Johnny Mathis is one of the most successful recording artists with 74 studio albums, with 10 achieving Gold status with sales over 50,000 units. In addition, six of his compilation albums also reached Gold status. Of these 16 Gold albums, six reached Platinum status with sales over one million copies.
Mathis was born in Texas, but his family moved to San Francisco when he was five years old. Early on, his father realized he had a natural musical talent and encouraged him by buying a used piano.
Mathis honed his skills with classical music training, but he was also an avid athlete. He achieved an athletic scholarship to attend San Francisco State College in 1954, where he competed in both basketball and track. He even set a high jump record while there.
Mathis was asked to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team that would travel to Melbourne in November 1956. But his father suggested that he focus his efforts on a professional singing career.
By 1962, Ebony magazine listed Mathis as one of 30-35 millionaires on its list of "America's 100 Richest Negroes".
During his long musical career, Mathis maintained his interest in sports. He has hosted the Johnny Mathis Invitational Track & Field Meet at SF State since it started in 1982. He is also an avid golfer and has hosted charity tournaments in the US, UK, and Northern Ireland.
In 1982, during an interview with Us magazine, Mathis said off-the-record:
"Homosexuality is a way of life that I've grown accustomed to."
The magazine published the statement anyway, outing Mathis. Mathis later explained that he received death threats as a result of the article and decided not to publicly discuss his sexual orientation.
In 2006, Mathis opened up about his sexuality in an interview with the podcast The Strip. He explained that his reluctance was partially due to his generation, where gay men were taught to hide their sexuality. Mathis confirmed that he was gay.
"I come from San Francisco. It's not unusual to be gay in San Francisco. I've had some girlfriends and some boyfriends, just like most people. But I never got married, for instance. I knew that I was gay."
Mathis announced that he was retiring from touring. His final public concert was on May 18, 2025, in New Jersey.
