Andy Williams Riddled With Guilt Over Bobby Kennedy Shooting

American crooner Andy Williams gave Bobby Kennedy a tie to be buried in because he was riddled with remorse over his death. The singer had arranged to accompany the presidential hopeful - a close pal - and his wife Ethel on a night out the very same evening he was shot by Palestinian gunman Sirhan Sirhan at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel in 1968. But Williams changed his plans at the last minute, and was devastated to hear his friend died the next day at The Good Samaritan Hospital. He recalls of the difficult days following the assassination, "By the time I got to him, he was already dead... there was blood all over Bobby's clothes, on everything. "So I went back to the Beverly Hills Hotel where he was staying, and got him a shirt and suit. But there was no tie. So I took off my own - a black one - and they dressed him in the fresh clothes and my tie for the flight back to New York on Air Force Two. "And I sang The Battle Hymn Of The Republic at the funeral. We chose that song because he used it on the campaign trail. He had a terrible voice but he loved to sing that song. "The only way I got through singing in church that day was by saying, 'This is my job. I can't let emotion get in the way of the song.' I really concentrated on not thinking about him."