Andy Williams still crooning the hits

Andy Williams credits his enduring career to living up to his clean-cut image and laid-back style

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Singer Andy Williams has been charming audiences for almost 60 years, and the 73-year-old performer shows no signs of slowing down.

Williams is back performing at his Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri, singing seasonal songs and proving that last yearís throat scare is ended. He was diagnosed with nodes on his vocal cords late last year, forcing him to cancel his nightly shows for several months.

Williams' start in the music business was a family affair. A member of The Williams Brothers Quartet, he and his three brothers lent their voices to Bing Crosby's 1944 hit, "Swinging on a Star," and appeared with comedienne Kay Thompson during the late `40s.

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Williams went solo in 1952, scoring several Top 10 hits, including "Canadian Sunset," "Are You Sincere," and "Butterfly."

Then came the highly rated "The Andy Williams Show," a variety show that ran from 1958 to 1972. Many of his former guests are now dead, and Williams says the one he misses the most is Henry Mancini, who died in 1994.

"We got to be very good friends and I miss him," Williams said. "I miss that he's gone . I'll always be grateful to him not only for his friendship but all the songs I do still."

His favorite Mancini tune? "Moon River," a Johnny Mercer song for which Mancini wrote the score for "Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). It has become Williams' signature song.

CNN correspondent Gloria Hillard contributed to this report.

The Official Andy Williams Web site
Allmusic.com: Andy Williams

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