Ken Foote Holiday Songs: Andy Williams

(CBS 11) - You know, I could write books about the late Andy Williams. What an incredible, talented individual he was.

Born Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927-September 25, 2012), he recorded 43 albums, 15 of which attained gold-certified status. He was nominated for six Grammy Awards.

He appeared on his own shows from 1958-1971 and on ABC, CBS, and eventually settled in at NBC where he was on from 1962-1971. His TV show won three Emmy Awards. He is best known for his performance of the song "Moon River," written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini. He had one #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100: "Butterfly" in 1957 but he charted 27 times from 1956-1972.

One of his most popular holiday songs of all is entitled, "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year."

Written in triple time in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle, Williams performed and released the song from his first Christmas album, although Columbia Records didn't release it as the promotional single but opted for his rendition of "White Christmas" instead.

In spite of that, the song remains today one of the top holiday songs of all time. Running 2:33, the lyrics go like this:

It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It's the hap-happiest season of all

Please sit back and enjoy Andy Williams!