One of the great middle-of-the-road singers of the mid-twentieth century, Andy Williams is among the very few whose popularity survived the onset of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s. Howard Andrew Williams was born in the small town of Wall Lake, Iowa, the last of a set of four brothers. The Williams Brothers formed a singing group while Andy was still a child, and were regularly employed on radio from 1938. The family relocated several times to facilitate the Williams Brothers' obtaining new radio contracts. At various times they lived in Des Moines, Chicago, Cincinnati, and southern California. The two older brothers were drafted in the last days of World War Two, and Andy Williams spent a comparatively calm period finishing high school in Los Angeles.

In 1947 the foursome regrouped, joining with a new partner, Kay Thompson. They played a wide variety of clubs over...