A Few Thoughts On The Passing Of Andy Williams

Andy Williams shuffled off the mortal coil yesterday at the age of 84. To many he was a dusty specimen, a relic from an ancient era. Others, of an earlier generation themselves, perhaps, saw Williams as a second-tier crooner, a pale imitation of the true luminaries (Frank, Nat, Tony) who laid the smack down and defined the times in which they lived.

But this native of tiny Wall Lake, Iowa was his own man, and the imprint he made on the entertainment industry was singular. The handsome possessor of a ready, winning smile, Andy Williams built a career on performances that revealed the poignant side of the human experience. “Moon River” and the theme from Days of Wine and Roses come immediately to mind (both from the pen of Hank Mancini), but others—including Johnny Mandel’s “Emily,” with lyrics by the incomparable Johnny Mercer—hit the same tender spot.

Things could have gone differently. Williams topped the Billboard charts only once, with the utterly lame Elvis impression he committed to wax on a tune called “Butterfly,” which somehow captured the public’s heart in 1957. From then on he wisely avoided copping other singers and developed his own style, a style he rode for decades. A string of popular 45’s followed, including “Can’t Get Used to Losing You,” a #2 hit in 1962, along with the many TV variety shows and multiple Grammy telecasts he hosted throughout the 1970s. At least eighteen of his albums went Gold.

Sure, Andy Williams sold out late in life and opened the Moon River Theater in Branson, Missouri, but what the hell; he’d already had a great career.

Take it easy, Andy.

10/26/2012