Andra Willis (born August 27, 1943) is an American singer best known from television's ''
The Lawrence Welk Show
''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 t ...
'' from 1967 to 1969.
Born and raised in
Danville,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. Andra began singing professionally with her sisters Toneda and Sheryl. Billed as the Willis Sisters, they started out locally with bands such as the Freddie Lee Orchestra and later guest starred on national television programs such as
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
and ironically, on
Lawrence Welk's The Plymouth Show. Later, when the Willis Sisters split up, Andra became a solo vocalist, and was a frequent regular on
Don McNeill's radio program, ''
The Breakfast Club
''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American independent teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. The ensemble cast includes Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ring ...
''.
She joined the cast of the Welk show in late 1967, and until her departure in 1969, was featured as both a soloist and in duets with fellow Music Maker
Dick Dale
Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American Rock music, rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting wit ...
.
Since leaving the Welk organization, Andra has pursued a career as a studio session singer and a songwriter. She has worked on the soundtrack for the movie ''
Lost Horizon
''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by the English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called '' Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by the director Frank Capra and a musical remake in 1973 by the producer Ross Hunter with music by Bu ...
'' where she supplied the vocals for
Olivia Hussey
Olivia Hussey (; 17 April 1951 – 27 December 2024) was a British actress. Her awards included a Golden Globe Award and a David di Donatello Award. The daughter of Argentine tango singer Osvaldo Ribó, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires but spen ...
in the songs ''Share The Joy'' and ''The Things I Will Not Miss'
Today, since the late 1980s, Andra and her husband, musician and composer
Larry Muhoberac
Lawrence Gordon Muhoberac, Jr. (February 12, 1937 – December 4, 2016) was an American musician, record producer, and composer who was also known under pseudonyms "Larry Owens" and "Larry Gordon".
Career in America
Muhoberac is widely known a ...
make their home in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
References
External links
The Andra Willis Roadside AttractionThe Lawrence Welk Show on IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Andra
1943 births
Living people
People from Danville, Virginia
American women singers
Lawrence Welk