PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Johnny Mathis performs on Friday night in Lynn.
BY LEAH DEARBORN
LYNN — Musical icon Johnny Mathis brought his velvety vocals and romantic ballads to the Lynn Memorial Auditorium Friday night.
Mathis, 80, has recorded more than six dozen albums over the course of his career, which took off after a 1957 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.
The sold-out concert on his 60th anniversary tour was packed with a mature audience, but a number of young faces mingled in the enthusiastic crowd, as well.
Mathis drew applause as soon as he stepped out from behind the curtain in a pale gray suit. Launching into song without preamble, he played “Life Is A Song Worth Singing” and several other tunes before acknowledging the orchestra that filled the stage behind him.
“Some of these gentlemen are as old as I am,” he quipped before pausing for a moment to add, “No one’s as old as I am.”
Despite the self-deprecating humor, Mathis put on a confident show with a voice that can still resonate across the hall, hitting subtle lows and soaring highs. Each number progressed with barely a pause for breath between them.
A few songs selected for the first half of the show included “It’s Not For Me To Say” and the energetic “Gina.” One of his most popular tunes, “Moon River,” which was featured in Audrey Hepburn’s “Breakfast At Tiffany’s,” was a crowd favorite that dripped with charm and nostalgia.
Mathis also took a moment to remember the song’s composer, Henry Mancini.
Special guest Gary Mule Deer, a 77-year-old comedian and musician, started his routine with a Johnny Cash cover, only to stop mid-song and begin on a string of jokes about the quality of Denny’s meals and childhood anecdotes.
The sudden injection of humor seemed an abrupt shift from the night’s serious musical performances.
Johnny Mathis is what he has always been, delivering exactly the kind of show that his fans have expected of him for so many years.
The full string section, drum rolls and nearly operatic ballads are unabashedly dramatic. To quote Mathis’ lyrics, watching the stage invoked a sense of being “on the outside looking in” at a bygone time.