American singer Johnny Mathis was BOTD in 1935. Born in Gilmer, Texas to a family with African-American and First Nations heritage, he grew up in San Francisco and began performing as a child. He was spotted by a voice teacher who gave him vocal training in exchange for doing chores, and formed a band in high school. He became hugely successful in the 1950s as a popular singer of love ballads and light jazz, with hit singles including Chances Are and Wild Is the Wind and six bestselling Christmas albums. To date, he has sold 400 million records worldwide, making him the third most successful artist of the 20th century after Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. In later life, he was inducted into the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame. A lifelong bachelor, he was quoted in a 1982 magazine interview as saying “Homosexuality is a way of life that I’ve grown accustomed to.” After receiving death threats, he stopped discussing his personal life, finally confirming his sexual orientation in a 2017 interview. He played his last concert in 2025, before announcing his retirement from showbiz. His current relationship status is unknown.