Andy Williams Sings Rodgers and Hammerstein 1", which contains 17 of his studio albums and three compilations and was released on June 26, 2001. In AllMusic, William Ruhlmann wrote that Williams "wasn't really a rocker, even if he sometimes pretended to be one for commercial purposes at the behest of Cadence Records head Archie Bleyer" and that he "was allowed to show his true colors by recording a collection of Rodgers & Hammerstein songs from the musicals "Oklahoma!", "Carousel", "South Pacific", and "The King and I". The result was the birth of the Andy Williams his fans knew from then on." Ruhlmann felt that "Williams revealed
Allegro (musical) the story of a life, not through events but through generalities. This is now what would be called a Brechtian approach." A decade after "Allegro"'s premiere, after learning of his fatal cancer, Hammerstein returned to the musical, hoping to correct its flaws, but he did not complete the project. While recording an oral history tape for Columbia University, Hammerstein stated, "I intended Dick to write music for it <nowiki>[the chorus in </nowiki>"Allegro"] but we wound up reciting the chorus instead ... I'm not blaming anyone, because we all accepted it, we all collaborated ... but it was a mistake." Rodgers