Johnny Mathis shows no intention of slowing down

Johnny Mathis has had such a long career and has committed so many songs to tape that some of those recordings were bound to fall through the cracks. Upon listening back to some of the oldest material on a new box set chronicling his long career, Mathis himself admits he hadn’t heard some of the tracks since they were recorded in the late ’50s.

“The record company wanted as much product in the shortest amount of time,” Mathis said during a recent phone interview. “From the time I was 19 years old making my first recordings to the time I was maybe 40, I was in the studio nonstop. … I was practically living in the recording studio.”

The legendary crooner hits the stage at the INB Performing Arts Center on Sunday, the latest stop on a tour celebrating his sixth decade in show business. Mathis, who turned 80 last year, doesn’t have any plans to retire or slow down, and you get the sense that he’s still something of a perfectionist: He even says that he would have preferred that some of the long lost tracks on his latest collection had remained lost.

“I was having a conversation with one of my friends a few years ago, saying, ‘I wonder what happened to all of that music I did that was terrible.’ And now I’ve found out,” Mathis said with a laugh. “The good, the bad, the ugly – it’s all in there. First of all, I was livid. But they released it before I could get the word out that they were going to ruin my career, but I guess it’s too late to do that.”

That will no doubt appeal to Mathis completists, because about a third of the set’s 87 tracks have never before appeared on a digital format. And that’s especially surprising when you consider just how much material Mathis has released over the years: He has more than 70 studio albums to his name, which have sold upwards of 350 million copies.

Mathis says he still tries to get into the studio as often as possible, even if today’s recording process is unrecognizable from the techniques of the ’50s and ’60s.

“I used to go into the studio and I had three hours to do four songs, if you can imagine. And I did it,” Mathis said. “But technically, things are quite different (now), and it takes hours and hours now to do what I used to do in 20 or 30 minutes. I’m of the mind that if you’re going to do it, you let people who are helping you do it their way. … I’ve grown accustomed to it.”

He’s also trying to keep his music current and relevant, and he’s reportedly working on an upcoming album with prolific R&B producer and songwriter Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.

“Singing is still the thing I love doing most,” Mathis said. “Most of the time I spend trying to hone my craft. I’m still at a point where I can say, ‘I can do this a little better,’ or, ‘Let me sing something more relevant.’

“Though I never know what’s relevant,” he added with a laugh.

When he’s onstage, Mathis says, he tries to recreate the sounds of his classic recordings as best he can: He’s backed by four musicians he’s been touring with for years, as well as a small orchestra. And though you’ll hear all of his most recognizable tunes, Mathis doesn’t merely stick to his traditional torch songs.

“The audience (will be) very familiar with some of the songs I sing,” Mathis said. “But I also do a medley of Brazilian songs, some of them in Portuguese, and I also sing some songs that my dad taught me, mostly cowboy songs.”

Listening to Mathis’ highest charting hits throughout the decades – “Chances Are” in the ’50s, “Gina” in ’60s, “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late” in the ’70s and his myriad holiday recordings – you can hear an artist shifting with the times while remaining true to the timeless, velvety smooth jazz singers that inspired him.

“As I’ve aged and have gone into different types of songs, you’re very careful about what you choose,” Mathis said. “Some of it’s good, and some it’s not as good, but I haven’t had any train wrecks yet as far as that’s concerned. … My voice has held up pretty well and I’m still able to sing, and there are still people who want to work with me. It really is very rewarding.”