Remembering Andy Williams: An American Crooner Who Made the Brits Swoon

Singer Andy Williams has died at the age of 84.

He had a number of hits in the US – like his signature rendition of “Moon River”.

But it was his TV show that made Williams a star in Britain in the 1970s.

And Williams gained younger fans in the UK when in 1999, his version of the song “Music to Watch Girls By” was used in a commercial for Fiat cars.

Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Darren Henderson, a former music executive who worked with Andy Williams.

Read the Transcript
The text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

Marco Werman: Sad news now for the entertainment world. Crooner Andy Williams has died at the age of 84. His solo singing career began in the early 1950s with TV appearances on The Tonight Show. He later became known for his signature rendition of Moon River, but it was his own TV show that made Williams an international star in the 1970s. The show aired in Britain on the BBC and that was the start of a love affair between the British public and Andy Williams, a love affair that would grow with time. In 1999 Andy Williams’ version of the song Music To Watch Girls By was used in a commercial for FIAT. That ad sent the song up to the Top 10 on British charts and lead to a new following for Andy Williams. Darren Henderson was an executive with Sony Music in London. He worked with Andy Williams to market his music and manage his UK tours. Henderson and Williams became friends. Darren Henderson, what was your first reaction today when you heard this news?

Darren Henderson: Well, clearly great sadness. We clearly knew that Andy had been unwell for a little while and so obviously our thoughts go out to the family, in particular to Debbie, his wife and his three children, Noel and Christian.

Werman: Well, you can tell us how Andy Williams actually reacted when this song, Music To Watch Girls Go By kind of became an unexpected success again on the British charts. How did he react to that?

Henderson: First and foremost Andy was, although an international celebrity, meeting, dealing with him and spending time with him in person, he was like you or I, you know. He was a regular guy who was very personable and liked to listen to what you had to say. And that’s where our conversation started. We listened to what was going on here in the UK and this somewhat out of the blue phenomenon of Music To Watch Girls Go By being used in a TV commercial. And we put a proposition to him to come over to the UK and to begin just a small promotional tour, which was received so phenomenally well, reconnecting Andy with the British public.

Werman: Now, he got a lot of fans during those tours in the UK. I’m wondering though with this recent kind of second life with Music To Watch Girls Go By did he pick up a new fan base?

Henderson: He certainly did. Here in the UK back in the late ’90s there was a scene brewing, an easy listening music scene and cool lounge clubs were popping up all over the place. One of his fears was ending up singing in a supper club, but here that meant something very different, a very cool thing, not somewhere where artists end their careers. It was quite the reverse, so there were a number of clubs, one in particular was a night called the Kitsch Town Riots here in London, called the Cafe De Paris. And some 50 years after Andy last performed at the Cafe De Paris we brought him back to London to play again with his full band in that venue.

Werman: Darren Henderson worked with Andy Williams. Williams passed away today, he was 84. We’ll have Andy Williams songs and videos at theworld.org, including this one, Andy Williams’ duet with British TV host Denise Van Outen. Darren, our condolences to you and Andy Williams fans worldwide. Thank you very much for speaking with us.

Henderson: Pleasure.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.