Danny Williams
  • Real Name: Danny Williams
  • Birth Date: January 7th, 1942
  • Birth Place: South Africa

    • Despite being born in Africa, Danny Williams grew up and started his singing career in England. He remained a fairly little known singer until recording his superlative rendition of 'Moon River'. The song has since, somewhat confusingly, become more associated with American Andy Williams, but it was Danny Williams that produced the version normally regarded in the UK as 'definitive'.

    Apart from this superb single, Williams managed the chart with several other MOR ballads, the most memorable of which was 'Wonderful World Of The Young'. None of his successful UK hits made any impression in the USA, however he managed to reach the US #9 with a song called 'White On White' in 1964; a record which, perversely, flopped on his home ground. By the mid-1960s he was beginning to struggle to find suitable material and was never able to get near to repeating his previous successes. However, his biggest hit single was great enough to sustain his long term career which he carried out mostly by touring on the UK night club circuit.
     

    The EP shown here on the left was the first on that format to be released for this young singer. Despite its title it does not contain the legendary "Moon River", but just sides from two hits that followed it plus a song that didn't appear on a single at all!

    John C. Gee's sleeve notes refer to the advent of Danny Williams as a promise for a brighter future- doubtless he saw Danny as many did as a kind of UK version of Johnny Mathis. In retrospect the brighter new future arguably belonged to the, yet unheard, beat groups; nevertheless Danny Williams had already secured his long term singing career and would outlast most of them.
    Although without a chart hit for several years, Danny Williams continued issuing singles from time to time long after his most successful period in the 1960s had waned. He was rewarded for this tenacity, when in 1977 he reached #30 with a song called 'Dancing Easy' which was based on a jingle from a TV commercial. Danny continued to sing and make recordings right up to his untimely demise. Sadly, this wonderful singer died from cancer on December 6th, 2005.

    1950s & 1960s 45rpm UK Discography

    • Listings include UK 45 singles releases only
    • See lower list for EP releases
    • Collector's Items are shown In Red

    HMV POP624 1959 Tall A Tree/ I Look At You  
    HMV POP655 1959 So High-So Low/ My Own True Love  
    HMV POP703 1959 Youthful Years/ It Doesn't Matter  
    HMV POP803 1960 A Million To One/ Call Me A Dreamer  
    HMV POP839 1961 We Will Never Be As Young As This Again/ Passing Breeze #44
    HMV POP885 1961 The Miracle Of You/ Lonely #41
    HMV POP932 1961 Moon River/ A Weaver Of Dreams #1
    HMV POP968 1962 Jeannie/ It Might As Well Be Spring #14
    HMV POP1002 1962 The Wonderful World Of The Young/ A Kind Of Loving #8
    HMV POP1035  1962 Tears/ Tiara Tahiti #22
    HMV POP1112 1963 My Own True Love/ Who Can Say #45
    HMV POP1150 1963 More/ Rhapsody  
    HMV POP1172 1963 The Wild Wind/ Once Upon A Time  
    HMV POP1203 1963 A Day Without You/ Secret Love  
    HMV POP1236 1963 White On White/ After You  
    HMV POP1305 1964 Today/ Lonely In A Crowd  
    HMV POP1325 1964 The Seventh Dawn/ The World Around Me  
    HMV POP1372 1964 Forget Her/ Forget Her/ Lollipops And Roses  
    HMV POP1388 1965 The Roundabout Of Love/ I Wanna Be Around  
    HMV POP1410 1965 Go Away/ Masquerade  
    HMV POP1455 1965 Lovely Is She/ Gone And Forgotten  
    HMV POP1487 1966 And So We Meet Again/ Violets For Your Furs  
    HMV POP1506  1966 I've Got To Find That Girl Again/ Throw A Little Lovin' My Way  
    HMV POP1522 1966 Don't Just Stand There/ Now And Then  
    HMV POP1560 1966 Rain Falling From The Skies/ I'm So Lost  
    Deram DM149 1967 Never My Love/ Whose Little Girl Are You  
    Deram DM199  1968 Everybody Needs Somebody/ They Will Never Understand  

    EP Discography

    • Collector's Items are shown In Red
    • See Upper List For Singles releases

    HMV 7EG78748 1962 "The Hits Of Danny Williams"  
    The Wonderful World Of The Young/It Might As Well Be Spring/Jeannie/Stay As Sweet As You Are
    HMV 7EG8763 1962 "Danny Williams Swings With Tony Osborne"  
     
    HMV 7EG8800 1963 "The Days Of Wine And Roses" w. Alyn Ainsworth Orch.  
    The Days Of Wine And Roses(w.Geoff Love Orch.)/My Own True Love/The Greatest Love/"To Each His Own"

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