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" 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
Related Quotes:
" I cannot tell you how lucky I am: the songs that I sing, I like! "
Johnny Mathis
Lucky
I Am
Sing
" When I do an album I try to find a producer that's excited about something that they want me to sing, and I check with the record company to find out what they think they can sell - which is their No. 1 priority. "
Johnny Mathis
Think
Me
Try
" It's very much like opera singers. They do the same thing. The first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, the thing they think about is their voice and how to take care of it. "
Johnny Mathis
Care
Night
Morning
" Mitch Miller knew exactly what he wanted me to sing. He didn't want me to improvise at all. "
Johnny Mathis
Improvise
He
Want
" 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
" 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
" 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 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
" 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
" I had stage fright for years and years, and I could hear it in my singing. But since I've done it so often for so many years, you'd think that I'd relax a little bit, and I think that I have. "
Johnny Mathis
You
Relax
Singing
" I really, really enjoy music and that's why I do what I do. "
Johnny Mathis
Enjoy
Really
Music
" 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
" I'm just one of the lucky people. I have no other reason for my longevity. "
Johnny Mathis
Reason
People
Longevity
" 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
" 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
" For me, hearing my voice is sometimes a little nauseating, especially at Christmas. "
Johnny Mathis
Voice
Me
Hearing
" 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
" 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
" 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 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 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
" Nat was my hero right from the very beginning. My dad brought his music into the house and played it over and over again. "
Johnny Mathis
Music
House
Hero
" 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
" Every time I try to tell people things about my career, I wonder if that's the truth or something I'm fantasizing about. "
Johnny Mathis
Time
Truth
Try
" 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
" I've had relationships with people from all over the world, but there has never been enough time in a day for me to have anything other than just close relationships. I've never been one to give myself over to anybody. I don't know what is wrong with me, but it never happened. "
Johnny Mathis
People
Time
World
" 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
" 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
" 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
" 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