Andy

So Andy Williams has died.  He would do well to seek out my mother in the land of souls.  She was a terrific fan of his.  Unbeknown  to me at the time, I too was becoming a  fan of the crooner  (actually I should make crooner plural) albeit a closet crooner lover.

In the summer of 1961, shortly after the red measles disaster at 1514 12th Street, we acquired a STEREO system in our living room.  It was components, long before components were cool.  But my Dad was cool, so it was inevitable.

Guess who was  not satisfied?

I wanted one of those long console models, with graceful carvings over the fabric of the speakers and a sliding door on top to cover the turntable.  Or just a Hi Fi set up.   No,  we had dual three foot by two foot high speakers, big enough to have their own knickknack adornments on top.  The speakers could be strategically placed (and always were) for maximum sound quality.  Dad taught me, which didn't do much sooth me, that if the sound is accurate, you will hear it coming right smack dab at you.  These were pre-surround sound days.

Those speakers,  of premier quality,  were used in the living room until the household closed up shop for good in 2009.  Almost fifty years is a pretty good run.

Well the component system arrived and along with it about 100 albums of various artists. I do not know how that  huge pile of 33 1/3 RPM's  came into being.  Did my Dad just go wild one day at Deveu's Music Store or was it some package deal?  It even came with a two tiered storage rack.  Whether Andy Williams was in the original C pack I don't know, but he was soon crooning out his magical songs when Mom was doing her daily household work.  Itunes has the exact album for a mere $9.99.  I suppose the original platter is in Chicago with Tom, as are the speakers.

Those songs: Tonight, Three Coins in a Fountain, The Twelfth of Never, It Might As Well Be Spring, Moon River, Misty, Love is a Many Splendored Thing, If Ever I Would Leave You, Days of Wine and Roses, I've Grown Accustom To Your Face,  and the Christmas fave ~ It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, yours truly knows the words to all those songs.  I can even  play a few on the piano, with a  healthy smattering of mistakes.

I really did enjoy Andy and his life became even more acclaimed for me knowing he was in the Kennedy circle of friends.  Point  getter for this writer, a dedicated Kennedy watcher.  He sang Battle Hymn of the Republic at Bobby Kennedy's funeral.  I was glued to the TV set those long days in June of 1968.

Andy Williams, the  entertainer, had a part in my youth, but then so did Robert Goulet, Steve Lawrence and Edie Gorme, Bobby Darin and Mom's big pile of Longines Symphonette Albums.  I learned to love all their music, thanks to Evie and the components.

Rest in Peace Andy.

Post note: Hi Fi isn't in my spell check.  Am I that old?