It was a night of Hollywood glamor and history in the making as legendary crooner Johnny Mathis belted out hit after hit on the bergenPAC stage in Englewood, New Jersey.
The three-time Grammy Hall of Famer chose the Bergen County venue to close out a music career that began 70 years ago in San Francisco nightclubs. He made the decision to cut his “Voice of Romance” tour short, making bergenPAC the last show of his storied career, citing age and memory issues, per his website and reports.
During his career, the 89-year-old performed nine times at bergenPAC, the May 18 concert marking his tenth. He turns 90 on Sept. 30. Overall, he’s performed close to 700 concerts around the world. He made over 300 television guest appearances, 54 of them on The Tonight Show. He also made 12 of his own television specials, and played himself on the Season 14 finale of Criminal Minds and the 2017 movie Just Getting Started. Mathis’s songs (or parts of them) have been heard in more than 100 TV shows and films around the globe.
The red carpet event and sold out concert began with a VIP reception and a special Walk of Fame ceremony, with Mathis getting an engraved paver. The newly-established Johnny Mathis Scholarship Fund will support young, aspiring artists pursuing dance, theater, voice, and music at the Bergen Performing Arts School.
Star-Studded Tributes
Numerous celebrities walked the red carpet and posed for photos, others sent video tributes, which were screened during the VIP reception and in the lobby as fans entered. Each artist shared admiration for Mathis and his extraordinary influence on American music. Numerous celebrities also shared praise and memories on social media.
“Tonight, we were so lucky to be at the @bergenpac to see the legendary #johnnymathis for his very last concert. It was amazing. I grew up listening as my Mom and Dad played his music on the Hi-Fi!!” NBC’s Al Roker said on Instagram.
Among Columbia Records longest running artists, (Mathis left for Mercury Records briefly in the 1960s), he is the third largest selling artist of the 20th century, having sold over 360 million records worldwide.
The Show: Memories, Laughter, Tears, and Amazement
bergenPAC holds 1,367 people and every seat was filled with people of all ages. Many were lifelong fans with memories of Johnny’s songs tied to a first kiss, special date, school dance, or marriage proposal.
Johnny took the stage for sets at 7 p.m., with a 20-minute intermission. Although the concert was suppose to wrap by 9:10, the show went over by 25 minutes, with no one wanting the night to end. Johnny’s energy was almost palpable, with the crowd positively pumped.
“So nice to finally meet my childhood crush, the incredible Johnny Mathis, at his final concert at Bergen PAC this past weekend with my husband, Alton,” singer Darlene Love said on Facebook.
His songs have been the background music to so many sweet memories, people exited the theater teary-eyed, holding hands, singing, and sharing stories. There was a rush to buy merchandise and everyone seemed in the mood to share the experience they just went through.
“What a range of emotions in one evening. So many of us were crying at some point, and laughing at other times,” one woman said.
Some fans were marking wedding anniversaries or birthdays, others just needed to see Johnny one last time. And for some, this was the last chance to see him for the first time.
“He was absolutely incredible,” Jack Davis, 55, from Demarest said. “I never thought to see him, but I remember him, his songs. He is a legend and this is history. You’d never know he’s pushing 90. He has more energy than I do.”
Being a bit bent over didn’t slow Johnny down from running around the stage and bantering with the audience. His voice? Smooth as butter. The music? Doesn’t get better. Mathis is one the few artists who tours with a live orchestra. He had cheat sheets for lyrics but anyone who has seen an older musician perform knows singers forget words, or they have cheat sheets.
Eileen and Terence Scott (disclosure: my parents) celebrated 62 years of marriage on May 18 and Johnny’s “The Twelfth of Never” was their song. The gist of the melody is quite romantic, with the part of the chorus: “You ask how much I need you, must I explain? I need you, oh, my darling, like roses need rain.”
“He was fantastic! Just great, so much energy, He must have sucked down a Red Bull during intermission,” Terence Scott said. “And his voice! He kept it in perfect condition. Just phenomenal.”
Mathis has been called the voice of romance, the angel of pop, and the king of ballads. After appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1957, he released his first No. 1 hit, “Chances Are,” which was also his first Grammy Hall of Fame induction in 1998. He was inducted for “Misty” in 2002, and “It’s Not For Me To Say,” in 2008. In 2003 he was granted a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
He has sold over 360 million records worldwide, with 43 songs hitting the Billboard top 100. He is the third largest selling artist of the 20th century, with the album “Johnny’s Greatest Hits” spending an unprecedented 490 continuous weeks (almost 10 years) on the Billboard Top Albums Chart and being noted in the Guinness Book of Records.
Read more: Johnny Mathis Will Sing Last Show May 18 in NJ at BergenPAC
Participating celebrities included:
◾Regina Belle
◾Dee Dee Bridgewater
◾Ray Chew
◾Kelly Ripa & Mark Consuelos
◾Clive Davis
◾Michael Eric Dyson
◾Whoopi Goldberg
◾Harvey Mason Jr.
◾Chaka Khan
◾Gayle King
◾Bubba Knight
◾Patti LaBelle
◾Norm Lewis
◾Darlene Love
◾Barry Manilow
◾David Nathan
◾Billy Porter
◾Lionel Ritchie
◾Nile Rodgers
◾Donnie Simpson
◾Valerie Simpson
◾Barbara Streisand
◾Leslie Uggams
◾Deniece Williams
◾Vanessa Williams
The setlist, per setlist.fm was:
First Set:
“When I Fall in Love”
“Morning of My Life”
“It’s Not for Me to Say”/”Chances Are”
“Gina”
“Wild Is the Wind”
“I’m on the Outside (Looking In)”
“Oh Shenandoah”
“Let It Be Me”
“Let Go”
“It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)”
“Two for the Road”
“Charade”
“Days of Wine and Roses”
“Moment to Moment”
“Moon River”
Second Set:
“Sands of Time”
“Baubles, Bangles and Beads”
“Stranger in Paradise”
“Secret Love”
“A Certain Smile”
“Wonderful! Wonderful!”
“Betcha by Golly, Wow”
“Misty”
“Yesterday”
“You and Me Against the World”
“My Foolish Heart”
“99 Miles From L.A.”
“The Twelfth of Never”
“Mas que nada”
“Manhã de carnaval”
“Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil)”
ENCORE
“How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” originally recorded by James Ingram and Patti Austin, and beautifully covered by Mathis in 1993.
The one and only Johnny Mathis singing the final song of his final concert – the Legrand/Bergman classic “How Do You Keep The Music Playing,” followed by an emotional standing ovation from the bergenPAC (Bergen Performing Arts Center) audience and his orchestra.
