In a 1968 interview, he cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby among his musical influences.

[citation needed] Mathis' father worked in vaudeville as a singer and pianist, and on realizing his son's talent, bought an old upright piano for $25 (US$433 in 2023 dollars[11]), and encouraged his music.

Mathis' first song was "My Blue Heaven",[12] and he started singing and dancing for visitors at home, at school, and at church functions.

[14] Mathis studied with Cox for six years, learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical and operatic singing.

[citation needed] Mathis was a star athlete at George Washington High School in San Francisco.

In 1954, Mathis enrolled at San Francisco State College on an athletic scholarship, competing in both basketball and track, and intending to become a physical education teacher.

In September 1955, she learned that George Avakian, head of Popular Music A&R at Columbia Records, was on vacation near San Francisco.

After hearing Mathis sing, Avakian sent his record company a telegram stating: "Have found phenomenal 19-year-old boy who could go all the way.

"[13] At San Francisco State, Mathis had become noteworthy as a high jumper, and in 1956, he was asked to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team that would travel to Melbourne that November.

"[17] In November 1957, Mathis released "Wild Is the Wind", which featured in the film of the same title and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

While Mathis continued to make music, the ascent of the Beatles and early 1970s album rock kept his adult contemporary recordings out of the pop singles charts, until he experienced a career renaissance in the late 1970s.

Mathis had the 1976 Christmas number one single in the UK with the song "When a Child Is Born" and later, in 1978, recorded "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" with singer Deniece Williams.

In 1983, they were credited with performing "Without Us", the theme song for the American television sitcom Family Ties, from its second season onwards.

A compilation album, also called Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, released by Sony Music in 1995, featured the title track among other songs by Mathis and Williams.

"[23] Mathis, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen carry the distinction of having the longest tenure of any recording artists on the Columbia label.

Mathis has had five of his albums on the Billboard charts simultaneously, an achievement equaled by only three other singers: Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, and (posthumously) Prince.

Mathis appeared on the show with Carson's successor, Jay Leno,[24] on March 29, 2007, to sing "The Shadow of Your Smile" with the saxophonist Dave Koz.

Since 1985, he has been hosting a charity golf tournament in Belfast sponsored by Shell,[27] and the annual Johnny Mathis Invitational Track & Field Meet has continued at San Francisco State University since it started in 1982.

[28] Mathis has undergone rehabilitation for alcoholism and prescription drug addiction[14] and he has supported many organizations through the years, including the American Cancer Society, the March of Dimes, the YWCA and YMCA, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the NAACP.

[36] In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning aired May 14, 2017, Mathis discussed the Us magazine article and confirmed that he is gay by saying, "I come from San Francisco.

[37][33] In November 2015, Mathis returned home from a concert in Ohio to find his Hollywood house destroyed by a fire.

It remained unclear at the time of news reports exactly when Mathis, aged 87 and still performing concerts, would be able to return and reoccupy his home, as its structural stability was uncertain given surrounding terrain damage.

Defined on their website, "Conceived as an enduring testament to the Great American Songbook, the Hall of Fame honors performers and composers responsible for creating America's soundtrack.

Mathis' first occurred 20 years earlier in 1958, when he sang "Wild Is the Wind" by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington from the movie of the same name.

[46][47] In 2017, San Francisco State University awarded Mathis an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.