Johnny Mathis, a legend of mid-20th-century vocal pop music, has announced his imminent retirement from live performances due to age-related memory issues.
His team announced the news on March 26, canceling a number of dates scheduled to take place after June 2025 on his “The Voice of Romance” tour.
“It's with sincere regret that due to Mr. Mathis' age and memory issues which have accelerated, we are announcing his retirement from touring & live concerts,” reads a post on his official social media accounts.
“Johnny Mathis & his entire staff send their heartfelt gratitude to all Mathis Fans worldwide for your continued love & support of his music!”
While there are still some exciting concerts coming up, regrettably all Johnny Mathis concerts from June 2025 onwards are now cancelled. 📲Please read the notice below, and contact individual venues directly with all ticket questions. Thank you, Mathis Fans❣
— Johnny Mathis (@thejohnnymathis.bsky.social) 2025-03-26T19:16:46.720Z
Mathis, who will turn 90 in September, has been a staple of the live music scene for nearly seven decades, beginning with his traditional pop breakthrough in the 1950s after playing the club scene in his native San Francisco.
His songs “Wonderful, Wonderful,” “It’s Not for Me to Say,” and “Chances Are” were major hits before he released the chart-topping albums “Johnny’s Greatest Hits” and “Heavenly” in 1958 and 1959, respectively.
Mathis’ more than 70 LPs include six that went platinum, selling more than a million copies. “Johnny’s Greatest Hits” once held the record for most weeks on the Billboard albums charts, at 490. He also had two number-one singles, “Chances Are” and his 1978 duet “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” with Deniece Williams.
Mathis reached near-perennial Christmas music status beginning in the late 1970s with the international hit “When a Child is Born,” followed by several holiday-themed albums, the most recent arriving in 2023. He has also continued to tour throughout his career, traveling with a full orchestra even into his 80s.
Outside of music, Mathis has also become notable in the LGBTQ+ community, first revealing that he was gay in 1982—in comments he believed were off the record. He openly declared his orientation in 2006, celebrating his identity and encouraging young people to be true to themselves.
A quiet religious personality, Mathis reportedly converted to Catholicism as a young adult while still living in San Francisco, having been raised in the AME Church by his parents. He first learned to sing from his father and had been a member of the church choir as a child.
Mathis received a start on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1972 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. He was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame three times for three of his most popular singles, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song in 1978 for “The Last Time I Felt Like This.”
Though Mathis will not perform beyond this summer, four stops remain on his tour, including in Indiana, California, and on the East Coast. His final live performance is scheduled for Sunday, May 18, in Englewood, New Jersey, at the Bergen Performing Arts Center.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
