Jeremy Smith for bergenPAC Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
Singer Johnny Mathis ended his 70-year-run as a singular voice on a Sunday in May at the Bergen PAC.
His interpretations of romance and heartbreak, for many, connected love to a simpler time. In fact, his tour was billed as “The Voice of Romance,” but was unexpectedly truncated to a final performance.
In March, his Facebook account announced the end: “As many of you may already be aware, Johnny Mathis is approaching his 90th birthday this year. So, it’s with sincere regret that due to Mr. Mathis’s age and memory issues, which have accelerated, we are announcing his retirement from touring and live concerts.”
At the concert, when he came on stage, he was bent over.
“Ladies and gentleman, thanks for coming to hear this fabulous orchestra,” he began. “If I get the words wrong, call my mom and dad.”
With his first song, “It’s Not For Me To Say,” it was a shock to hear his voice because it sounded feeble. He is approaching 90. But this reporter has been to 10 Mathis concerts and knew it would firm up. It did and he remained in good voice to the end.
The songs he sang, including “Chances Are,” “When I Fall In Love” and “The Twelfth of Never;” he’s owned them for generations. But the Mathis sound, what fans come to hear, is crystallized in Johnny Burke and Earl Gardner’s “Misty.” It’s just three notes, only three words: “On my own (would I wander through this wonderland alone”). Right there, “on my own,” is to hear a piece of the ageless Mathis. Anticipating it, the audience began applauding as he approached the words and overwhelmed his voice before he sang them.
But there is another element in his voice and it became evident in the songs he sang later in the program. It is a fierceness noticeable especially in the medley dedicated to his old friend, Henry Mancini. It’s there in “Days of Wine and Roses” and “Moon River.”
Before the show, on the sidewalk, milling around waiting for the doors to open, were Wanda and Tim, a couple from Bernardsville celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. It was their first time at a Mathis concert.
“We couldn’t believe he was still singing,” Wanda said.
Tim said Ticketmaster alerted him to the performance. Wanda said she hoped it wasn’t his last concert.
“The Rolling Stones farewell tours began in 1987,” her husband opined.
Deborah came in from New York City. She was in a wheelchair and didn’t have a ticket.
“I’m trying to get one,” she said. “I’ve seen him three times. Last time, last year, it was in Caesar’s Palace. The time before that, Myrtle Beach. Before that, Caesar’s Palace and before that, ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’”
She went to see Mathis her first time as a homage to her parents, or so she thought, she said.
“But when I got there and heard how he sang, it was for me,” she said. “I knew every song, but he was struggling.”
It would be selfish, Deborah said, for people to have him continue singing.
“He’s been carrying the whole orchestra for over 60 years,” she said. “It’s sad, but I want him to relax. But maybe he doesn’t know how to, being on the road for so long. Maybe he’d be bored out of his gourd.”
She paused.
“Just look at me,” she said. “I’m tearing up just talking about him.”
During intermission, Kim said it was her first time to a Mathis concert and she felt privileged to be there, with her mother, who was celebrating her birthday and had seen him perform four times.
After the show, Susan, from Philadelphia, said it was her fourth Mathis concert.
“Honestly, this one was the best,” she said. “His Christmas album, I was a child, I grew up on it. The clarity and tone for his age, unbelievable.”
Susan said she was raised on Johnny Mathis and Nate King Cole.
Monica, a Bergen Pac usher, said the concert was emotional.
“I got teary eyed at a few songs,” she said. “My first tissue was ‘Secret Love’ and ‘The Twelfth of Never.’ His love for the audience was showing.”
“He was absolutely wobbly,” said Susan, an usher, “but his voice was still strong.”
“He wanted to leave on his own terms,” Monica continued. “And he wasn’t of the generation where you had to be a singer-songwriter.’”
Eileen, from Union, said she first saw Mathis 40 years ago when he was in his prime and it was a terrific show. But now seeing him was bittersweet.
“It was valiant,” she said. “He couldn’t have felt good at that age. He could have missed every lyric and people wouldn’t mind. He’s going to be 90 on my birthday, September 30.”
Gretchen, also from Union, said she’s been to about 15 Mathis concerts and a memorable moment every time is that note in “Misty.”
“He hits it every time,” she said. “He’s never missed it.”
Johnny Mathis said nothing to the audience about his career or his last concert.
When he was handed the lyrics to his final song, “How Do You Keep The Music Playing,” he glanced at them, sang and exited.
Except for the memories, that was it.
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