Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Award-Winning Vocalist Johnny Mathis with Special Guest Comedian Brad Upton Perform at the Kimmel Center, May 2, 2010

APRIL 22, 2010

American cultural icon Johnny Mathis returns to the Kimmel Center on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 7:30pm in Verizon Hall with special guest comedian Brad Upton opening the show. Mathis is a two-time Grammy® Hall of Fame honoree with over 50 years of recording experience of romantic ballads and classic standards that continue to transcend generations, including greatest hits "Chances Are," "Wonderful, Wonderful," and "Misty.”  Featured on the HBO Comedy Festival and past winner of the Las Vegas Comedy Festival, Upton will warm up audiences with a comedic stand up act.

Tickets for Johnny Mathis with special guest comedian Brad Upton are available from $40 to $100 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.

 

A limited number of $10 community rush tickets will be available for this performance. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning at 5:30pm prior to evening curtain time. Limit one ticket per person.

In addition to his record-breaking singles and albums, Johnny Mathis has set many precedents for the music industry. He was first discovered in early September 1955 by George Avakian, then head of Jazz A&R at Columbia Records at Ann Dee’s 440 Club.  A contender for the USA Olympic Team in 1956, Johnny Mathis had a famed career as a high jumper and a skilled athlete at San Francisco State before entering his musical career at Columbia Records. In 1956, he began recording his first album, Johnny Mathis: A New Sound in Popular Song, a collection of jazz oriented renditions of popular standards, which was modestly received by the public.

Then under the supervision of producer Mitch Miller, Johnny’s voice was used to sing soft, romantic ballads. At his second recording session in fall of 1956, he recorded two singles, to become among his most popular all-time greatest hits: "Wonderful, Wonderful" and "It’s Not For Me To Say." Subsequently, MGM studios signed Mathis to sing "It’s Not For Me To Say" in the film Lizzie, where he played a tavern piano bar singer. The success of his first two singles were soon followed by "Chances Are," his first number one hit. In 1959, he recorded "Misty," for which he was awarded his first Grammy® nomination.

Mathis’ 50th anniversary in 2006 was marked with several honors including a Grammy® nomination for Isn't it Romantic in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category, as well as being named the recipient of the Society of Singers Ella Award.  He has also received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in 2003, and two Grammy nominations for "Misty" in 1960" and “In Sentimental Mood/Mathis Sings Ellington" in 1992. Mathis’s Greatest Hits album in 1958 is one of the most popular albums of all time, earning Mathis a spot in The Guinness Book of World Records.  Recent album releases include The Very Best of Johnny Mathis in 2006 and A Night to Remember in 2008.

Seattle-based comedian Brad Upton has over 25 years of experience and has provided over 5000 performances, each filled with jam packed laughs-per-minute. He has previously appeared on stage with Kenny Rogers, The Smothers Brothers, Lewis Black, Joan Rivers, Dolly Parton, Rita Rudner and Tim Allen.  He has also been a headliner on several major cruise lines, gaining popularity with corporate clients. The Seattle Times praised, "Brad Upton has mastered the nearly impossible task of appealing to people from the ages of 18 to 80."

Kimmel Center Presents 2009/10 Season is sponsored by Citi. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents.

 

Free at the Kimmel programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.

 

The Kimmel Center is a recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC “Grow Up Great” initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment preparing children for success in school and life. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center’s early childhood program “Bop and Swing,” an arts program for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.

 

KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI

 

Sunday, May 2, 2010 | 7:30pm
Verizon Hall

 

Johnny Mathis, vocalist

Brad Upton, comedian

 

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