BRANSON, Mo. - For the older - OK, squarer - side of the generation gap, Andy Williams was part of the soundtrack of the 1960s and '70s, with easy-listening hits like "Moon River," the "Love Story" theme and "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" from his beloved Christmas TV specials.
The singer known for his wholesome, middle-America appeal was the antithesis of the counterculture.
"The old cliché says that if you can remember the 1960s, you weren't there," Williams once recalled. "Well, I was there all right, but my memory of them is blurred - not by any drugs I took but by the relentless pace of the schedule I set myself."
The 84-year-old entertainer, who died Tuesday night at his Branson home after a yearlong battle with bladder cancer, outlasted many of the decade's rock stars and fellow crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. He remained on the charts into the 1970s and continued to perform into his 80s.
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Williams became a major star in 1956, the same year as Elvis Presley, with the Sinatra-like swing number "Canadian Sunset." For a time, he was pushed into such Presley imitations as "Lips of Wine" and the No. 1 smash "Butterfly."
But he mostly stuck to what he called his "natural style" and kept it up throughout his career. In 1970, when even Sinatra had temporarily retired, Williams was in the top 10 with the theme from "Love Story," the Oscar-winning tearjerker. He had 18 gold records, three platinum and five Grammy award nominations.
Williams was also the first host of the live Grammy awards telecast and hosted the show for seven consecutive years, beginning in 1971.
Movie songs became a specialty, including his signature "Moon River." The longing Johnny Mercer-Henry Mancini ballad was his most famous song, even though he never released it as a single because his record company feared such lines as "my huckleberry friend" were too confusing and old-fashioned for teens.
The song was first performed by Audrey Hepburn in the cherished 1961 film "Breakfast at Tiffany's," but Mancini thought "Moon River" was ideal for Williams, who recorded it in "pretty much one take" and sang it at the 1962 Academy Awards. Although "Moon River" was covered by many artists and became a hit single for Jerry Butler, Williams made the song his personal brand. In fact, he insisted on it.
"When I hear anybody else sing it, it's all I can to do stop myself from shouting at the television screen, 'No! That's my song!' " Williams wrote in his 2009 memoir titled, fittingly, "Moon River and Me."
At a Wednesday matinee at Williams' Moon River Theatre in Branson, a performer told the crowd that Williams would have wanted the show to go on, and it did. The first show after his death included a moving video of him performing "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You."
Because of illness, Williams had not performed in several months.
He had been a constant presence on television with "The Andy Williams Show," which lasted in various formats through the 1960s and into 1971. It won three Emmys and featured Williams alternately performing his stable of hits and bantering with guest stars.
For many families, Williams and his music were a holiday tradition. His annual Christmas specials continued long after his show ended, featuring Williams dressed in colorful sweaters singing favorites that almost always included "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," a song written for Williams that became a holiday standard.
Williams' act was, apparently, not an act. The singer's unflappable manner on TV and in concert was mirrored offstage.
"I guess I've never really been aggressive, although almost everybody else in show business fights and gouges and knees to get where they want to be," he once said. "My trouble is, I'm not constructed temperamentally along those lines."
His image endured one jarring interlude.
In 1976, his ex-wife, former Las Vegas showgirl Claudine Longet, shot and killed her lover, skiing champion Spider Sabich. The Rolling Stones mocked the tragedy in "Claudine," a song so pitiless that it wasn't released until decades later. Longet, who said the slaying was an accident, spent only a week in jail. Williams stood by her. He testified on her behalf and provided support for her and their children, Noelle, Christian and Robert.
Also in the 1970s, Williams was seen frequently in the company of Ethel Kennedy, Robert Kennedy's widow. The singer denied any romantic involvement.
On StarNet: See more photos of Andy Williams at azstarnet.com/gallery and find a video at azstarnet.com/video
