Post by Rob Durkee on Sept 26, 2012 22:08:20 GMT -5
By ROCKIN' ROBIN
BRANDON, MISSOURI (RTDP) 9/24/12 -- Andy Williams, who thrilled at least one generation of people with his twenty year span of hits, his 10-year TV variety show and with two Christmas songs that'll forevermore be heard every December, died Tuesday night (September 24, 2012) at his Branson home. He was 84. According to the Associated Press and publicist Paul Shefrin, Williams had been battling bladder cancer for about a year.
Andy Williams had a 20-year span of hits from 1956 to 1976 with 46 Cash Box pop chart hits, with two dozen making the Top 40. He had ten top 10's and one #1, "Can't Get Used To Losing You" in 1963. That song was so memorable over the years that it would be played as a drop-piece on a March, 1989, "American Top 40" show. It was compared tempo-wise with "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" by Enya.
That year 1963 was big in another way for Andy. "The Andy Williams Christmas Album" was released late that year and would give us two holiday classics still heard on many USA radio stations in December, "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" and "Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season." According to Wikipedia, "Happy Holiday" was in the same soundtrack of the movie that introduced us to "White Christmas." Oddly, "Happy Holiday" wasn't initially regarded as a Christmas song as it was sung on New Year's Eve in "Holiday Inn." However, Williams probably made it a Christmas song forever from 1963 on.
For all the success he had on the pop chart, though, Andy Williams will be forever linked to a song that he never released as a commercial single. He even named one of his production companies and the theater he performed at in Branson after that song, "Moon River." The song was originally sung and introduced by Audrey Hepburn in the movie, "Breakfast At Tiffany's." However, "Moon River" would be a #5 hit in 1961 for Jerry Butler and Henry Mancini, who co-wrote the song along with Johnny Mercer.
Why didn't Andy release "Moon River" as a single? Well, he switched labels from Cadence to Columbia. It's believed that a higher-up at Columbia didn't like the song's lyric line, "my huckleberry friend." Whatever the case, Williams did eventually record "Moon River" in what he said was "pretty much in one take." Plus, he sang the song at the 1962 Academy Awards show.
That was enough for Andy to insist that "Moon River" was HIS song. "When I hear anybody else sing it, I can't stop myself from shouting at the TV screen, 'NO! That's MY song!'," he said in his 2009 memoir. Its title? "Moon River And Me."
Howard Andrew Williams was born December 2, 1927 in Wall Lake, Iowa. He would sing in church choirs with his brothers Dick, Bob and Don. The group was first turned down in an audition at radio station WHO in Des Moines. However, the quartet kept returning to the station and would eventually gain popularity in cities like Chicago, Cincinnati and Hollywood. WHO was also the station that had a young sportscaster named Ronald Reagan.
The Williams Brothers provided vocals with Bing Crosby on the 1944 chart-topping hit, "Swinging On A Star" from the movie, "Going My Way." The group lasted about five years and would make upwards of $25,000 a year before deciding to split. Andy Williams initially struggled to make it as a solo singer, so much so that he even resorted to eating food intended for his two dogs. What turned around Andy's career was two years of performing on Steve Allen's version of "The Tonight Show" starting in 1954 and getting a contract with Cadence Records in 1956.
Andy Williams exploded onto the pop music scene with "Canadian Sunset," which peaked at #2 on the Cash Box pop chart in October, 1956. Listed together with the other popular version at the time--Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra with Eddie Heywood--"Canadian Sunset" was kept out of #1 by "Don't Be Cruel" by Elvis Presley.
Andy even took a shot at coming up with rock and roll songs in 1957 with "Butterfly" (#3), "I Like Your Kind Of Love" (#10) and "Lips Of Wine" (#20). Thereafter, though, from 1958 on, Williams pretty much stuck to middle-of-the-road hit songs which were mostly ballads and mid-tempo songs. His next two top 10's -- "Are You Sincere" (#7, 1958) and "The Hawaiian Wedding Song" (#6, 1959) would both be later sung by Elvis Presley. Andy's other top 10's were "Lonely Street" (#7, 1959), "The Village Of St. Bernadette" (#9, 1960), "Stranger On The Shore" (#10, 1962) and "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story," which reached #10 in 1971. His last top 40 came in 1972 with the #24 peaking "Love Theme From 'The Godfather'."
Andy Williams' TV variety show lasted roughly from 1962 to 1971. During the show's success, Andy sang "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic" at Bobby Kennedy's funeral in 1968. Perhaps the most notable act introduced on Andy's TV show was the Osmonds. Donny Osmond first sang on the show in 1963 at the age of six.
There was probably only one controversial chapter in Andy's life. Claudine Longet, whom he was married to from 1961 to 1975, was charged with fatally shooting her then-boyfriend, skier Spider Sabich in 1976. Even though Andy had divorced Longet the year before, 1975, he nevertheless stood by her side. Andy would escort Claudine to and from the courtroom, testified on her behalf and helped with her legal expenses. Longet insisted the shooting was accidental and would spend only 30 days in jail.
Andy Williams recorded 18 gold albums and three more LP's that gained platinum status. He won three Emmys with his TV show and had been performing in Branson since May, 1992.
BRANDON, MISSOURI (RTDP) 9/24/12 -- Andy Williams, who thrilled at least one generation of people with his twenty year span of hits, his 10-year TV variety show and with two Christmas songs that'll forevermore be heard every December, died Tuesday night (September 24, 2012) at his Branson home. He was 84. According to the Associated Press and publicist Paul Shefrin, Williams had been battling bladder cancer for about a year.
Andy Williams had a 20-year span of hits from 1956 to 1976 with 46 Cash Box pop chart hits, with two dozen making the Top 40. He had ten top 10's and one #1, "Can't Get Used To Losing You" in 1963. That song was so memorable over the years that it would be played as a drop-piece on a March, 1989, "American Top 40" show. It was compared tempo-wise with "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)" by Enya.
That year 1963 was big in another way for Andy. "The Andy Williams Christmas Album" was released late that year and would give us two holiday classics still heard on many USA radio stations in December, "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" and "Happy Holiday / The Holiday Season." According to Wikipedia, "Happy Holiday" was in the same soundtrack of the movie that introduced us to "White Christmas." Oddly, "Happy Holiday" wasn't initially regarded as a Christmas song as it was sung on New Year's Eve in "Holiday Inn." However, Williams probably made it a Christmas song forever from 1963 on.
For all the success he had on the pop chart, though, Andy Williams will be forever linked to a song that he never released as a commercial single. He even named one of his production companies and the theater he performed at in Branson after that song, "Moon River." The song was originally sung and introduced by Audrey Hepburn in the movie, "Breakfast At Tiffany's." However, "Moon River" would be a #5 hit in 1961 for Jerry Butler and Henry Mancini, who co-wrote the song along with Johnny Mercer.
Why didn't Andy release "Moon River" as a single? Well, he switched labels from Cadence to Columbia. It's believed that a higher-up at Columbia didn't like the song's lyric line, "my huckleberry friend." Whatever the case, Williams did eventually record "Moon River" in what he said was "pretty much in one take." Plus, he sang the song at the 1962 Academy Awards show.
That was enough for Andy to insist that "Moon River" was HIS song. "When I hear anybody else sing it, I can't stop myself from shouting at the TV screen, 'NO! That's MY song!'," he said in his 2009 memoir. Its title? "Moon River And Me."
Howard Andrew Williams was born December 2, 1927 in Wall Lake, Iowa. He would sing in church choirs with his brothers Dick, Bob and Don. The group was first turned down in an audition at radio station WHO in Des Moines. However, the quartet kept returning to the station and would eventually gain popularity in cities like Chicago, Cincinnati and Hollywood. WHO was also the station that had a young sportscaster named Ronald Reagan.
The Williams Brothers provided vocals with Bing Crosby on the 1944 chart-topping hit, "Swinging On A Star" from the movie, "Going My Way." The group lasted about five years and would make upwards of $25,000 a year before deciding to split. Andy Williams initially struggled to make it as a solo singer, so much so that he even resorted to eating food intended for his two dogs. What turned around Andy's career was two years of performing on Steve Allen's version of "The Tonight Show" starting in 1954 and getting a contract with Cadence Records in 1956.
Andy Williams exploded onto the pop music scene with "Canadian Sunset," which peaked at #2 on the Cash Box pop chart in October, 1956. Listed together with the other popular version at the time--Hugo Winterhalter and His Orchestra with Eddie Heywood--"Canadian Sunset" was kept out of #1 by "Don't Be Cruel" by Elvis Presley.
Andy even took a shot at coming up with rock and roll songs in 1957 with "Butterfly" (#3), "I Like Your Kind Of Love" (#10) and "Lips Of Wine" (#20). Thereafter, though, from 1958 on, Williams pretty much stuck to middle-of-the-road hit songs which were mostly ballads and mid-tempo songs. His next two top 10's -- "Are You Sincere" (#7, 1958) and "The Hawaiian Wedding Song" (#6, 1959) would both be later sung by Elvis Presley. Andy's other top 10's were "Lonely Street" (#7, 1959), "The Village Of St. Bernadette" (#9, 1960), "Stranger On The Shore" (#10, 1962) and "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story," which reached #10 in 1971. His last top 40 came in 1972 with the #24 peaking "Love Theme From 'The Godfather'."
Andy Williams' TV variety show lasted roughly from 1962 to 1971. During the show's success, Andy sang "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic" at Bobby Kennedy's funeral in 1968. Perhaps the most notable act introduced on Andy's TV show was the Osmonds. Donny Osmond first sang on the show in 1963 at the age of six.
There was probably only one controversial chapter in Andy's life. Claudine Longet, whom he was married to from 1961 to 1975, was charged with fatally shooting her then-boyfriend, skier Spider Sabich in 1976. Even though Andy had divorced Longet the year before, 1975, he nevertheless stood by her side. Andy would escort Claudine to and from the courtroom, testified on her behalf and helped with her legal expenses. Longet insisted the shooting was accidental and would spend only 30 days in jail.
Andy Williams recorded 18 gold albums and three more LP's that gained platinum status. He won three Emmys with his TV show and had been performing in Branson since May, 1992.