Andy Williams Albums (35)
'Andy Williams Sings...'
Release Date 7/14/2009
Tracks 12
Label Hallmark
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'I Don't Remember Ever Growing Up'
Release Date 6/18/2007
Tracks 13
Label Demon
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'Andy Williams Live: Christmas Treasures'
Release Date 7/24/2001
Tracks 15
Label Neon Tonic
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'It's a Wonderful Christmas'
Release Date 10/14/1997
Tracks 9
Label Ichiban
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What The Critics Say
It's a Wonderful Christmas features Andy Williams retelling the short story "The Greatest Gift" and concluding the album with a performance of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." The reading of "The Greatest Gift" encompasses the first eight tracks on this album and is rather lengthy. Even if you're not familiar with "The Greatest Gift," the story itself should most likely seem familiar since it was the inspiration for Frank Capra's longtime holiday film favorite It's a Wonderful Life. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'We Need a Little Christmas'
Release Date 7/29/1997
Tracks 12
Label Unison
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'The Andy Williams Christmas Album'
Release Date 6/22/1989
Tracks 12
Label Sony
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What The Critics Say
Popular songs are often associated with the vocalists that made them famous but few artists actually have the distinction of having a "theme" song along the lines of Bob Hope with "Thanks for the Memories." Even fewer can claim to have two theme songs attached to them and Andy Williams is one of those fortunate stars. After "Moon River" became forever linked to Williams, he recorded a holiday song for his first Christmas album that gave him a yuletide hit and theme song. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" was the right song at the right time for Williams when he began to perform it on his highly successful NBC Christmas specials that featured the whole Williams clan. Both the song and the television specials were so memorable, it wasn't long before Williams was crowned "Mr. Christmas." Of course having a full album of wonderful holiday songs perfectly performed doesn't hurt either and the Andy Williams Christmas Album was an instant hit when released in 1963 and has since become a traditional classic. Along with "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," Williams cheerfully celebrates with the spirited medley "Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season" and is at his playful best on the irresistibly raucous "Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells." He also wraps his voice around chestnuts like "White Christmas" and "The Christmas Song" with all the warmth of a favorite blanket, while a soaring version of "O Holy Night" is both enchanting and moving. His tender reading of the lesser-known "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" is as beautiful and serene as a crystal clear winter's night, but it is the instantly catchy opening line of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" that people remember the most. It is a fitting theme song not only for Andy "Mr.Christmas" Williams, but for the season as well and a sparkling highlight from a classic holiday album. ~ Aaron Latham, All Music Guide
'Greatest Love Classics'
Release Date 1/1/1984
Tracks 13
Label Capitol
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What The Critics Say
After suffering diminishing sales in the early '70s, Andy Williams finally missed the U.S. charts entirely with his 1975 album The Other Side of Me. (The LP did chart for a week in the U.K.) Of course, most of his peers in the ranks of middle-aged, middle-of-the-road pop singers weren't even recording for major labels anymore by then, but Williams had been defying gravity for so long it had seemed he would go on doing so forever. By the mid-'70s, however, his touring activities and a new syndicated TV show were occupying more of his attention, and he had less time to focus on recording, just as Columbia Records was less interested in promoting him. On Andy, he came up with mostly new songs, though he covered the much-recorded standard "Since I Fell for You" and the Rascals' 1967 hit "Groovin'" in a Caribbean arrangement. The new songs came from Los Angeles pros like Craig Doerge, Judy Henske, Kim Carnes, and Bruce Johnston (some of whom, along with the cream of L.A. session musicians, performed on the LP), but there were no real winners among them, and Columbia didn't even bother to pull one for a single. (There was a certain irony in that since, recorded over a series of sessions, the tracks may have been intended originally to produce singles rather than constituting an album project.) Williams gave each tune a sensitive, soothing reading, but that wasn't enough to raise the material above mediocrity. As a result, Andy missed the charts, and although Williams remained on the Columbia roster for another four years, it was his last album of new material released by the label in the U.S. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
