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PERSONALITY PEEKS:
ANDY WILLIAMS, Singer

by FRANK O'DONNELL
December 9, 2006

Andy Williams was busy preparing for his Christmas tour when we spoke. "Today, I'm meeting a photographer, who's taking pictures of me and my wife and our three dogs," said Williams. "I'm not sure if that will be our Christmas card, but we'll have the picture."

Williams will use the lobby of his Moon River Theater in Branson, Missouri as the backdrop. "It looks like a winter wonderland. It's beautiful!"

On the Monday following our interview, Williams was boarding a bus for the ride to Binghamton, New York, the first stop in his twelve-day ten-city Christmas tour of the Northeast. America's Musical Ambassador to Christmas will pull into the Providence Performing Arts Center for one show on Thursday, December 21.

I asked Williams if that title was official, and he laughed. "Christmas just kept getting bigger for me." It's not something he set out to do, but thanks to his regular show on NBC in the late 60's, and the Christmas specials he did afterwards, he's come to be identified with the holiday. "I've done enough Christmas things that I've got six Christmas albums out It's a wonderful holiday, the music's very nice, everyone's happy."

Williams' Christmas show is roughly split into two parts. – one part seasonal songs, the other more spiritual. "The reason for the season," says Williams.

Williams promises to do the classics, especially "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" – which I jokingly refer to as the Staples Back-To-School song. Williams laughs again. "You can also get me singing that on a Hallmark singing greeting card."
I wonder if Williams has a favorite holiday tune. He thinks for a moment, and selects "Mary, Did You Know." "It's a very powerful piece," says Williams. "I really like it a lot."

Williams also sings with a choir. "We find the best choir available in each town. It could be a church choir, a college choir, a high school choir. Then six weeks before we arrive, they get our music, and a tape of how it will sound."

They'll rehearse together once at the sound check, and then do the show. "I do Beethoven's 9th Symphony – ‘Ode To Joy' – with the choir, plus a gospel version of ‘Hark The Herald Angels Sing.' "

The local group is called the Rumford Singers, a 20-voice ensemble directed by Ron Procopio, who frequently works as the music director for shows with The Community Players.

Williams also features a Question & Answer session as part of the show. "I'm not quite as glib as I seem up there," Williams confesses. "Most of the questions have been asked before, and I've got answers for them."

Questions about his family, and what he wants for Christmas. "As I get older, I don't care so much about material things." He finds he's a lot like his father. "We'd get him a cashmere sweater for Christmas. He'd thank us for it, then put it in a drawer for years. He never wore it. That's like me now. I don't need another tie."

Occasionally, someone will ask him a question he doesn't expect. "The other day, someone asked me if this was my real hair. I didn't have a very good answer. Yes, it is, but I didn't have anything beyond that. Next time, though, I'll have a good answer."

Williams is delighted that his shows continue to appeal to a wide variety of audiences. "We've been getting a lot of younger kids, especially for the Christmas shows. And there are a lot of 20- and 30-year-old kids as well. They do know me – my songs are still on the radio, especially this time of year."

Songs like "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" – which I jokingly refer to as the Staples Back-To-School song. Williams laughs again. "You can also get me singing that on a Hallmark singing greeting card."

I wonder if he gets paid for all of that. "Do I get paid? Sure I do. I get paid pennies. But, the pennies add up. Even if it's small, it's nice to get a check."

[Andy Williams performs his holiday show at the Providence Performing Arts Center on Thursday, December 21. For tickets and information, call (401) 421-ARTS, or check out their Web site, at www.ppacri.org.]