Andy Williams Sings Rodgers & Hammerstein

By the end of 1958, Andy Williams had amassed an enviable record of nine consecutive chart singles, three per year dating back to 1956. The singles showed the singer's versatility, touching on everything from easy listening pop to teen-oriented light rock & roll. But Williams, whose career dated back to the Williams Brothers' accompaniment to Bing Crosby on "Swinging on a Star" and beyond, wasn't really a rocker, even if he sometimes pretended to be one for commercial purposes at the behest of Cadence Records head Archie Bleyer. Finally, for his first LP to be recorded as such (the earlier Andy Williams LP was a singles compilation), Williams was allowed to show his true colors by recording a collection of Rodgers & Hammerstein songs from the musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, and The King and I. The result was the birth of the Andy Williams his fans knew from then on. Backed by the arrangements and conducting of Alvy West and a full orchestra, Williams revealed his warm tenor with its touches of Mel Tormé's velvety tones on material he clearly felt comfortable with. You could take any of the tracks on this album and drop them onto an album Williams recorded in the 1960s or after, and it would fit right in, which you can't say about singles like "Butterfly" or "I Like Your Kind of Love," popular as they may have been at the time of their release. Williams' buoyancy and sincerity as a singer were never better displayed than they were here on his true debut album.