Easy listening pop singer Andy Williams has had more gold albums than both Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. That’s just one of the many accomplishments this 79 year old can name over the course of the six decades he’s entertained audiences via recordings and TV series. Here’s another one: “Moon River.” Just before he embarks on what he calls his last Asian tour, including a visit to Bangkok, he talks to us about his show and much more...

What can your audience expect to see when you are here?
Everything is perfect with perfect sound. I’m bringing the lights and the band and the perfect singer. We have three backup singers who are terrific and I’m in fine form. My voice isn’t as good as it was when I was 35, but it’s certainly better than Sinatra’s when he was 70. I’ll do some songs that I don’t usually do like the theme from Love Story and Godfather and Love Is A Many Splendored Thing.

Walk The Line is about to be released here and you did concerts with Johnny Cash in Scotland. What are your recollections?
I did a couple shows with him. I liked him very much. I spent two weeks with him and two shows. I didn’t know him very well but he was a nice guy. I loved the film. I love both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix. Both of them sang great. Some of the songs are some of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen onscreen. I don’t know if they’ll be nominated for Oscars, but they should be.

The recent compilation Music To Watch Girls By has allowed you to be heard by new audiences. Why do you think your music has this timeless quality?
They’re good songs and good songs have a chance of becoming timeless. In the case of Music To Watch Girls By and "Can’t Take My Eyes Off You," they were used as a car commercial and teenage kids loved the song and they became big in England but not in America. My records in England sell better than the US because of that.I have a much younger following there. Half of the audience is 60 and half are teens; to see that is terrific.

For metrosexuals who are Andy Williams fans, what’s your advice to be a hit with the ladies?
I’ve got to ask. Just what is a metrosexual? That’s not a gay thing is it? Because I’ve always been a hit with the ladies. It’s nice. I like ladies. If I have a gay following I’m surprised. I’d like to think that what you see is what you get and I’m a nice guy who kind of fell into that appearance. I didn’t make it up. You are pretty much what you see on television. You’re talking to the audience and singing to them, same as the nighttime hosts like Johnny Carson.

From someone who has and does have quite a varied life, what are some of the greatest life lessons you’ve learned?
One of the most important things I’ve learned is to thine own self be true. Another one I’ve learned is become the best you can be in your own field. Be as good as you can and not worry about money or fame. Only the best you are, then everything else will come. You have to put your priorities in the right place. I learned this from Kay Thompson. I was putting things ahead of studying and working. I’m a great believer in the old American work ethic, which we have lost here completely. I think if you want to become something, you have to sacrifice something to get something else and most people don’t want to do that. I remember when I was first singing in little clubs and saving all the time and not going to a restaurant and eating in my room out of my can. I’ve eaten dog food before. Alpo is a pretty good one. That has gravy and everything. Most kids today don’t want to give up anything. They don’t want to work for it and it’s a shame. Even if people work and make a living they spend more than they make. You just notice it in your nephews and young people around you. And this drug problem is out of hand.

In that same vein, you were good friends with Robert Kennedy. Do you see clear parallels between the late sixties and what we’re experiencing now?
I think there are some parallels. The right is becoming a little more centered which is great, but the left is moving a little bit more left. I watch a lot of Fox News, which is fair and balanced. I think it is much more so than CNN or the New York Times or CBS. They’re so liberal.

After your Asian tour, what are your plans? Is it possible you’ll record a new album?
I’m recording a new album next week. I’m doing some songs that other artists have done before but they’re ones that I love like “Every Breath You Take” by Sting and “Desperado” by the Eagles. “We’re Having A Party”—Rod Stewart did it. “Have I Told You Lately That I Loved You”—a Van Morrison song. They’re contemporary standards. They will be around for quite a while but they weren’t around in the '40s and '50s.