Frogtoon Music

Born Free (Album) by Andy Williams

Artist Biography For Andy Williams

Howard Andrew Williams Born December 3 1927 In Wall Lake Iowa Died September 26 2012 Known As Andy Williams Was An American Pop Singer. He First Performed In A Children's Choir At His Local Presbyterian Church. Williams And His Three Older Brothers Bob Dick And Don Formed A Quartet The Williams Brothers In The Late 1930s. The Brothers Performed On Radio In The Midwest First At WHO In Des Moines Iowa And Later At WLS In Chicago And WLW In Cincinnati. Williams Graduated From Western Hills High School In Cincinnati. They Appeared With Bing Crosby On The Hit Record "Swinging On A Star" 1944 . This Led To A Nightclub Act With Entertainer Kay Thompson From 1947 To 1951. Williams's Solo Career Began In 1952 After His Brothers Left The Act. He Recorded Six Sides For RCA's Label "X " But None Of Them Were Popular Hits. After Landing A Spot As A Regular On Steve Allen's Tonight Show In 1955 He Was Signed To A Recording Contract With Cadence Records A Small Label In New York Run By Conductor Archie Bleyer. His Third Single "Canadian Sunset" 1956 Hit The Top Ten And Was Soon Followed His Only Billboard #1 Hit "Butterfly" A Cover Of A Charlie Gracie Record On Which Williams Imitated Elvis Presley . More Hits Followed Including "The Hawaiian Wedding Song " "Are You Sincere " "The Village Of St. Bernadette " And "Lonely Street " Before Williams Moved To Columbia Records In 1961 Having Moved From New York To Los Angeles. In Terms Of Chart Popularity The Cadence Era Was Williams's Peak Although Songs He Introduced On Columbia Became Much Bigger Standards. Two Top Ten Hits From The Cadence Era "Butterfly" And "I Like Your Kind Of Love" Were Apparently Believed To Not Suit Williams's Later Style They Were Not Included On A Columbia Reissue Of His Cadence Greatest Hits In The 1960s. During The 1960s Williams Became One Of The Most Popular Vocalists In The Country And Signed What Was To That Time The Biggest Recording Contract In History. He Was Primarily An Album Artist And At One Time He Had Earned More Gold Albums Than Any Solo Performer Except Frank Sinatra And Elvis Presley. By 1973 He Had Earned As Many As 17 Gold Album Awards. Among His Hit Albums From This Period Were Moon River Days Of Wine And Roses Number One For 16 Weeks In Mid-1963 The Andy Williams Christmas Album Dear Heart The Shadow Of Your Smile Love Andy Get Together With Andy Williams And Love Story. In These Recordings Williams Displays An Incredible Vocal Technique Along With An Uncanny Ability To Make Each Song His Very Own Often Rivaling Or Surpassing The Version By The Original Artist. These Attributes Along With His Natural Affinity For The Music Of The 1960s And Early 1970s Combined To Make Him One Of The Premier Easy Listening Singers Of That Era. Williams Forged An Indirect Collaborative Relationship With Henry Mancini Although They Never Recorded Together. Williams Was Asked To Sing Mancini And Johnny Mercer's Song "Moon River" At The 1962 Oscar Awards Where It Won And It Quickly Became Williams's Theme Song. This Was Repeated The Next Year With The Pair's "Days Of Wine And Roses" Which Also Won Mancini's "Dear Heart" At The 1965 Awards And "The Sweetheart Tree" Also Written With Mercer At The 1966 Awards. Williams Also Competed In The Teenage-Oriented Singles Market As Well And Had Several Charting Hits Including "Can't Get Used To Losing You " "Happy Heart " And "Where Do I Begin" The Theme Song From The 1970 Blockbuster Film Love Story. Building On His Experience With Allen And Some Short-Term Variety Shows In The 1950s He Became The Star Of His Own Weekly Television Variety Show In 1962. This Series The Andy Williams Show Won Three Emmy Awards For Outstanding Variety Program. Among His Series Regulars Were The Osmond Brothers. He Gave Up The Variety Show In 1971 While It Was Still Popular And Retrenched To Three Specials Per Year. His Christmas Specials Which Appeared Regularly Until 1974 And Intermittently From 1982 Into The 1990s Were Among The Most Popular Of The Genre. Williams Has Recorded Eight Christmas Albums Over The Years. He Hosted The Grammy Awards For Three Consecutive Years In The 1970s. He Returned To Television To Do A Syndicated Half-Hour Series In 1976-77. In The Early 1990s Williams Gave Up Most Of His Touring Schedule In Order To Open His Own Theatre In Branson Missouri The Andy Williams Moon River Theater. He Continues To Do 8 To 12 Shows A Week From September To December And Occasionally Makes Tours Of Europe Earlier In The Year. His 1967 Recording Of "Music To Watch Girls By" Was A Surprise UK Hit In 1999 When It Reached Number 9 After Featuring In An Advert Beating The Original Peak Of Number 33 In 1967 . In 2002 He Took Part In A New Duet Of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" With British Actress And Singer Denise Van Outen. Nearly Everything Williams Ever Recorded Has Now Been Made Available On CD Through A Series Of Compilations From 1997 To 2004. Williams Met Claudine Longet When He Pulled Over To Aid Her On A Las Vegas Road. She Was A Dancer At The Time At The Folies Bergere. They Married On Christmas Day 1961 And Had Three Children Noelle Christian And Robert. They Separated In 1969 And Finally Divorced 6 Years Later. In 1976 Longet Was Charged With Fatally Shooting Her Boyfriend Skier Vladimir "Spider" Sabich And Williams Supported Her. He Married A Second Time In May 1991 To The Former Debbie Haas. They Make Their Homes At Branson Missouri And La Quinta California. Williams' Homes Have Been Featured In Architectural Digest And He Is A Noted Collector Of Modern Art. Williams Is An Avid Golfer. He Hosted A Major Golf Tournament In San Diego For Many Years Which Was Known As The Andy Williams San Diego Open During That Time. Williams' Birthplace Is A Tourist Attraction Open Most Of The Year.

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Frogtoon Music Album Info: Born Free

Born Free Is The Twentieth Studio Album By American Pop Singer Andy Williams And Was Released On April 10 1967 By Columbia Records And Includes Half A Dozen Songs Associated With Movies Or Musicals. Two Of These Tracks However Originated In The Scores Of The Films Indicated On The Album Jacket But Had Lyrics Added Later The Melody For "Strangers In The Night" Was Written For A Man Could Get Killed And "Somewhere My Love" Began As "Lara's Theme" From Doctor Zhivago. The Album Made Its First Appearance On Billboard's Top LP's Chart In The Issue Dated May 13 1967 And Remained There For 79 Weeks Peaking At Number Five. The Album Received Gold Certification From The Recording Industry Association Of America On July 6 1967 And That Same Month It Began 11 Weeks On The UK Album Chart Where It Reached Number 22. The Single From The Album "Music To Watch Girls By" Was Available Two Months Before The Album Was Released And First Appeared On The Billboard Hot 100 Chart In The Issue Of The Magazine Dated March 25 Eventually Reaching Number 34 Over The Course Of Eight Weeks. The Song Performed Even Better On The Easy Listening Chart After Debuting In The Issue Dated April 1 And Spending A Week At Number Two During A 13-Week Stay. It Debuted On The UK Charts Shortly Thereafter On May 6 And Stayed Around For Six Weeks Peaking At Number 33. The Song Was Reissued There In 1999 And Spent Another Six Weeks On The Chart This Time Reaching Number Nine. The Album Was Released On Compact Disc For The First Time As One Of Two Albums On One CD By Collectables Records On March 23 1999 The Other Album Being Williams's Columbia Release From The Fall Of 1967 Love Andy. It Was Also Released As One Of Two Albums On One CD By Sony Music Distribution On May 14 2001 Paired This Time With Williams's Columbia Album From December 1966 In The Arms Of Love. The Original Album Covers Are Displayed Side By Side On The Front Of These CD Reissues And It Is Clear That The Color Of The Born Free Cover Has Been Enhanced Considerably For The Collectables Release As Williams's Suntanned Face From The Original LP Cover Shown On The Sony Release Now Has A More Psychedelic Orange Glow. The Collectables CD Was Included In A Box Set Entitled Classic Album Collection Vol. 1 Which Contains 17 Of His Studio Albums And Three Compilations And Was Released On June 26 2001. William Ruhlmann Of Allmusic Remarked That This Album "marked A Notable Contemporization Of The Williams Formula. On His Most Recent Albums The Shadow Of Your Smile And In The Arms Of Love He Had Leaned Toward Brazilian Sounds Recording More Obscure Material And Several Standards From The Interwar Period." He Also Explained Why The Change May Have Happened "In The Arms Of Love Released Only Four Months Before Born Free Had Sold Disappointingly. Williams Reacted By Dropping The Bossa Nova And The Oldies And Looked More To The Recent Pop Charts For Covers Like Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny.'" Ruhlmann Suggested That Williams Was Trying To Reach As Wide Of An Audience As Possible. "At A Time When Non-Rock Pop Singers Were Beginning To Be Marginalized Williams Successfully Threaded The Needle Reassuring His Older Listeners While Proving Adaptable To Current Trends." Personnel This Was Williams's 13th Studio Album For Columbia Records And The First Of Those That Was Not Produced By Robert Mersey. The Credits Are From The Liner Notes For The Original Album Andy Williams – Vocals Nick DeCaro - Arranger Except As Noted Producer J. Hill - Arranger "Strangers In The Night" "I Will Wait For You" Eddie Karam - Arranger " Spanish Eyes" "Sherry!" Ray Gerhardt - Recording Engineer Bob Cato - Photography

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