(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents Johnny Mathis - The Voice of Romance Tour on Wednesday, March 13 at 8:00pm. Mathis will perform some of his greatest hits and fan favorites. Tickets range from $35-150.
Celebrating his 63rd year in the music industry, legendary singer Johnny Mathis is Columbia Records’ longest-running artist. A sublime vocalist whose approach to pop music eclipses passing fads and trends, Mathis has performed songs in an incredible variety of styles and categories—from music composed for stage and film to golden era jazz standards, contemporary pop hits, and holiday music, all of which has assured his reputation as one of the most enduring vocalists in music history.
Best-known for his supremely popular hits like “Chances Are,” “It's Not For Me To Say,” and “Misty,” Mathis has recorded close to 80 albums, six Christmas albums, and has sold millions of records worldwide. During his extensive career he has had three songs inducted into the Grammy® Hall of Fame, achieved 50 Hits on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart, and ranks as the all-time #6 album artist in the history of Billboard’s pop album charts. He has received five Grammy® Nominations, and in 2003 he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. And recently in May 2017 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from his Alma Mater San Francisco State University.
The fourth of seven children, John Royce Mathis was born on September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas to Clem and Mildred Mathis. As a small boy, the family moved to Post Street in San Francisco. It was there that he learned an appreciation of music from his father Clem who taught him his first song, “My Blue Heaven.” At age eight, Mathis’ father purchased an old upright piano for $25, which wouldn't fit through the front door when he brought it home. So that evening, he stayed up all night to watch his father dismantle the piano, move the pieces into the small living room of their basement apartment, and then reassemble it. Clem, who worked briefly as a musician back in Texas playing the piano and singing on stage, would continue to teach his son many songs and routines. Mathis had proven to be the most eager of the children to learn all about music. He sang in the church choir, school functions, community events, for visitors in their home, as well as amateur shows in the San Francisco area. He was also a successful track and field athlete, and was offered a chance to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials. In the same week Columbia Records called, so he chose to go to New York to record his first album, which was released on July 16, 1956.
In addition to all this Mathis and his music have appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including Lizzie, The Tonight Show, Silver Linings Playbook, Family Ties, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Mad Men. In 2017, he released his 78th studio album titled Johnny Mathis Sings The Great New American Songbook, and debuted his “lost” 1982 album, I Love My Lady produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the pivotal group CHIC.
For tickets, more information, or group discounts, call State Theatre Guest Services at 732-246-SHOW (7469), or visit STNJ.org. State Theatre is located at 15 Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick New Jersey.
