Johnny Mathis has released 130 albums and sold over 180 million copies, making
him one of the most successful and best-loved ballad singers of all time.
Growing up San Francisco, he learned to play piano as a child but was also a
star athlete, tipped to go to the Olympics. He decided instead to pursue a
career in music after being discovered singing at San Francisco clubs by jazz
producer George Avakian and then signed by Columbia Records. His jazz debut
album - Johnny Mathis: A New Sound In Popular Song - flopped on release, but, by
1956 he had developed his trademark romantic v...