Small discomforts, comparatively, but even so.’ Not a big deal ‘I pretty quickly realised that I was going to have to listen to a lot of stuff about myself which, though probably mostly accurate, had no real bearing on what I do professionally. But when you get to be a celebrity, some people make a big deal out of the fact that perhaps you’re different in some way. ‘I know what they went through – some absolute horror stories – but thanks to their paving the way I didn’t suffer the same thing. Lena Horne and Nat ‘King’ Cole prevailed in the face of often undisguised racism. ‘Everything surfaces on the internet eventually.’ Back to music.
I definitely fall into the latter category. I mean, there are certain people you’d love to see that way and others you very much wouldn’t. Luckily, I sobered up in time to stop it. I followed his instructions and in doing so exposed myself. ‘“What do I do now?”’ I asked and he told me to put my foot up on a stool then turn a little to the left. Next thing I know, I’m standing naked by the pool at my house with a photographer.
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Is it true he once posed nude for Playgirl? ‘Yes! I was probably drunk when I did it! I’d hired a PR girl full of these great ideas. It’s his willingness to talk openly which encourages me to mention a different kind of self-exposure. If anyone wants to know the real me, they need to be there when I’m involved in a golf game or sitting around discussing athletics, which I’m passionate about.’ ‘Over the years it’s been a salvation, providing me with a comfortable environment in which to socialise. That was 22 years ago, but has he fallen prey to another? ‘Well, I am pretty serious about my golf,’ he chuckles. “There’s someone you should speak to.”’ Almost before he knew it, one of her friends who had contacts with addiction experts was organising his entry to rehab. During the course of the evening he confided that he would love to be able to stop drinking. I came to my senses in time to save my career.’įor Mathis, recovery came on the night he attended a party with Nancy Reagan. It was a bad period for me but I was fortunate. The only people I could ask were musicians, and they wanted to keep their jobs so didn’t argue. I’d go on stage and wouldn’t remember what I’d done. You’ll sit for hours, drinking and talking nonsense. You only want to be around other drinkers.
Alcohol dependency became an issue in the Eighties. Mathis concedes he himself was not immune. Such an example is valuable in an industry where so many fall casualty to excess. That he could have that wonderful talent and still be so kind and gentle, humble even, was an inspiration.' A drinking crowd His true idol was chosen not just for his voice but for his humanity: ‘Nat “King” Cole, in addition to having an incredible voice and being one of the best pianists I’ve ever heard, was such a good man. ‘Often, I’d listen to early recordings and go, “Uh-oh, I’m trying to be Lena again.” In time you learn to accept that some things you can do, some you can’t.’
and Lena Horne – Oh, I just worshipped her. ‘I grew up in San Francisco which has a big jazz scene and from the age of 12 my dad would take me to hear Ella, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan. ‘I was all but carried kicking and screaming into the studio to record some of the music I would become so well-known for. Ironically, he never wanted to be a balladeer. A Certain Smile (1958), Someone (1958) and Misty (1959) were his first UK hits and he enoyed a run of hits during the mid-Seventies, too, culminating in the 1976 Christmas chart-topper, When A Child Is Born. As a young man, he focused on his USP – that yearning, golden voice, with its controlled, at times melancholic, delivery. Such diffidence has hardly harmed Mathis’s career. I’m pretty reticent in social situations and don’t have an appetite for the red carpet.’ I come from a track-and-field background, and athletes don’t generally subscribe to party culture. ‘I quickly lost interest in the fame side of things. ‘After all,’ says Johnny Mathis who, in gym gear, looks considerably younger than his 76 years, ‘when you’re on stage singing romantic songs, you should look the part.’ Spotted as a teenager, he’s entertained audiences for almost 60 years and remains that most old-fashioned of stars, one for whom artistry is all. He’s a familiar sight in West Hollywood, browsing the fresh produce aisles of the grocery stores (he loves to cook) or, as now, in a hotel lobby en route to or from its gym (he loves working-out rather less, but believes needs must).
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