Roger Williams (born Louis Jacob Weertz; October 1, 1924 – October 8, 2011) was an American

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. Described by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' 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 ''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her in ...

" 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.

Biography

Weertz was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, to the Rev. Frederick J. Weertz (1891–1980), a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

minister, and Dorothea Bang Weertz (1895–1985), a music teacher. The family moved to

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, before his first birthday. He first played the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

at age three. In high school he became interested in

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

, mainly at his father's insistence, and returned to music only after breaking his nose several times and sustaining several other injuries. Weertz majored in piano at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

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 "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical '' Roberta''. The song was sung in the Broadway show by Tamara Drasin. Its first recorded performance was by Ge ...

" in the practice room in violation of the school's classical music only policy. Weertz entered the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. 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 , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927) University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho Stat ...

) 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 New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to attend

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, where he studied jazz piano under

Lennie Tristano Leonard Joseph Tristano (March 19, 1919 – November 18, 1978) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher of jazz improvisation. Tristano studied for bachelor's and master's degrees in music in Chicago before moving to New Yo ...

and

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of many ...

. 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 Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

, 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 Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. In 1955 Williams recorded " Autumn Leaves", the only piano instrumental to reach #1 on '' Billboards popular music chart. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

. In 1966 he had another Top Ten hit with the song "

" from the motion picture

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

. His other hits include " Near You", "

Till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

", " The Impossible Dream", " Yellow Bird", "

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

", 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. On his 75th birthday, Williams performed his first 12-hour piano marathon. He performed marathons at the Steinway Hall in New York City and the Nixon, Carter, and Reagan Presidential Libraries. Williams and Carter were born on the same date and celebrated their mutual 80th birthdays together at the Carter Center when Williams played his marathon there. Williams was a Steinway Artist and was awarded their "Steinway Lifetime Achievement Award." His Steinway & Sons "Roger Williams Limited Edition Gold Steinway" piano was designed by Steinway in his honor. This grand piano was on tour for public display and entertainment during 2007–2008. In 2010, Williams was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Williams' music was in movie soundtracks: '' Somewhere in Time'' (1980), '' More Than a Miracle'' (1967), ''

Untamed Heart ''Untamed Heart'' is a 1993 American romantic drama film directed by Tony Bill, written by Tom Sierchio, and starring Christian Slater and Marisa Tomei. It tells the story of an unlikely romance between a young woman unlucky in love and a shy youn ...

'' ("Nature Boy") (1993), '' Reckless'' ("O Little Town of Bethlehem") (1995), and The 39th Annual Academy Awards (TV Special) ( "Born Free"). Williams developed his caring attitude for his public from a boyhood experience in

. After a piano concert by

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versaill ...

, he waited for 45 minutes outside in cold weather to meet Paderewski. When the pianist finally appeared, it was to rush to a waiting automobile. Williams, who had waited, was upset.

I didn't even get near enough to touch him or get an autograph. It was then and there I resolved that if ever I became famous I would never disappoint anyone who wanted to talk to me.

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.”

Personal life

Williams was married twice. His first marriage produced three children. Both marriages ended in divorce. In March 2011 Williams posted on his website that he had pancreatic cancer and that his doctors had told him they could not remove the tumor until chemotherapy shrank it to an operable size. He said that he did not plan on canceling any upcoming concerts. He wrote: "What does it all mean? It means I'm in just one more fight – the fight for my life... And this much I know, this old Navy boxing champion is going for broke. Just watch me!" He died on October 8, 2011, one week after his 87th birthday.

Singles discography

Discography

* ''The Boy Next Door'' (Kapp KL-1003) – 1957 * ''It's a Big Wide Wonderful World'' (Kapp KL-1008) – 1958 * ''Roger Williams with Orchestra'' (Kapp KL-1012) – 1955 * ''Daydreams'' (Kapp KL-1031) – 1955 * ''Roger Williams Plays the Wonderful Music of the Masters'' (Kapp KL-1040) – 1956 * ''Roger Williams Plays Christmas Songs'' (Kapp KL-1042) – 1956 * ''Roger Williams Plays Beautiful Waltzes'' (Kapp KL-1062, KS-3000) – 1957 * ''Almost Paradise'' (Kapp KL-1063) – 1957 * ''Songs of the Fabulous Fifties'' (Kapp KXL-5000) (2-record set) – 1957 * ''Songs of the Fabulous Forties'' (Kapp KXL-5003) (2-record set) – 1957 * ''Songs of the Fabulous Century'' (Kapp KXL-5005) (2-record set) – 1958 * ''

'' (Kapp KL-1081) – 1958 * ''Roger Williams Plays Gershwin'' (Kapp KL-1088) – 1958 * ''Near You'' (Kapp KL-1112) – 1959 * ''More Songs of the Fabulous Fifties'' (Kapp KL-1130, KS-3013) – 1959 * ''With These Hands'' (Kapp KL-1147, KS-3030) – 1959 * ''Christmas Time'' (Kapp KL-1164, KS-3048, MCA-536, MCA-15005) – 1959 * ''Always – Melodies That Will Live Forever'' (Kapp KL-1172, KS-3056) – 1960 * ''Songs of the Fabulous Forties – Part 1'' (Kapp KL-1207, KS-3207) – 1960 * ''Songs of the Fabulous Forties – Part 2'' (Kapp KL-1208, KS-3208) – 1960 * ''Songs of the Fabulous Fifties – Part 1'' (Kapp KL-1209, KS-3209) – 1960 * ''Songs of the Fabulous Fifties – Part 2'' (Kapp KL-1210, KS-3210) – 1960 * ''Songs of the Fabulous Century – Part 1'' (Kapp KL-1211, KS-3211) – 1960 * ''Songs of the Fabulous Century – Part 2'' (Kapp KL-1212, KS-3212) – 1960 * ''Temptation'' (Kapp KL-1217, KS-3217) – 1960 * ''Roger Williams Invites You to Dance'' (Kapp KL-1222, KS-3222) – 1961 * ''Yellow Bird'' (Kapp KL-1244, KS-3244) – 1961 * ''Songs of the Soaring '60s – Vol. 1'' (Kapp KL-1251, KS-3251) – 1961 * ''Roger Williams at Town Hall'' (Kapp KXL-5008) (2-record set) – 1961 * ''Greatest Hits'' (Kapp KL-1260, KS-3260) – 1962 * ''Maria'' (Kapp KL-1266, KS-3266) – 1962 * ''Mr. Piano'' (Kapp KL-1290, KS-3290) – 1962 * ''Country Style'' (Kapp KL-1305) – 1963 * ''For You'' (Kapp KL-1336, KS-3336) – 1963 * ''The Solid Gold Steinway'' (Kapp KL-1354, KS-3354) – 1964 * ''By Special Request'' (Kapp KL-3. KS-3) – 1964 * ''Roger Williams Family Album of Hymns'' (Kapp KS-3395) * ''Academy Award Winners'' (Kapp KL-1406, KL-3406) – 1964 * ''Roger Williams Plays the Hits'' (Kapp KL-1414, KS-3414) – 1965 * ''Summer Wind and Your Special Requests'' (Kapp KL-1434, KS-3434) – 1965 * ''Autumn Leaves – 1965'' (Kapp KL-1452, KS-3452) – 1965 * ''I'll Remember You'' (Kapp KL-1470, KS-3470) – 1967 * ''Somewhere My Love'' (Kapp KS-3470) – 1967 * ''Academy Award Winners – Vol. 2'' (Kapp KL-1483) * ''Born Free'' (Kapp KL-1501, KS-3501, KTL-3501) – 1966 * ''Roger!'' (Kapp KL-1512, KS-3512) – 1967 * ''Golden Hits'' (Kapp KL-1530, KS-3530) – 1967 * ''By Special Request – Vol. 2'' (Kapp KL-4, KS-4) – 1967 * ''Amor'' (Kapp KS-3549) – 1968 * ''The Impossible Dream'' (Kapp KS-3550) – 1968 * ''More Than a Miracle'' (Kapp KS-3550) * ''Only for Lovers'' (Kapp KS-3565) – 1968 * ''Happy Heart'' (Kapp KS-3595) – 1969 * ''The Piano Magic of Roger Williams'' (Columbia Musical Treasuries P2S-5306, P3S-5314) – 1969 * ''Roger Williams Plays Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet and Other Great Movie Themes'' (Kapp KS-3610, L3610) * ''Themes from Great Movies'' (Kapp KS-3629) – 1970 * ''Golden Hits – Vol. 2'' (Kapp KS-3638) – 1970 * ''Magic Moods – Roger Williams/Bert Kaempfert'' (MCA Special Markets DL-734729) – 1970 * ''Love Story'' (Kapp KS-3645) – 1971 * ''Summer of '42 (The Summer Knows)'' (Kapp KS-3650) – 1971 * ''Twilight Themes: 10 All-Time Favorites'' (Longines Symphonette Society – SYS5329, LS206C, LWS 640) – 1971 * ''Love Theme from "The Godfather"'' (Kapp KS-3665) – 1972 * ''Play Me: Love Themes from "Lady Sings the Blues"'' (Kapp KS-3671) – 1972 * ''The Roger Williams Showcase'' (Kapp KW-900) * ''Roger Williams'' (MCA-324) – 1973 * ''Roger Williams Live'' (MCA-378) – 1973 * ''The Way We Were'' (MCA-403) – 1974 * ''I Honestly Love You'' (MCA-438) – 1975 * ''Virtuoso'' (MCA-2175) – 1976 * ''Nadia's Theme'' (MCA-2237) – 1976 * ''The Best of Roger Williams'' (MCA2-4106, RCA Music Service R-243835) (2-record set) – 1976 * ''Evergreen'' (MCA-2279) – 1977 * ''Autumn Leaves: The Best of Roger Williams'' (Reader's Digest RDA-187) (8-record set) – 1979 * ''Golden Christmas'' (Holiday HDY-1927) – 1981 * ''Ivory Impact'' (Bainbridge BT-8002) – 1982 * ''1970's'' (MCA2-4180) – 1983 * ''The Best of the Beautiful'' (MCAD-5571) – 1985 * ''To Amadeus with Love'' (MCAD-5574) – 1985 * ''Somewhere in Time'' (Bainbridge BT-6265) – 1986 * ''Today, My Way'' (Priority (Capitol) Records SL9323) – 1986 * ''The Great Love Songs'' (MCA Special Products 15074) (3-CD set) – 1993 * ''Golden Christmas'' (Special Music Company SCD-4607) – 1993 * ''Sunrise Sunset'' (MCA, Pickwick SPC-3511) * ''Spanish Eyes'' (MCA, Pickwick SPC-3367) * ''Roger Williams & Ferrante and Teicher'' (Metro M-484) * ''Born Free ... and Other Great Romantic Melodies'' (Longines Symphonette Society LS 206-A) (5-record box set)

References

External links

* * *
Text of resolution
of Iowa legislature honoring Roger Williams * Roger Williams page o
Nebraska Music Hall of Fame site
*
Roger Williams Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Roger 1924 births 2011 deaths American Lutherans American pop pianists American male pianists Easy listening musicians Juilliard School alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II Drake University alumni Musicians from Des Moines, Iowa Idaho State University alumni Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in California Kapp Records artists Musicians from Iowa 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century Lutherans