Frogtoon Music

Moon River 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.

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Moon River

"Moon River" Is A Song Composed By Johnny Mercer Lyrics And Henry Mancini Music In 1961 For Whom It Won That Year's Academy Award For Best Original Song. It Is Most Well-Known For Being Sung In The Movie Breakfast At Tiffany's By Audrey Hepburn Although It Has Been Covered By Many Other Artists. It Became The Theme Song For Andy Williams Who First Recorded The Song In 1961 And Performed It At The Academy Awards Ceremonies In 1962. He Sang The First Eight Bars Of The Song At The Beginning Of His Television Show He Also Named His Production Company And Venue In Branson Missouri After Moon River. Williams' Version Was Vetoed By Cadence President Archie Bleyer Who Believed It Had Little Or No Appeal To Teenagers. Williams' Famous Version Never Charted Except As An LP Track Which He Recorded For Columbia In A Hit Album Of 1962. The Success Of The Song Was Responsible For Relaunching Mercer's Career As A Songwriter Which Had Stalled In The Mid-1950s Because Rock And Roll Replaced Jazz Standards As The Popular Music Of The Time. An Inlet Near Savannah Georgia Johnny Mercer's Hometown Was Named Moon River In Honor Of Him And This Song. The Popularity Of The Song Is Such That It Has Been Used As A Test Sample In A Study On People's Memories Of Popular Songs. The Original Version
Mercer And Mancini Wrote The Song For Audrey Hepburn To Fit Her Vocal Range. Initially The Lyrics Started "I'm Holly Like I Want To Be / Like Holly On A Tree Back Home..." However They Were Later Changed To Fit The Theme To The Movie Breakfast At Tiffany's. Although An Instrumental Version Is Played Over The Film's Opening Titles The Lyrics Are First Heard In A Scene Where Paul 'Fred' Varjak George Peppard Discovers Holly Golightly Hepburn Singing Them Accompanied By Her Guitar On The Fire-Escape Outside Their Apartments. There Was Much Behind-The-Scenes Consternation Which Erupted When A Paramount Pictures Executive Suggested Deleting The Song From The Film Immediately After A Very Successful San Francisco Preview. Hepburn's Reaction Has Been Described By Mancini And Others In Degrees Varying From Her Saying "over My Dead Body" To Her Using Somewhat More Colorful Language To Make The Same Point. Hepburn's Version Was Not Included In The Original Score Album To Breakfast At Tiffany's. Instead An Album Version Recorded By Mancini And His Chorus Was Released As A Single And Became A #11 Hit. In Different Versions Joel Whitburn's "Top Adult Contemporary Songs" Reported The Song As A #3 Or #1 Easy Listening Hit Due To Unpublished Charts In Billboard. Only Months After Hepburn's Death In 1993 Her Version Was Released On An Album Entitled Music From The Films Of Audrey Hepburn. Other Recordings
"Moon River" Was Released By South African Singer Danny Williams And Reached #1 In The UK. Shortly Thereafter Andy Williams Recorded The Song And Made It His Theme Song. It Was A Hit For Jerry Butler In 1961 Reaching #11 In The Billboard Charts. Other Artists That Have Covered The Song Are The Afghan Whigs Benny Anderssons Orkester Paul Anka Blake Louis Armstrong Vince Guaraldi Beru Revue Mary Black Sarah Brightman Liz Callaway Perry Como Ray Conniff Bobby Darin Ania DÄ…browska Dr. John Dump Billy Eckstine The Four Freshmen Connie Francis Bill Frisell Instrumental Emi Fujita Judy Garland Karel Gott Grant Green Instrumental Patty Griffin The Innocence Mission Although This Version Is Sometimes Incorrectly Cited As Being Performed By Milla Jovovich Bradley Joseph Instrumental Kim Yoo-Jin James Last Joey McIntyre Johnny Mathis Brad Mehldau Jane Monheit Morrissey Patsy Ann Noble Jim Reeves John Barrowman R.E.M. Mia Riddle Andrea Ross Frank Sinatra Barbra Streisand Sarah Vaughan Nan Vernon Kid Koala Westlife Victoria Williams The Divine Comedy And Tata Young. Mercer Himself Recorded The Song In 1974 For His Album Appropriately Named My Huckleberry Friend.

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