Johnny Mathis: Yes, I did get famous at an early age because of my recordings. And I was so fortunate, I followed people like Lena Horne, Billy Eckstine, and Nat King Cole, and people — icons in the music business when I was growing up — and eventually I got to meet all of them and even become close friends with them. But they are the ones who did all the work for me as far as race relations were concerned. Fortunately they were all intelligent, bright people who were looking to improve relationships between black entertainers and white entertainers and just in general, the public as a whole. So I had good role models to follow. But they were the ones who went to the nightclubs and to the concert hall before me and paved the way. When I came along I really was judged by my music and nothing more.