Johnny Mathis to Play State Theatre, 3/26

With multiple Grammy nominations and 73 songs that have hit the Billboard Charts, Johnny Mathis has been a recording star for more than half a century. On Wednesday, March 26th, that star will shine brightly at the State Theatre in Easton.

Show time is 8 PM. Tickets are $95 for Gold Circle seating, $80 & $75 and can be purchased by visiting the State Theatre Box Office, 453 Northampton Street, Easton, by calling 1-800-999-STATE, 610.252.3132 or online at www.statetheatre.org. Sponsored by Easton Hospital, Lutron and Bazzini.

Although Mathis is frequently described as a romantic singer, his discography includes jazz, traditional pop, Brazilian music, Spanish music, soul music, rhythm and blues, soft rock, Broadway theatre, Tin Pan Alley standards, some blues and country songs, and even a few disco songs for his album Mathis Magic in 1979. Throw in five albums of Christmas music and you have one of the more diverse performers of all time.

In 2003, the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded Mathis with the Lifetime Achievement Award. This Special Merit Award is presented to performers who have made creative contributions of outstanding artist significance to the field of recording. Three of his songs have also been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. "It's Not for Me to Say", "Misty" and "Chances Are" have each been immortalized as songs that have "qualitative or historical significance." Mathis was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1972.

A star on the small screen as well, Johnny Mathis has taped twelve of his own television specials and made over 300 television guest appearances, with 33 of them being on The Tonight Show. Longtime Tonight Show host Johnny Carson said, "Johnny Mathis is the best ballad singer in the world." A noteworthy high-jumper in college, Mathis was offered a chance to tryout for the 1956 Olympic team. Having to choose between the Olympic Trials and an appointment in New York City to make his first recording, Mathis chose music and the rest is history.

For more information visit www.johnnymathis.com.