Johnny Mathis Quotes
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Mancini was a big part of my life. I sang a lot of his music, and he became a good buddy.
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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?
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Sure, I've thought about retiring, but in my mind, if you can't sing the song anymore, change the song and sing a different one!
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I was really active athletically, definitely. I was a hurdler, a sprinter. I played basketball for years. I was a serious athlete.
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No, I don't regret my decision at all, especially after I started this music career. My eyes were as big as saucers.
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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.
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I got an invitation to go to the Olympic trials. And in the same week, I got a telegram from a... big executive at Columbia Records.
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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.
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People are stubborn about what they perceive to be the right thing or the wrong thing, and it takes a long time to filter this human condition. There's a waiting period until people catch up. But if you have patience - which it takes when someone thinks differently from you - everybody always catches up. That patience is a wonderful virtue.
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I thought I sounded a little like Eartha Kitt for a long time, and I didn't like it.
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As a child, all I knew was that people kept asking me to sing, and because I liked to please, I would sing. It wasn't until my dad told me that my singing made him happy that I began to think my voice might be good.
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My music has always been enough.
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I have to remember that no matter how often I perform, there are certain songs that the audience truly wants to hear, and even though I've sung it 100,000 times, it may be their first time hearing them.
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The voice muscle doesn't last forever. I have a lot of friends who are classical and opera singers. My friend Beverly Sills stopped singing in her 50s, so I'm careful with mine. But I'll keep going as long as it lets me.
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I'm always thinking about songs and how I can sing a song that would resonate with my voice, my persona. I want it to be a pleasant experience that's not just about hearing my voice. I remember some singers whose voices were so pretty, it didn't matter what they sang - you loved it.
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As long as those things are on vinyl or tape or what have you, the record companies are going to release them someday.
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But I am very grateful for my success, and with success, of course, comes a whole lot of celebrity.
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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.
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It's just that some people are lucky and people still seem to enjoy the music.
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Each person's voice is very different, so you need to find what works for you. Make sure you keep to your routine.
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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.
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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.
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Every performer has a little gem, a little pearl they have done that nobody pays much attention to. And then one day, somebody does recognize it, which is so gratifying.
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Sometimes being famous gets in the way of doing what you want to do.