PRESENTS

Welcome to the Grapevine News. This section of the Mathis Chronicles contains my views about anything I find or am sent about Johnny Mathis on the Internet and elsewhere, that had been overlooked by the "official" sites. Occasionally, I report on things not directly related to Mathis but have a connection, may even make up a question to ask myself and try to answer. Readers are welcome to share their experiences here also. So enjoy and thanks for coming.

VOL. 2 NO. 9 - MAY 15, 2003

HAPPIER NEWS: I got word from the street that one of my favorite Mathis albums, I'm Coming Home, may be released this summer! Now, being a CD, this gives the opportunity for bonus tracks, doesn't it? Whenever I snoop out more details, you may not get it here first, but it won't be a secret anymore, either, I guarantee it.

THE TRUTH COMES OUT: Johnny Mathis' interview in the May 9th Chicago Sun Times is the kind I wish they'd all give. I finally know what I've suspected for years... that Mathis lives in the Mac world! He owns an iPod with about 3,500 songs on it. (Hm. I wonder did he get them from Napster...)

For the benefit of the unfortunate folk who own Windows-based machines, iPod is an mp3 player which you can play, with an adapter similar to the kind for portable CDs, in your car or at work. You can basically just do without the worthless commercial radio and just listen to only the songs you like all day long. How long? Let's say Mathis' music collection consist of songs that are about 3.5 minutes each. That's over 200 hours of listening pleasure, meaning if you played it 24 hours a day, it'd be nine days before you got to the end! And to be fair, they may already have iPods that are compatible with the Windows machines by now.

Mathis, like a lot of Black folk, do what they have to do on the job, but when he gets off work, he listens to R&B and Brazilian jazz. Or, as he puts it, something with a beat to it! I hear that. However, he's got his operatic interests loaded onto the iPod, some Leontyne Price, and although he doesn't say, I would hope he's digging some of the work from Enid, Oklahoma natives Denyce Graves and Leona Mitchell, who are fabulous Black opera divas of our time.

I've had a sneaking suspicion all along that Johnny Mathis was a closet Apple user. Welcome to the family, bro!

Here's a link to Miriam Dinunzio's Chicago Sun-Times interview from May 9, 2003. They may archive it soon, though, so hurry.

UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME: Continue to Luther some love and prayers.

TOUR BUS: The bus stops next in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Visit See Mathis Live! for details. New dates for 2004 added! Yay!

©2003 Iris Gross Georg. All rights reserved.

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