He first performed in a children's choir at his local Presbyterian church. Williams and his three older brothers Bob, Dick, and Don, formed a quartet, the Williams Brothers, in the late 1930s. The brothers performed on radio in the Midwest, first at WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, and later at WLS in Chicago and WLW in Cincinnati. Williams graduated from Western Hills High School in Cincinnati. They appeared with Bing Crosby on the hit record "Swinging on a Star" (1944). This led to a nightclub act with entertainer Kay Thompson from 1947 to 1951.
Williams's solo career began in 1952 after his brothers left the act. He recorded six sides for RCA's label "X," but none of them were popular hits. After landing a spot as a regular on Steve Allen's Tonight Show in 1955, he was signed to a recording contract with Cadence Records, a small label in New York run by conductor Archie Bleyer. His third single, "Canadian Sunset" (1956) hit the Top Ten, and was soon followed his only Billboard #1 hit, "Butterfly" (a cover of a Charlie Gracie record on which Williams imitated Elvis Presley). More hits followed, including "The Hawaiian Wedding Song," "Are You Sincere," "The Village of St. Bernadette," and "Lonely Street," before Williams moved to Columbia Records in 1961, having moved from New York to Los Angeles. In terms of chart popularity, the Cadence era was Williams's peak although songs he introduced on Columbia became much bigger standards. Two top ten hits from the Cadence era, "Butterfly" and "I Like Your Kind of Love" were apparently believed to not suit Williams's later style; they were not included on a Columbia reissue of his Cadence greatest hits in the 1960s.
During the 1960s, Williams became one of the most popular vocalists in the country and signed what was to that time the biggest recording contract in history. He was primarily an album artist, and at one time he had earned more gold albums than any solo performer except Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. By 1973 he had earned as many as 17 gold album awards. Among his hit albums from this period were Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses (number one for 16 weeks in mid-1963), The Andy Williams Christmas Album, Dear Heart, The Shadow of Your Smile, Love, Andy, Get Together with Andy Williams, and Love Story. In these recordings Williams displays an incredible vocal technique along with an uncanny ability to make each song his very own, often rivaling or surpassing the version by the original artist. These attributes, along with his natural affinity for the music of the 1960s and early 1970s, combined to make him one of the premier easy listening singers of that era.
Williams forged an indirect collaborative relationship with Henry Mancini, although they never recorded together. Williams was asked to sing Mancini and Johnny Mercer's song "Moon River" at the 1962 Oscar Awards (where it won), and it quickly became Williams's theme song. This was repeated the next year with the pair's "Days of Wine and Roses" (which also won), Mancini's "Dear Heart" at the 1965 awards and "The Sweetheart Tree" (also written with Mercer) at the 1966 awards.
Williams also competed in the teenage-oriented singles market as well and had several charting hits including "Can't Get Used to Losing You," "Happy Heart," and "Where Do I Begin", the theme song from the 1970 blockbuster film, Love Story. Building on his experience with Allen and some short-term variety shows in the 1950s, he became the star of his own weekly television variety show in 1962. This series, The Andy Williams Show, won three Emmy Awards for outstanding variety program. Among his series regulars were the Osmond Brothers. He gave up the variety show in 1971 while it was still popular and retrenched to three specials per year. His Christmas specials, which appeared regularly until 1974 and intermittently from 1982 into the 1990s, were among the most popular of the genre. Williams has recorded eight Christmas albums over the years. He hosted the Grammy Awards for three consecutive years in the 1970s. He returned to television to do a syndicated half-hour series in 1976-77.
In the early 1990s, Williams gave up most of his touring schedule in order to open his own theatre in Branson, Missouri, the Andy Williams Moon River Theater. He continues to do 8 to 12 shows a week from September to December and occasionally makes tours of Europe earlier in the year.
His 1967 recording of "Music to Watch Girls By" was a surprise UK hit in 1999, when it reached number 9 after featuring in an advert (beating the original peak of number 33 in 1967). In 2002 he took part in a new duet of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" with British actress and singer Denise van Outen. Nearly everything Williams ever recorded has now been made available on CD through a series of compilations from 1997 to 2004.
Williams met Claudine Longet when he pulled over to aid her on a Las Vegas road. She was a dancer at the time at the Folies Bergere. They married on Christmas Day, 1961, and had three children, Noelle, Christian, and Robert. They separated in 1969 and finally divorced 6 years later. In 1976 Longet was charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, skier Vladimir "Spider" Sabich and Williams supported her. He married a second time in May 1991 to the former Debbie Haas. They make their homes at Branson, Missouri and La Quinta, California. Williams' homes have been featured in Architectural Digest, and he is a noted collector of modern art. Williams is an avid golfer. He hosted a major golf tournament in San Diego for many years, which was known as the Andy Williams San Diego Open during that time.
Williams' birthplace is a tourist attraction open most of the year.
Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius
The Age of Aquarius
Aquarius! Aquarius!
Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius! Aquarius!
When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius
The Age of Aquarius
Aquarius! Aquarius!
Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or decisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius! Aquarius!
The song "Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In" by Andy Williams is a fusion of two different tracks that are musically and thematically connected. The song includes lyrics that allude to astrology and the New Age movement that became popular in the 1960s. In the first half of the song, the lyrics describe Aquarius as a savior that came along like "a blast from out of sight." As the song progresses, the singer relates how Aquarius "steals your soul" and "kills the faith," however, he cannot resist its allure and finds himself seduced and unable to resist its urge.
In the second half of the song, the lyrics express a sense of frustration, as the singer acknowledges that he is unable to resist Aquarius's influence, and expresses the desire that the stars would turn away from Aquarius, and that the devil would relinquish control, allowing the snow to melt and stop. Ultimately, the singer declares that he can no longer run away from Aquarius, and accepts that it is the power he needs to make his life succeed.
Line by Line Meaning
Aquarius, was born the night
The Aquarius star sign came into existence at night.
The shining stars, needed brighter shining light
The stars wanted a brighter light which Aquarius provided.
Aquarius, was my savior
Aquarius saved me from my troubles and worries.
It came along, like a blast from out of sight
Aquarius arrived suddenly and unexpectedly, like a blast from nowhere.
When I was weak, you came along
When I was vulnerable and defenseless, Aquarius appeared.
Enlightened me, covered the sun
Aquarius illuminated my life and overshadowed all obstacles and doubts.
You seduced me, I can never ever run
You lured me into your influence and I can never escape it.
'Cause I, can only lose
Because of my dependence on Aquarius, failure is the only option.
When I'm, Aquarius
When I'm under the influence of Aquarius.
You're the power that I need
Aquarius is the force that I require to achieve my goals.
To make it all succeed, can hear me call?
To make everything work out, can you hear me asking for help?
Aquarius, is the stardust
Aquarius is the cosmic dust that pervades the universe.
It kills the faith, and the only one I trust
Aquarius shatters my belief and destroys everyone and everything I have faith in, except for it.
It calls your name, and you listen
Aquarius beckons to you, and you obey its summons.
It steals your soul, and your hunger and your lust
Aquarius robs you of your essence, satisfaction, and desires.
For life, and being free (it's killing me, it's killing me)
For living freely and without restraints (however, being under Aquarius's control is suffocating).
It's dragging you, it's killing me (it's killing me, it's killing me)
Aquarius is dragging you down and harming me in the process.
I wish the stars would turn you in, and leave me standing in the wind
I wish the universe would expose Aquarius for what it is and abandon me to my fate.
I wish the devil gave you up, and all the snow would melt and stop
I wish the devil would relinquish Aquarius's control and coldness would cease.
This is it, I can't run away
This is the end, I cannot escape from Aquarius's hold.
You're controlling my life, and I can hear me say
Aquarius has power over my existence, and I can hear myself surrendering to it.
Your the power that I need
Aquarius is the power that I need.
To make it all succeed
To make everything happen.
Lyrics Β© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Galt MacDermot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind