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. 4 NO. 5 - JUNE 19, 2005

VINDICATION: In the spirit of Juneteenth, it's time to celebrate FREEDOM, and not the kind Bush thinks we need to be in Iraq fighting for. What's on my mind lately is the acquittal of one of my first childhood idols, Michael Jackson.

Back in Vol 2, no. 3 of the Grapevine News & Views, I had a piece called, "Mathis Said So, That's Enough". There, I express my disgust of the press, especially the British press, who seem hell-bent on making a mockery of people, as if they'd never seen anybody who displayed any type of eccentricity before. (This is Great Britain, for heaven's sake. Please!) I will re-state that I have NEVER been, and never will be, a fan of judgmental journalism, this "we think you should be disgusted by this man and here's why" style of news writing that is purely meant influence public opinion.

Recall also the young lady who had faith in Michael, Gaynor Morgan, because she asked family friend Johnny Mathis advice on whether she should allow her son to stay at Michael's Neverland ranch. Johnny Mathis said Michael was "a very kind, generous and loving person who has done a lot of work for children over the years." That glowing endorsement was good enough for her and her father, and I took Mathis' endorsement to heart as well.

And yet, even in success, the headlines continue to distort, accuse, and judge. AP reports the following: "Jackson's attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., said that Jackson will no longer share his bedroom with children or their families because it could put him at risk for future accusations." Yet here are the headlines around the country and the world: "Jackson will not sleep with boys again." Sigh. Did the AP report say ANYTHING about sleeping with children?! The reporters inject their own values into the truth.

Most of his supporters outside the courtroom were white, Carole Simpson writes in her 6/18 essay on abc.com. Why, of course, Ms. Simpson. Do you know any black people well-off enough to go several months without working or going to school?! And if they weren't working or going to school, would they be caught dead outside a courtroom?

I hear what she's saying. Michael Jackson was once someone Blacks could be proud of. As an eight-year old myself, I marvelled at him. Now, I admit it's hard to even look at him. And I don't know why he turned his skin white. He made a "Choice of Color", like the old Impressions song suggested, that I myself wouldn't have made. But, I can't put my values on somebody else. The entire Jackson family has had plastic surgery; it is Michael's that is the most noticeable. He used to look just like his mother, now he's definitely unique. Nobody of any one race looks like him. And who knows, maybe that was the point; maybe he wanted to be, somehow, a kind of "everyman" that embodied something of all the races.

And it's no good to keep wishing it was still 1970, either. Michael Jackson will never be 12-years-old again. Or 22-years-old, either. When I first saw the curly-haired young man with the chiseled nose on the cover of Thriller, I thought he had gone too far then. Little did I know what the next 20 years would bring! But Michael is like Mathis in a way; he was never ours in the first place. After he grew up and was no longer a novelty, it was white people who made Thriller the second best-selling album of all time. Michael didn't get rich off Black money.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me". How sweet the sound of vindication. Of course, it'll probably play out like O.J., opinions will probably be split along racial lines. There are those who believe he should have been convicted on creepiness alone, never mind molestation. This wasn't the issue, people. The jurors did the job they had to do, since like the late Johnny Cochran said, "if it didn't fit, you must acquit." This trial had no winners. More than one family has paid the price in this trial. Two parties have gone through more than any human should have to go through. It's time to move on, time to put the past in the past, and if you don't want Michael with your kids, don't send them over there.

CRY IN THE WILDERNESS: I think I wrote this before, but I believe Isn't It Romantic is flawless. I feel it's easily the most beautiful album Johnny Mathis done since How Do You Keep The Music Playing. The shame of it is, this will probably be the best album nobody ever heard.

In a perfect world, the technical and musical perfection of this piece would speak for itself. But speech is a funny thing. If the only talking you do is to yourself, you don't get heard. Music is a language that, in my view, doesn't truly exist unless it is heard.

I don't believe it is enough for this music to be heard only by the few fanatics who still care to. I believe it doesn't do for this work to speak for itself if it is not listened to. It must be listened to by those who don't believe this kind of music, this craft, this level of professionalism still exists. It must be listened to by those who want good music for their films and other projects.

The saying goes, if a tree falls in the wilderness, does it still make a sound? How does one know for sure when the only witnesses are those who happen to be closest to the tree? All others remain oblivious to any sound the tree may have made.

Isn't It Romantic is a recording in the wilderness right now; its beautiful sounds, the wonderful clean production, the stellar and appropriate arrangements, as well as the technical mastery of the lead vocalist, remain oblivious to those who don't even know Mathis is still alive, much less still recording. Trade publications such as Billboard and Variety have posted no review positive or negative. Sony BMG and Columbia have placed no ads promoting it. Hell, they don't even know Mathis won a Grammy this year (and not for "Over the Rainbow").

If this were a Verve or Concord album, this would not be true. I believe that with every hair on my body. It doesn't have to be a platinum seller for it to be valid and important. But I would love to see Mathis' own record label put as much effort behind a real master of standards as they do people like Ronald Isley or, even worse, Rod Stewart, who only pretend to understand this music, and whose mediocrity is accepted as brilliance by those too young or too musically under-educated to know better.

Here, for what they're worth, are reviews I have found for Isn't It Romantic: Faces.com
Queery.com
A particularly thoughtful review from Jazztimes magazine.

JOHNNY IN JET: Watch for the June 20th issue of Jet magazine, see Mathis' still-gorgeous face on the index page and accompanying article. There's a FABULOUS photo of the young Mathis by late photographer Moneta Sleet. It has been a long time since Mathis has been in a Black magazine of any kind, and I was excited to see him. He talks about Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick, and his beautiful but largely-ignored album, Isn't It Romantic.

PASSING THROUGH: I was REALLY sorry to hear about the death of gospel singer Ronald Winans over the weekend. Ronald's younger sister CeCe Winans shared a Christmas album with Johnny Mathis six years ago through the Hallmark network, another great album that got no exposure, called "Listen, It's Christmas". There were ten children in the Winans dynasty, all were singers. The remaining nine plus their parents were at Ronald's side when he died on Friday, June 17 at the young age of 48. Services will be Friday, June 24 in Detroit.

UNTIL YOU COME BACK TO ME: Good news on the Luther front! I made a happy discovery in the April 4th issue of Jet. In an exclusive, accompanied by a great photo from last year of a smiling Luther, Mary Ida Vandross updates us on her son's progress.

Luther is learning to walk by himself, according to Mrs. Vandross, trying to balance himself. "He walked down that long hall (of the rehab place) and down the steps and up again. It took a lot out of him." Hey, that's more than he was doing a year ago when he was on Oprah. New nerve endings growing and replacing the ones that were damaged. Gotta love a body's resiliency.

Mrs. Vandross is pleased with her son's progress; after all, as she says, "the very thought of him still being alive is a miracle from God." She says, "He's moving along. I think he is doing very well. Hopefully, in a short while, he's going to be doing even better. He's going to improve daily." With faith like that, how can he lose? Mrs. Vandross said one of Luther's backup singers, Lisa Fischer, came to visit and sang with Luther. "He was so happy," Mrs. Vandross noted.

Luther's mother sent a thank you to all her son's fans for playing his music and keeping him in their thoughts and their hearts. Explaining how God is hearing all the prayers for her son, she told Jet, "The Bible says whenever you have two people who meet and agree on earth, the angels in Heaven will meet and agree on the same thing." This is from Matthew 18:19, and the passage (Matt 18:19-20) actually goes: "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." However it goes, it certainly seems to be working, however slowly, for Luther!

We've got to keep those prayers coming! "I hope that they will always pray for him," Mrs. Vandross said. "Prayer is the key and faith unlocks the door. If they pray and have faith in God, their prayers are worth a lot. Please keep on praying." So, until Luther is able to work again, until he comes back to us someway, there will always be a place for him here at The Mathis Chronicles, where people can send some love and encouragement to Luther Vandross, one of the greatest singer/songwriters of his generation. He believes in the power of love, as well as the power of prayer, and God bless him, he's not giving up!

TOUR BUS: The bus stops next in Baltimore, Maryland, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit See Mathis Live! for details.

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