Renowned Welsh singer Iris Williams has died at the age of 79.
Born in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in 1946, Williams performed around the world including in the US, where she was living at the time of her death.
She was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama while working in a glove factory in Llantrisant.
She would eventually go on to perform for Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and for US President Gerald Ford on a number of occasions.
The daughter of an American GI, Williams was raised in a children’s home and with a foster family in Tonyrefail, her brother said.
Her hits included He Was Beautiful and Pererin Wyf, a Welsh-language version of Amazing Grace.
In the 1960s, Williams appeared on the Welsh BBC pop music programme Disc A Dawn. From there she went on to feature in her own BBC TV show.
In 1974, she won Cân i Gymru, the Welsh-language talent competition A Song for Wales with the song I gael Cymru’n Gymru Rydd, translated to For a Free Wales.
She was among a group of performers to take part in a concert to celebrate the opening of the National Assembly of Wales in 1999.
In 2004, she was honoured with an OBE for her contribution to music, and in 2006 was admitted to the Gorsedd of Bards at the National Eisteddfod.
Williams’ brother Ashley said: “I never met her until we were adults and it was wonderful to meet up with her,” he said.
“In my opinion she was one of Wales most underrated singers. She had a tremendous career, it was very hard for her growing up,” he said.
He added during her last years, she worked in some of the most prestigious cabaret venues in America where she sang Welsh songs.
“When she came back to Wales she used to come to the house a lot. I always used to say ‘where do you want to go?’ and she’d always say Tonyrefail.
“She loved the valleys, she had so much support from people in the valleys,” he said.
In a post on social media, The St David’s Society of the State of New York said Williams had “joined the heavenly chorus where her joyful singing will surely bring those joys beyond measure which we have been honoured to share.”
“New York held a special place in her life and it was here that she gave birth to her only child Blake.”
Opera singer Beverley Humphreys paid tribute by saying the “distinctive voice” will always be associated with the song He Was Beautiful.
“Iris had her own unique jazz style – vivacious and elegant – with a twinkle in her eye, she had a way of inhabiting each song she sang.
“Iris was a story teller whose voice could set your feet tapping or touch your heart.”
By BBC News
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