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"Spanish Eyes"
Roger Williams
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Roger Williams (born Louis Jacob Weertz; October 1, 1924 – October 8, 2011) was an American popular music pianist. Described by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the most popular instrumentalists of the mid-20th century", and "the rare instrumental pop artist to strike a lasting commercial chord," Williams had 22 hit singles–including the chart-topping "Autumn Leaves" in 1955 and "Born Free" in 1966–and 38 hit albums between 1955 and 1972.
He was a Navy boxing champion, played for nine U.S. Presidential administrations, and had a gold Steinway & Sons grand piano model named in his honor.
Weertz was born in Omaha, Nebraska, to the Rev. Frederick J. Weertz (1891–1980), a Lutheran minister, and Dorothea Bang Weertz (1895–1985), a violinist and music teacher. The family moved to Des Moines, Iowa, before his first birthday. He first played the piano at age three. In high school he became interested in boxing, mainly at his father's insistence, and returned to music only after breaking his nose several times and sustaining several other injuries. As a young man, Weertz played organ music in his father's St. John's Lutheran Church in Des Moines and piano at the supper club, Babe's Restaurant.
Weertz majored in piano at Drake University in Des Moines, where he began developing a style that was a fusion of jazz, classical, and pop, but was expelled for playing "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" in the practice room in violation of the school's classical-music-only policy. Weertz entered the United States Navy and served in World War II. While still in the Navy he won the middleweight boxing championship at his base in Idaho and earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Idaho State College (now Idaho State University) in 1950. Afterward, Weertz re-enrolled at Drake, where he earned his master's degree in music in 1951. He then moved to New York City to attend Juilliard, where he studied jazz piano under Lennie Tristano and Teddy Wilson.
During 1951-1952 Weertz won two talent contests: "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" and Dennis James' Chance of a Lifetime television program. David Kapp, the founder of Kapp Records, heard him play at the Hotel Madison and was so impressed that he signed the pianist, giving him a professional name "that would stand up anywhere", "Roger Williams", after the founder of Rhode Island.
In 1955 Williams recorded "Autumn Leaves", the only piano instrumental to reach No. 1 on Billboard's popular music chart. It sold over two million copies and was awarded a gold record. In 1966 he had another Top Ten hit with the song "Born Free" from the motion picture soundtrack. His other hits include "Near You", "Till", "The Impossible Dream", "Yellow Bird", "Maria", and "The Theme from Somewhere in Time" which was part of the film's music score. Billboard magazine ranks him as the top-selling piano recording artist in history, with 21 gold and platinum albums to his credit. Williams was known as the "Pianist to the Presidents", having played for nine US Presidential administrations, beginning with Harry S. Truman – who requested Bach and Ravel, then played his own version of the Chopin waltz. His last White House performance was in November 2008 for a luncheon hosted by First Lady Laura Bush.
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Williams' music was in movie soundtracks: Somewhere in Time (1980), More Than a Miracle (1967), Untamed Heart ("Nature Boy") (1993), Reckless ("O Little Town of Bethlehem") (1995), and he performed his hit song, Born Free for the 1967 Oscars "Best Original - Song / Music Score"
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Williams claimed to know 10,000 songs by heart and often took requests. Of his talent, he said: “I know I was given a gift, and once in a while I go to church and say, ‘Hey, thanks.’ I play my religion through my fingers.”. ... -- Wikipedia
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... Previously on the Great Instrumental Music program:
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rnr/d/for-the-thinking-man/7749872718.html
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rnr/d/happy-occasion/7749801686.html
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rnr/d/classics/7749458015.html
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rnr/d/dick-kesner-and-his-magic-stradivarius/7749378038.html
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rnr/d/honeymoon-in-paris/7749370869.html
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rnr/d/in-the-evening/7749272069.html
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Hear it all! All of the Great Instrumental Music posts (currently available):
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/search/nva/rnr?query=Great%20Instrumental%20Music#search=1~list
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