Henry Anthony Williams (28 May 1939 – 1 October 2016), known professionally as Toni Williams or Antoni Williams, was a Cook Island-born New Zealand pop singer, who began singing at the Gandhi Hall in Auckland City where he became a local sensation.

Background

Born Henry Anthony WilliamsRockhappen
''Toni Williams MNZM''
/ref> on 28 May 1939, in Parekura in the

Avarua Avarua (meaning "Two Harbours" in Cook Islands Māori) is a town and district in the north of the island of Rarotonga, and is the national capital of the Cook Islands. The town is served by Rarotonga International Airport (IATA Airport Code: R ...

District of

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

, he was the son of a doctor. Owing to his father's being employed by the New Zealand government, Williams' childhood was taken up by moving between Rarotonga and the outer Cook Islands. He moved to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1950 at the age of 11 for schooling. As a youngster he injured himself playing football. With a hip condition as a result, he stayed at the Wilson Home for Crippled Children for a period of time.

Career

Williams cited his interest in the guitar and singing as coming from spending 13 months in hospital as a result of a football accident. Not long after his hospitalisation, Williams formed the Housewarmers, which was a little group that performed at small family events. Two years later, the band by Williams' direction became Toni Williams and The Tremellos. After that things started happening, and he toured New Zealand under the promoter Harry M. Williams. In 1960 his single, "Cradle Of Love" bw "Brush Those Tears From Your Eyes" was released on the La Gloria label. Also that same year, "

Let the Little Girl Dance "Let the Little Girl Dance" is a song written by Carl Spencer and Henry Glover and performed by Billy Bland. It reached #7 on the U.S. pop chart, #11 on the U.S. R&B chart, and #15 on the UK Singles Chart in 1960. The song ranked #51 on ''Bil ...

" bw "In A Mansion Stands My Love", and "Endlessly"/"Is A Bluebird Blue" were released by La Gloria.45ca
Toni Williams discography
45cat.com; accessed October 3, 2016. Williams toured with the

Howard Morrison Quartet The Howard Morrison Quartet (originally named the Ohinemutu Quartet) was a New Zealand band during the 1950s and early 1960s. The band was formed by Sir Howard Morrison and included Gerry Merito, Wi Wharekura and Noel Kingi. In 1955, while wor ...

, and in 1965 he married the Miss Canterbury beauty pageant winner. In 1972, his single "Tellabout" (composed by

Tony McCarthy Anthony Paul "Tony" McCarthy (born 9 November 1969) is an Irish retired footballer who is currently the physiotherapist at Shamrock Rovers. Career Tony started his League of Ireland career with University College Dublin in 1987. During his las ...

), was an

APRA Silver Scroll The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members. APRA hold the annual Silver S ...

-nominated song. In the

2010 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sain ...

, Williams was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

for services to entertainment

Death

Williams died in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

on 1 October 2016, aged 77.

Singles

References

External links

* * 1939 births 2016 deaths People from Rarotonga Cook Island emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand pop singers Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit {{NewZealand-singer-stub