Quotes from Johnny Mathis

I've paid the price over the years, though: a lot of injuries and surgeries related to my sports career; my hips and knees took a lot of wear and tear.

It's a joy to listen to someone at the top of their craft.

Along the way, everyone's been saying, 'Make sure you take care of your voice because you're going to want to do it the rest of your life.' And it's absolutely true.

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.

Let's love, press your lips to mine. Let's kiss, for that thrill divine.

Walk my way and a thousand violins begin to play, or it might be the sound of your hello.

I think it's important to cultivate as many people as you can to see which ones you jive with. And it makes you happy. If one dies, you have another one. So living is a process that you have to do by yourself, and if you can learn a few little goodies along the way that might make it easier for you, so much the better.

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.

I was very fortunate to have a wonderful woman as my voice coach when I started singing professionally. I was only 19, so now it's been 60 years!

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.

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.

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.

But I am very grateful for my success, and with success, of course, comes a whole lot of celebrity.

When I was 12 and started to take singing lessons from a woman, she told me that I would probably spend the rest of my life taking care of my voice.

I have no way of knowing why my career has lasted so long other than the fact that people like the sound of my voice. Fortunately, I've been able to maintain it.

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.

At this stage, most of the awards I get are concerned with my longevity. Even I'm amazed at myself because there have been new generations since I've been born and new music that they create, so it's amazing to still be on the radar.

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.

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.

The world changes. The world is completely different now from when I was growing up. Back then, you didn't say things like they say now, out loud, about race and things. But that's just progress. When are we going to find out that we're all the same - we're all absolutely, without a doubt, the same?

Thank God for vinyl! It's wonderful to be involved in something that captures your life from almost the beginning to the end. I'm absolutely blessed.

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.

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.

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.