performances. And believe it or not, they're all kind of different. Even though you sing the same songs, and maybe you go to the same venues, it just feels completely different every time you go on stage. "
Johnny Mathis
Love
Look
Time
" 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
" I think there are a lot of people who really want to be famous, they really do. I don't. It sort of gets in the way of the everyday things that I do. "
Johnny Mathis
Way
Famous
Think
" All of a sudden, I was in charge of my own decisions in the studio, and I didn't have someone to guide me on what I was doing, right or wrong... I wasn't a producer, and I didn't realize until then how important producers were and how much they assisted me in my work. I tried to do what I could, but I had no idea what would be good for the market. "
Johnny Mathis
Decisions
My Own
Doing
" You know the secret to dunking a ball? Big hands. You've got to be able to palm it, and I couldn't. "
Johnny Mathis
Know
Secret
You
" Each person's voice is very different, so you need to find what works for you. Make sure you keep to your routine. "
Johnny Mathis
Find
Voice
You