Johnny Mathis enjoyed a lunch outing with a friend in Los Angeles on Saturday.
The iconic pop singer, 88, who was spotted moments after leaving a restaurant with his friend, put on an animated show as he walked the city streets.
During his walk, the Chances Are star was all smiles, and at one point he playfully raised his arms high and wide.
Still defying Father Time, Mathis seemed to be in fantastic shape as he dressed youthfully in a casual-cool style in green jeans, a black sweater over a white shirt and bright white sneakers.
To complete his look, the Gilmer, Texas, native, who grew up in San Francisco from the age of five, now sports longer locks, which he partially covered with a Detroit Tigers baseball cap during his afternoon outing.
Johnny Mathis, 88, was in a playful mood after enjoying lunch with a friend at a Los Angeles restaurant on Saturday
Still going strong after eight decades in the public eye as a singer of popular music, Mathis proved he can still wow an audience with his signature vocals when he performed his smash hit Twelfth Of Never on stage at a Christmas concert in Chicago.
The superstar crooner is actually the third best-selling artist of the 20th century. During his famous career, which dates back to the mid-1950s, he sold a whopping 360 million records worldwide.
After realizing his son’s talent at an early age, Mathis’ father, who worked in vaudeville as a singer and pianist, encouraged him to pursue music by buying him a piano.
At the age of 13, he began studying under the tutelage of singing teacher Connie Cox after accepting him as her student in exchange for work in her home in the late 1940s.
Ultimately, he honed his craft with Cox for six years, learning scales and exercises, voice production, classical singing and opera singing.
Out of respect and gratitude, Mathis took to social media in May 2018 and shared a photo of Cox, along with a message about how important she was in helping him learn about singing and music as a whole.
“Here’s a rare photo of Connie Cox, the amazing teacher who helped young Johnny refine his vocal skills, trading odd jobs in her studio for singing lessons,” he wrote in the caption on X (formerly Twitter). ’62 years later, he still sings her praises every day. Thank goodness for teachers like her! #TeacherAppreciationDay.”
Although many people describe his style as a romantic singer, Mathis’s music catalog included standard pop, Latin American, soul, R&B, show tunes, Tin Pan Alley, soft rock, blues, country and even a bit of disco in the late aughts. 70s.
The Chances Are crooner seemed to be in fantastic shape as he dressed youthfully in a casual-cool style in green jeans, a black sweater over a white shirt and bright white sneakers
The Texas native, who grew up in San Francisco at the age of five, holds the distinction of being the third best-selling artist of the 20th century; he is pictured performing in Los Angeles in 2002
Mathis’s career, which dates back eighty years, included studying for six years as a teenager with singing teacher Connie Cox in the late 1940s
In 2018, on Teacher’s Appreciation Day, Mathis paid tribute to his voice teacher Connie Cox for helping him refine his singing skills in exchange for doing odd jobs around her house.
During his illustrious career, which dates back to 1956, Mathis recorded an impressive 73 studio albums, 10 of which achieved sales of 500,000 units, earning him Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Six of his compilation albums also went gold, while six eventually went platinum after selling one million copies.
Mathis has had five of his albums on the Billboard charts simultaneously, a feat matched by only three other singers, including Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow and Prince.
In 2003, the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award. This Special Merit Award is presented by vote of the National Trustees of the Recording Academy to artists who have made creative contributions of exceptional artistic significance to the field of recording.
Mathis has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three separate recordings, including Chances Are (1998), Misty (2002) and It’s Not For Me To Say (2008).
Less than twenty years into his career, Mathis received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in June 1972 for his contributions to music.
