350 million albums sold . . . the largest selling Christmas recording of all time . . . a Grammy winner . . . the first artist to ever have a greatest hits release . . . the third largest selling male artist in the United States (just behind Elvis and Frank Sinatra) . . . pretty impressive, 'eh! Who I am talking about? Johnny Mathis, of course.

Johnny was in St. Louis Saturday night for the first of two concerts at the Fox Theater. While I was one of only two people awaiting his arrival in the afternoon, he simply motioned to his watch and said he was running late as he made his way into the Theater at about 3:30 p.m. Running late at 3:30 p.m. for a 8:00 p.m. show??? Hey, maybe he'll do a sound check and then leave for dinner or go back to the hotel to relax. Could I be that lucky? Nope . . . he stayed inside until the very end. As he exited the Theater, he waved to the crowd and hopped in a town car. No autographs? No pictures? As the car made its way out of the parking lot, it slowed, and down came the back window. He signed autographs for about three minutes, and I was one of the lucky ones to get my CD signed. However, photos were impossible in the crowd that had grown to about thirty people. So . . . I jogged across the street to my car and waited for Johnny's car to exit. Naturally, I followed. Destination unknown. It was somewhere downtown. Final stop was the Ballpark Village Hilton. As he waited for his luggage to be unloaded, I asked for the photo and finally got it. Whew . . . success at last!

When you think of the Tonight Show . . . you naturally think of Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, and this guy . . . Doc Severinsen. He was the leader the NBC Orchestra from 1967 to Johnny's last show in 1992. Sometimes, he served as Johnny's sidekick when Ed was away.

Doc was in Decatur, Illinois, today at the Kirkland Fine Arts Center for the final stop on his last tour with his Big Band. I caught up with him as he left the hotel on the way to the venue. Doc looks pretty good for 80-years-old, wouldn't you say?

Friday night was a doubleheader. An early trip to Springfield netted a photograph and autograph from legendary folk singer John Prine. John was in concert that night at Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois at Springfield. John was more the happy to set down his dinner to sign, take pictures, and visit briefly with us. I asked him if he was planning to play my favorite John Prine song, "Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian." He didn't make any promises, but I understand from a very reliable source who was at the show, he did play the song and even mentioned our conversation a few hours earlier.

Later that evening, I took a trip south to the Holiday Inn in Alton, Illinois, to await the arrival of a Supreme, Mary Wilson. Mary was in concert earlier in the evening at Argosy Casino. Just as I had been told, Mary arrived about 10 p.m. and was eager to sign autographs and take pictures for myself and three other autograph collectors. She thanked us all for waiting and wished us a great evening as she departed for her room.