Explore Quotes by Johnny Mathis

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.

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.

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.

Every time I try to tell people things about my career, I wonder if that's the truth or something I'm fantasizing about.

I love Puccini and that oriental influence in his music.

When I was a kid, I had to try a lot of pyrotechnics just so people would know who I was.

Tony Bennett and me are all the same... and he's still singing. I don't know what else to do.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I've recorded in Portuguese, too. I didn't set out to just sing ballads or romantic songs.

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.

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.

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.

When you say, 'I'm going to sing it once, and everyone is going to hear it forever,' that's kind of frightening.

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.

I had a good record company right from the beginning, and I'm still with them after all these years. I think I may be the only person in the world that's had a tenure this long with any record company.

Mancini was a big part of my life. I sang a lot of his music, and he became a good buddy.

Pavarotti's is the best male voice, and Joan Sutherland had a big voice but also acquired great coloratura notes.