Andy Williams
Howard Andrew Williams was born on December 3, 1927, in, Wall Lake, Iowa, and died on September 25, 2012 in Branson, Missouri. Starting out in a church choir and as a teenager joining his three brothers to form a quartet that performed first on radio in Des Moines on WHO, and then in Chicago on WLS and Cincinnatiâs WLW, Andy became a regular on Steve Allenâs Tonight Show in 1955.
In 1955 Andy signed a recording contract with Cadence Records, where in the summer of 1956 his vocal version of the smash hit instrumental âCanadian Sunsetâ would earn him a top ten hit, followed by Andyâs lone #1 single chart topper, âButterflyâ.
In 1957 Andy Williams landed in the top ten with âI Like Your Kind of Loveâ and again in 1958 with âAre You Sincereâ. In 1959 âLonely Streetâ and âThe Village of St. Bernadetteâ both were top ten hits.
Leaving Cadence for Columbia Records, Andy in 1963 reached the #2 spot on the Hit Parade with âCanât Get Used to Losing Youâ. Among his fifty plus hit singles, were âHopelessâ, âDear Heartâ and âA Fool Never Learnsâ, but it would be in 1971 before he had another top ten hit single, âWhere Do I Beginâ from the film âLove Storyâ.
However, as an album artist, Andy Williams was a superstar with as many as 17 gold albums, including:
- âMoon Riverâ
- âDays of Wine and Rosesâ
- âDear Heartâ
- âThe Shadow of Your Smileâ
- âLove Storyâ
- âThe Andy Williams Christmas Albumâ
The Christmas album is still a best seller several decades later. He would record eight Christmas albums, more than any other recording artist at Columbia.
The Andy Williams Show on television won three Emmy Awards and up until the 1990s his Christmas specials were family habits during the holidays. In recent years, to the delight of fans, Andy opened his âMoon River Theatreâ in Branson, Missouri where he had a home. He alternated between a residence there and one in La Quinta, California.