A few words with Johnny Mathis

Forget fads and trends. Johnny Mathis is coming to Columbia to sing pop standards.

“Most of the songs I’ve sung and that I really love came along from the ’60s, the ’70s,” Mathis said in an interview with The State. “The new stuff, I’m not really up on.”

That means his audience Friday night at the Koger Center is likely to hear some of his most enduring hits, such as “Chances Are,” “The Twelfth of Never” and “Misty.” Plus he has prepared a medley of songs by one of his favorite composers, Henry Mancini.

“And then I do some Brazilian music,” Mathis added. “I went to Brazil at an early age and fell in love with their ballads and they way they speak the Portuguese language.”

One of the most successful recording artists of the 20th century, with more than 80 albums to his credit and 50 hits on the Billboard charts, Mathis remains a popular performer. His concert in Columbia was on the verge of selling out weeks ago.

His visit to Columbia is part of a schedule that includes just two or three concerts each month, a schedule that leaves plenty of time for golf and for resting his famous voice.

While in Columbia, he said he’ll probably make time for some clothes shopping, something he enjoys when traveling to college towns.

At 79, Mathis said he’s still fond of singing and has no plans to stop performing.

“How do you explain? That’s what I do,” he said. “I don’t know how to do anything else. They’re not going to come see me dance, I’m telling you, because I cannot dance.”

But every day, he said, he finds something a little different to sing.

If you go: Johnny Mathis, 7:30 p.m., Friday, April 10, Koger Center for the Arts, 1051 Greene St.; Tickets: $96, $76, $60 and $40 by calling the box office at (803) 251-2222 or by logging on to capitoltickets.com. The box office, at the corner of Park and Greene streets, is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Dawn Hinshaw

This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 11:17 AM with the headline "A few words with Johnny Mathis."