PRESENTS

Welcome to the Grapevine News. This section of the Mathis Chronicles may or may not be weekly, so this is Volume 1, Number 1. Whenever I get around to Volume 2, this issue will be taken to the Back Issues department, under the new heading Grapevine News. What this will be is, as usual, my views about anything I find or am sent about Johnny Mathis on the 'net and elsewhere, that isn't being discussed by any "official" sites. Occasionally, I may even make up a question to ask myself and try to answer. Readers are welcome to share their news here also. So enjoy and thanks for coming.

VOL. 1 NO. 1
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2002

MATHIS IN PAIN STILL: Looks like poor Mr. Mathis tried to rush his recovery from back surgery. My friend Paula and her hubby Keith went to the show in Cerritos, here's her account:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, IRIS!

We got home LATE last night from our trip to hear Johnny Mathis' Christmas concert in Cerritos, CA. I thought I would share what we saw and heard with you.

First of all let me tell you that Johnny was very slow-moving and seemed to be in pain. He entered the stage dressed in a black pullover and black trousers, walking with an obvious limp. He was unable to stand completely straight and shifted his weight from one foot to the other quite often (my husband has had back surgery and recognized, and sympathized with, these movements). He eventually used a stool for most of the performance, one with a back that allowed him to turn completely around. Near the end of the show, he said, "I want to move, but I just can't". And later, "Thank God for this stool". When he went down the steps from the stage after the break, he took them one at a time, leaning heavily on the railing. We were so sorry to see him so uncomfortable, yet so impressed by his professionalism. He is a real trooper.

The stage was beautiful, with a backdrop of a winter landscape complete with a small village. Two Christmas trees with white lights were at either side of the stage. Poinsettias were in front of the orchestra, with lighted garland strung across the front of the stage. Red lights bathed the stage and the effect was stunning. At times, the windows in the church and houses of the backdrop were lit, and snowflakes, bells, stars were projected onto the scene. That was so pretty!

The concert opened with John Scott Lavendar leading the orchestra through a medly of Christmas favorites and Johnny's hits. Then Johnny took the stage and the magic began. The back may be hurting but the voice is A-OK. For a guy in a lot of pain, here is a list of what he performed:

Winter Wonderland, Chances Are/Wonderful, Wonderful, Let Me Be The One, Misty, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, To The Ends of the Earth, Stop, Look, Listen, Christmas Bells are Ringing, Happy Holidays, Children Will Listen, We Need a Little Christmas, It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Baubles, Bangles, & Beads, Secret Love, It's Christmas Time Again, Young & Foolish, 99 Miles From L.A., The Twelfth of Never, Gina, Two For The Road, Charade, The Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, Tristeza, Brazil, and as an encore, White Christmas, with the audience singing along. That was cool.

A note on Children Will Listen: Johnny forgot the words halfway through and this was his most charming moment. He said that he had forgotten the words while singing, then sang, "Careful the songs you sing". At the end of the song, he shook his head, bopped himself on the head, and told us that he had the words, but chose to "wing it". He assured John that he knew the next one. No one minded at all, and he got a huge round of applause.

I don't know, but for me, this is fairly heartbreaking. Mr. Mathis was obviously not a happy camper. He should have taken the rest of the year off, especially in light of what happened to the sportscaster a couple weeks ago. (For the unenlightened, ABC's Dick Schaap died from complications following routine knee replacement surgery.) Mathis just needs to TAKE HIS TIME, and leave the damn golf ALONE, stay home and work on this year's new albums. He can do that from his bed! Sure hope they don't change their mind about that. In the meantime, I'm going to pray for him, as well as for other sick friends, and I wish him the best.

Well, this leaves in question the rescheduled McCallum Theater date for the 14th and 15th, doesn't it? As of right now it looks to still be a go. Here's the site with the number to call. I'll keep an eye and ear out to see what happens.

TOO POPULAR FOR ITS OWN GOOD: The Mathis Chronicles has gotten too popular! So popular that my host feels it has to limit access to it to keep bandwidth down so that I don't exceed my monthly allotment, which means there may be times when you can't access it at all. That's not my doing, folks, it's Yahoo. So until I find a solution to this that suits me, that's what's going on. I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience.

WELL! WELL! Speaking of website problems, I got a look at the redesigned official site for Johnny Mathis, www.johnnymathis.com. It's 75% better, although that annoying sound clip will make even the people who LIKE the song "Chances Are" want to throw a brick through their computer screen. Best to view the site with the sound OFF. Also, it must be warned that because of the overload of graphics, it will be very tedious loading if you don't have a high-speed line. Outside of that, it's a very good start.

ED SULLIVAN'S BACK: PBS has begun rebroadcasting the old Ed Sullivan shows, only I don't think they are doing the entire episodes. The original show was an hour, and they are packaging the shows into two half-hour segments. I haven't seen it yet, so I'm as confused as you are. My good buddy Louise in Manitoba can pick up Detroit's PBS affiliate, and here's what she has to share:

...last night the second half hour was part of a special show they did back in 1970. It was a salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein and featured Johnny Mathis, as well as Shirley Jones, the Lennon Sisters (from the Lawrence Welk shows), John Davidson, and some others. During the part of the show we got, Mathis sang "My Funny Valentine", and with the Lennon Sisters he did "Johnny One Note" - he sang out the one note - while the girls sang the song. And it appeared that he held the note for the whole song, which was probably close to two minutes, though I wasn't timing it. Whether or not he actually did hold the note or whether some sort of illusion was involved, I do not know....later he sang "The Lady Is a Tramp". At the end of the show, he came out with Mama Cass, both dressed in pseudo-tyrolean dress, and sang the first part of "My Favorite Things", joined by all the others who sang their bits of the song, all of them in the same silly outfits. Still - it was great to get a look at Mathis, age 35 or so - he looked great, of course. Except for the final number he wore white - a big white sweater and white slacks.

Louise poses an interesting question: can singers use the "circular breathing" technique that musicians sometimes use? I don't have any idea what that terminology means, but perhaps someone out there can explain for all of us if that's what makes Johnny Mathis hold a note for so long!

NEW YEAR, NEW HOPES: This is the year that looks the same going and coming (won't be another like this until 2112), and already one gets a sense that change is in the air. The Europeans are sharing a currency...well, most of them. England and Denmark won't play, shame on them! That should make things fun for eBay.

What's in store for the year 2002? For me, I've sort of resigned myself to the fact that I've probably seen my last Johnny Mathis concert, unless a lot of things change for the better, not the least of which is the concert repertoire. September 11 made me think and rethink a lot of things. I remember I lost my fear of flying after my first flight in 1997 on my way to New York City and Mathis at Carnegie Hall, and I darn near regained it on my way back from San Francisco in 2000. I've always tried to be aware, even before 9/11, that once the airbus' wheels leave the runway my life becomes all about trust...so the question of whether or not I'll fly again isn't the issue. Lord willing, I will fly again. It shouldn't have to take so much courage to go see a show, but I suppose it's a sign of the times. I'm reminded of the saying, "In God We Trust, all others pay cash." So, we'll see what happens.

In the meantime, the main thing I wish for the year 2002 is the return to good health of Johnny Mathis. The poor man has been in a lot of pain, and if it means seeing less of him so that he may enjoy good health, as far as I'm concerned, so be it. The voice still works, boy does it ever, and the voice has many outlets for us to enjoy, if he will look into using those outlets. May the Good Lord bless and keep him.