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| ELLA Award for Johnny Mathis Johnny Mathis has been selected to receive the 15th Annual ELLA Award by the Society of Singers. The announcement was made by Jerry F. Sharell, the president and CEO of SOS, a non-profit organization that offers comprehensive services to meet the emergency financial needs of professional singers worldwide. Named after its first recipient, Ella Fitzgerald, the ELLA Award is given to singers whose significant musical accomplishments are equaled by their dedication to charitable and humanitarian causes both local and international. "The ELLA Award was created to honor great singers and great humanitarians, and Johnny Mathis clearly qualifies on both counts, " says Sharell. "Johnny sings from the heart, with one of the most identifiable voices and individual vocal styles of our time. He was also one of the first singers to join SOS -- and while he doesn't seek publicity for doing it, Johnny has been hosting and performing at charity events for decades." Known for his uniquely rich, velvety-smooth voice, his classic romantic ballads and for his sensitive treatment of jazz and pop standards, Mathis has placed more than 60 albums on the Billboard charts, including the 1958 compilation, "Johnny's Greatest Hits, " which put him in the Guinness Book of World Records with an unprecedented run of nearly ten years on the charts. In 2003 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He still performs steadily at prestigious concert halls around the world, while his most recent album, "Isn't It Romantic: The Standards Album, " received a 2005 Grammy nomination in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal category. The honor will be presented to Mathis at a special ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on September 12, 2006. Previous recipients of the ELLA Award, besides Ms. Fitzgerald herself, include Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Dame Julie Andrews, Placido Domingo, Barry Manilow, and Celine Dion. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |