Johnny Mathis Inspired To Cantorial Music By Opera Greats
"Mathis, who lived with his parents and six siblings at Post and Baker streets in the Western Addition, grew up singing spirituals in the choir at the African Methodist Episcopal church. A musical prodigy who was also a record-setting high jumper at Washington High and San Francisco State University, he hung out at the jazz clubs that flourished in the Fillmore district. His longtime vocal teacher, Connie Cox, turned him on to the great opera singers Robert Merrill and Richard Tucker, both former cantors." [Source]
