Good Day! PRAISE TEAM! ~ TBT Gospel Artist Of The Day ~ ~ The Williams Brothers ~ Born United States Occupations Actors, Singers Years active 1938–1990s The Williams Brothers were a singing quartet that performed extensively on radio, movies, nightclubs, and television from 1938 through the 1990s. History The four Williams Brothers—Bob, Don, Dick and Andy Williams—formed a singing quartet in the mid-1930s in Wall Lake, Iowa. Their father, Jay Williams, managed and promoted the group. They entertained on radio stations, first at WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, and later at WLS in Chicago and WLW in Cincinnati, before they moved to Los Angeles in 1943, where they were under contract with the MGM film studio. The Williams Brothers appeared in Janie (1944), Kansas City Kitty (1944), Ladies Man (1947), and Something in the Wind (1947). They also appeared with Bing Crosby on the hit record Swinging on a Star (1944). This led to a nightclub act with entertainer Kay Thompson from 1947 to 1951. The act was staged by MGM choreographer, Robert Alton. They toured night-clubs and cabarets in the United States and internationally with great success and appeared on radio and television establishing a loyal cult following with their jazz-based harmonies and flamboyant performance style. The act broke up in 1951 and the brothers went separate ways, appearing annually on The Andy Williams Show from 1962 through the 1990s. Tribute[edit] Liza Minnelli has paid tribute to the Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers act in The South Bank Show (2008). In her 2008 tour, Minnelli devoted much of the performance to recreating the act, using Thompsons trademark music. The success of this tribute led to Minnellis return to Broadway in December 2008. Lizas At The Palace! opened at New Yorks legendary Palace Theatre, an affectionate salute to her godmother, Kay Thompson. Supported by a quartet of dynamic singer/dancers standing in for the original Williams Brothers, Liza performed musical hits (with the original vocal arrangements) from the famous act, including such numbers as “I Love a Violin,” “Clap Yo Hands,” “Jubilee Time”, and “Hello Hello”. The show won a Tony Award, and was subsequently released on a double CD- preserving the nightclub material in a state-of-the-art recording. Second generation[edit] Twin brothers Andrew Williams and David Williams (born February 22, 1959), nephews of singer Andy Williams, from Henderson, Nevada, recorded as The Williams Brothers in the 1990s, and made the Billboard Hot 100 with their song Cant Cry Hard Enough in 1992. As potential teen idols, they had also made the Hot 100 in 1974, billed as Andy and David Williams, with the #92 entry Whats Your Name; this followed an appearance in The Partridge Family, and features in the of-the-day teen magazines. The Gospel Group The Williams Brothers[edit] This identically-named group is quite discrete, and was organized in 1960 by Leon Pop Williams. They were known as The Little Williams Brothers. As the group grew in talent, experience and performance, the name was later changed to The Sensational Williams Brothers. Today the group is simply called The Williams Brothers
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 20:09:47 +0000
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