Andy Williams, the singer who gained great popularity in the 50s and 60s, died at the age of 84 in his house in Branson, Missouri on Tuesday. Williams had been battling bladder cancer for at least a year. He announced his life-threatening disease to his audience during a theater performance in November 2011.Williams' family confirmed the reports on Wednesday.
Williams was born in 1927, in the small town of Wall Lake in Iowa. He started off his singing career with his three brothers (Williams was the youngest of the four). The Williams brothers gained some prominence, performing as back-up singers for Bing Crosby for the hit "Swinging on a star."
In 1951, he parted ways with his brothers and went on to deliver super hits such as "Moon river," "Can't take my eyes off you," "Born Free," "Days of Wine and Roses," "The Shadow of Your Smile," "Can't Get Used to Losing You," "Solitaire," and "Music to Watch Girls By," et al. All these songs remained huge hits during the 50s and 60s.
The singer's most remembered moment was his performance of "Moon River" at the 1962 Academy Award ceremony. Even decades after the performance, audience always wanted the singer to perform it again and again.
"I still love it, as many times as I've done it...It has a great melody and wonderful lyrics. It's not a bad song to have. It could have been 'Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.' We forgot to do it one night and 27 people wanted their money back," the singer told a British newspaper in 2007 as reported by Reuters.
Such was the popularity of the singer that even President Ronald Regan called him "a national treasure," as reported by Reuters. He had 18 gold records and three platinum hits.
Watch the performance of Moon River here:
