Williams still enjoying ‘retirement’ at 77

By Kristen Peterson

Friday, Jan. 11, 2002 | 9:38 a.m.

When you're 77 years old and still working, it's only natural that you would be bombarded with questions about retiring.

But for pianist Roger Williams, there is only one logical response to such impending questions:

"People retire to do all the things they've wanted to do," the 77-year-old said from his studio in Encino, Calif. "I retired at 3."

Age 3 is when Williams, then Louis Weertz, began playing the piano. Since then the pop instrumentalist, known for his flowing, melodic piano runs, has recorded more than 115 songs.

Today he remains the best-selling pianist of all time and performs his jazz, pop and classical blends with symphonies throughout the country. He will be performing this weekend at the Suncoast.

"Maybe I'll quit at 120," William said with a laugh.

If he did, he'd have some exhausted hands.

For his 75th birthday in September 1999, Williams played a 12-hour marathon at the Steinway Hall in Phoenix. Wanting to beat his own record, he played for 12 1/2 hours on his 76th birthday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., then donated the piano to the library.

"I thought that every year I could add another half hour," Williams said.

Though this weekend's performance won't be a 12-hour marathon, fans will still have the opportunity to hear several of the 10,000 songs that he has etched into his memory.

And, yes, he will be taking requests.

Generally, he said, "I'll take 40 requests out of the audience and play all 40.

"I don't (like to) lay my stuff on people," Williams said. "I want to play what they want to hear. I don't even play 'Born Free' unless they ask me."

Chances are, they'll ask.

Next to "Autumn Leaves," his 1955 No. 1 hit song in 1955, that launched his career, "Born Free," and such songs as "Alfie" and "Lara's Theme from "Dr. Zhivago' " are signature pieces for Williams.

And some of his fans have been with him through every hit.

"Many, many, many have been with me since the beginning," Williams said. "I think that's the biggest thrill."

But people also want to hear the music of today, he said.

Not a problem. The hit-maker of the 1950s and '60s stays current with today's music -- partly by watching MTV and VH1, and by talking directly with members of younger generations.

Recently Williams has been on a crusade to keep music education alive in public schools. Mention the issue of the declining emphasis on music education and Williams will rattle off figures and information about budget cuts.

To help further musical interest among students, he performs classical music, rock and jazz at free concerts for students at junior high and high schools throughout the country and discusses varying musical styles throughout history.

"The kids really respond," Williams said. "That's what's amazing to me.

"When I was a kid, we had to listen to the New York Philharmonic for an hour" in school, he said. "All the concerts were classical."

Now "It's all rock and rap," he said. "As far as rap is concerned, some of the lyrics are pretty great. The kids are pretty good poets."

But, he added, take away the lyrics and the music is pretty bland. "They've gone to the basics of music, which was a simple beat and a chant."

Williams is probably more sensitive to generational differences being that he's experienced them firsthand. As a student at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, he was expelled for playing "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" for a girlfriend on a piano in a practice room.

"In those days it was the three B's -- Bach, Beethoven, Brahams," Williams said. "They thought jazz and pop was whorehouse music."

But after joining the Navy and gaining an engineering degree, Williams returned to Drake and obtained his master's degree in music. In the early 1950s he moved to New York and studied at The Juilliard School.

His big break came shortly after, when he was scheduled to accompany a soloist on the television program "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts."

The soloist apparently got cold feet and didn't show up. Williams asked if he could still play. When he was reminded that he wasn't a singer, he simply replied, "Well, let me play a few notes."

David Kapp from Kapp Records heard Williams play. He signed Williams to the label and told him that he would need to change his name from Louis Weertz to Roger Williams (also the name of the founder of Rhode Island).

At the time, Williams said, everybody learned sometime in history class that Roger Williams discovered Rhode Island. Kapp thought it would trigger familiarity in anyone who heard it.

And because Kapp was, at the time, known for launching music careers, Williams changed his name legally and never looked back. By 1969 he had 22 hit songs.

He's played for eight presidents and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Next year, Williams said, Steinway & Sons will introduce an "Autumn Leaves" piano, which will be autographed by Williams.

He says he still practices the piano every chance he can.

"It sounds kind of corny," Williams said, "But I love the piano. Get me away from the piano and I'm not worth a damn."