I’d waited 56 years for this recent telephone conversation that began: “Hello, Allison. This is Johnny Mathis.”

Those dulcet tones were enough right there to slide me off my chair in a damp, heavy- breathing, quick trip back into romantic teenage fantasy. So here I am, only a very few years behind 79-year-old, fit, sexy, talented crooner-to-all-ages Mathis, and I’m still swooning.

You can find all sorts of online biographical background and discography on this ever-popular singer of “mushy romantic songs,” as he describes them, so for here, let’s have his own words tell what it’s like to be Johnny Mathis.

What’s the greatest challenge you face? What makes you get up smiling in the morning and wanting to get out there and sing, sing, sing?

I get up at 4 every morning, been doing that for the last 15-16 years. I go to the gym – NOT something I love to do but it keeps my weight down, keeps up my appearance. I don’t know if it helps my singing or not... Nah, it doesn’t. But I hope my voice doesn’t go away. I rest, eat properly, exercise and save my voice. I am very careful about my voice.

As a kid I admired great people with great voices. It’s important that people take me for exactly what they see. I am exactly how I present myself. I have no hidden agenda. No little voice blaming you or trying to change you. Mine says “always do the right thing.”

Once I turned 70, it seems like almost every sentence I hear starts with either an overt or implied “at your age...” Do you get that, too?

I can’t believe how old I am. It’s hard to believe I’m still in one piece given all the ongoing traveling, business tasks, and hard work I do. I don’t think about the age factor unless it has something to do with my energy level. You get a little more tired. You can’t do what you always did. I used to go, go, go. Now I have all these wonderful memories –  opportunities from what I’ve done in the past. But I don’t want to do everything I used to do. If you get into a good routine like I’ve done for the past few years, you can just keep doing what you feel like doing.  

You’re such a natural singer, but also such an athlete you were once on the way to trying out for the Olympics back in the ‘50s.

I was a pretty good jumper and hurdler and played basketball in the same city as Bill Russell. I grew up doing athletics –  fun but I was not a great world-class athlete. Music came through my dad who I heard sing all the time. By the time I was 4 or 5 years old I sounded like him. It was so natural for me. Even though my dad couldn’t really afford it, he found a teacher; Connie Cox taught me for years, including opera which I still love to this day. I learned proper vocal techniques without injuring my vocal cords.

I heard all kinds of music growing up. Nat King Cole was my absolute all-time favorite. I grew up on ballads and jazz, especially from women who had the most flexible voices. I was so fortunate to have a childhood in San Francisco where they all came to perform.

Being a singer I kind of like the aspect of going around the world. This is my 54th year with Columbia Records. Thanks to them, when I started to travel, first to Great Britain and then to Europe, everyone already knew who I was. I love the audiences and I especially enjoy my musicians. Gil Reigers has been with me for 45 years, the others for over 20 years. They are the foundation of what I do. I’ve learned so much from them because I’m not a musician, merely a singer.

Your two favorite hobbies are golf and gourmet cooking. What would number 3 be?    

I love to shop! But I’m a finicky shopper, otherwise I’d have too much junk. When I was very young, I met a couple of interior designers who warned me against junk shopping. So I love looking a lot but don’t buy much. Between singing rehearsals and everyday music business and golf, there’s not much more time. I like to cook stuff somebody else can’t cook better. I love living in California with all the fresh produce. I live on a diet of fish, chicken, and veggies and fruits.

You’ve said if you really want to learn about a person, play a round of golf with them. What would I learn about you?

You’ll learn all about my personality – you can’t hide it when you’ve got a golf club in your hand. Your reaction to a bad shot tells everything about you. You learn about all sides of human nature – like those people who think they’re much better than they are; they think if they miss that it was all God’s fault.

No one has ever mastered golf, so don’t worry about it. My handicap used to be 12. Years ago I took lessons from some friends and got to a single-digit handicap. But your score goes to all to heck when you’re busy enjoying the trees and birds and beauty. I love that part but am still mediocre.

You’ve sung for royalty. Who else do you want to sing for?

I perform for a lot of rich folks who just want to hear me sing. Once I sang for a wealthy Silicon Valley guy. About a year later I found out the little soiree he gave was for Obama! Many times I’ve sung and didn’t know who was in the audience. I don’t want to know because it gives you butterflies.

I used to be so shy and nervous. When you sing in front of people there’s so much going on in the  audience, so I just closed my eyes and sang. Over the years, I’ve learned to relax a bit more. As I got more confidence, I learned to just concentrate on what I was doing and not showing my hesitancy.

You’re known for singing love songs in the most romantic way possible, but have moved on to other styles as well such as country and Brazilian. How about rap and hip hop? Any tries on your part?

One of my big supporters is my good friend Clive Davis, who used to be president of Columbia. We’ve renewed our working relationship and he suggested becoming more relevant to younger people. But it’s difficult to find things I can sing. So many are just words, no melody. I’ve tried a few – and so far have four, but need at least 10 or 12 for an album. I don’t want to embarrass myself.

You came out as gay in the early ‘80s and your audience kept growing. Are you political at all around gay issues these days?

I think it’s great to marry the person you love, not to put restraints on yourself. But it’s very difficult to share opinions with other people when it colors what they think of you. I’d rather just be known for my music.  My whole family were very quiet people – the only thing I am really adamant about is that most of the stuff I do to make my living is to be relevant to any lifestyle. Every note that I sing is from a certain place in my being that is very special and comfortable.

What’s the legacy you want to leave behind?

You’re never quite sure what legacy you leave with people. Sometimes I wonder what people really feel about me – although sometimes you don’t want to know. I go through a lot of times when I just want to be reflective.

But it’s not over yet. I still have a lot of stuff do to. I am very happy about the people I love; I still love them, even though we all make mistakes. I don’t blame people for circumstances they end up in. There’s a reason that happens. Down deep inside I feel compassion because we’re all brothers and sisters under the skin. I like to give people a lot of chances. I’m happy to be happy. I hate being in a mood that I’m not happy. I work hard to keep a good frame of mind and have compassion for all people.

Meet Allison