The Citrus Heights house is cozy, but it's big enough to hold what Steve C. Luth thinks is the world's second-largest Johnny Mathis collection.

"Let's go into the Mathis room," he suggests.

OK, let's.

For another homeowner, the small room with green carpet and pale green curtains might be a back bedroom or a home office. For Luth – a 53-year-old workers compensation insurance broker – it's the heart and soul of his passion for Johnny Mathis.

Here are old racks from Tower Records, their tiers filled with some 400 albums as well as magazines and other memorabilia, most of it wrapped in plastic to protect it from wear and tear.

The walls – my gosh – are crammed with Johnny Mathis posters and three large paintings of Mathis that Luth commissioned. A smattering of framed gold records hangs near the doorway.

And on the far wall, a big picture of Mathis and Luth together, both smiling, taken after some long-ago show.

"He knows who I am," Luth says. "He doesn't know my name, but he knows I'm one of the good guys."

Over the years, Luth has also acquired yearbooks from San Francisco's Roosevelt Junior High and George Washington High School, where Mathis graduated in 1954.

He owns letters Mathis sent to friends. And he proudly displays the recording of the 1955 Kampus Kapers show at San Francisco State, featuring a performance by Mathis only a few months before his professional singing career began.

This, he says, is one of the gems of his collection.

Very impressive. But as a diehard Johnny Mathis fan, Luth must know that he's – how to put this delicately – a bit out of step with his generation.

He nods. Clearly, this isn't news to him.

"As a kid, my musical likes were Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, John Denver and James Taylor," he says.

(Dear Lord. Imagine 1973 in the Luth household.)

"But I also liked Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis and Frank Sinatra. I gravitated toward Johnny Mathis' music. I think it's very beautiful."

And so it is. But I'd guess that Mathis' most dedicated fans tend to be a bit older than Luth.

"Most of them are women in their 70s who've been listening to his music for 50 years," he says. "Johnny is 72 himself. Most of his fans are in that same age range.

"But there are a few men fans who enjoy going to his concerts and meeting each other. The fan clubs disbanded a few years ago, and many of my friends from the clubs have passed on now. But the rest of us still find ways to keep in touch."

So what spurs this kind of collector's zeal?

Basically, the thrill of the hunt and the fact that as a young man Luth could collect albums as Mathis recorded them.

He also owns a dozen Edsels, leading to the possibility that this is a guy who specializes in a certain clean-cut eccentricity.

One of the fundamental truths of life is, some people collect stuff. Better Edsels and Johnny Mathis memorabilia than angel figurines and cute country clutter, frankly.

He's met Mathis many times, and he goes to several concerts each year, usually sitting in the front row. That's where he'll be for Mathis' show on Thursday at the Sacramento Community Center. He also bought 10 more tickets for friends.

But here's a shock: Luth wants to downsize his Mathis collection, donating some of it to Goodwill.

Dude, go with eBay.

"Back in the '80s, it was fun collecting all this," he says. "And I'm proud of Johnny. But sometimes, it kind of gets in the way."

Call The Bee's Anita Creamer, (916) 321-1136.