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.
Can
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Never can say goodbye (never can say goodbye now)
Even though the pain and heartache
Seems to follow wherever I go
Though I try and try to hide my feelings
They always seem to show
Then you try to say you're leaving me
And I always have to say no
I never can say goodbye (no no, no no I)
Never can say goodbye (never can say goodbye now)
Every time I think I've had enough
And start heading for the door
There's a very strange vibration
Piercing me right through the core
It says "turn around, you're fool
You know you love him more and more"
Tell me why (tell me why) is it so
Don't wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye girl (never can say goodbye now)
Don't wanna let you go (don't want to let you go)
I never can say goodbye, no no no
No no no, no no no, no no
I never can say goodbye girl (never can say goodbye now)
Don't wanna let it go (don't want to let you go)
I never can say goodbye, no no no
No no no, no no no, no no
I never can say goodbye (no no, no no I)
Never can say goodbye (never can say goodbye now)
I keep thinking that our problems
Soon are all gonna work out
But there's that same unhappy feeling
There's that anguish, there's that doubt
It's the same old dizzy hangup
Can't do with you or without
Tell me why (tell me why) is it so
Don't wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye girl (i never can say goodbye now)
Don't wanna let it go (don't want to let you go)
I never can say goodbye, no no no
No no no, no no no, no no
No, I never can say goodbye girl (i never can say goodbye now)
Don't wanna let it go (don't want to let you go)
I never can say goodbye, no no no
No no no, no no no, no no
No, I never can say goodbye girl (I never can say goodbye now)
Don't wanna let it go (don't want to let you go)
I never can say goodbye, no no no
No no no, no no no, no no
No, I never can say goodbye girl (I never can say goodbye now)
Don't wanna let it go
The lyrics to Andy Williams's song Can in 2-3 long paragraphs speak about the difficulty of letting go of a relationship. The persona expresses how he/she never seems to be able to say goodbye despite the pain, heartache, and doubts that follow everywhere he/she goes. The persona tries to hide his/her feelings but always ends up showing them. Whenever he/she thinks he/she has had enough and is ready to leave, there's a strange vibration that pierces right through, telling him/her to turn around because he/she loves the person more and more. Even though he/she thinks their problems will work out, there's always that same unhappy feeling, anguish, and doubt. At the end of the lyrics, the persona admits that he/she never wants to let go, meaning that he/she still loves the other person and doesn't want to end the relationship.
The song portrays a common theme of love and relationships, which are characterized by feelings of attachment, pain, and doubts. The persona in the song is struggling to deal with his/her emotions and the dilemma of staying or leaving the relationship. The lyrics are full of metaphors, such as the "very strange vibration" that "pierces right through the core." These metaphors help to paint a picture of how the persona is feeling, and they add emphasis to the message of the song. Despite the song's age, over four decades, the message remains relevant.
In conclusion, Andy Williams's song Can speaks about the challenges that come with loving someone and the difficulty of letting go. The song's lyrics emphasize the complexities of relationships and how they affect a person's emotions. Despite being an older song, the message of the song is still relevant, as relationships and the emotions tied to them have remained largely unchanged.
Line by Line Meaning
I never can say goodbye (no no, no no I)
The singer cannot bring themselves to say goodbye to someone they care about.
Never can say goodbye (never can say goodbye now)
The singer continues to struggle with letting go and saying goodbye to this person.
Even though the pain and heartache
Seems to follow wherever I go
The singer's feelings for this person cause them pain and heartache wherever they are.
Though I try and try to hide my feelings
They always seem to show
The artist tries to hide their feelings for this person but it always comes through in their actions or words.
Then you try to say you're leaving me
And I always have to say no
Tell me why is it so
When the other person tries to leave, the artist always says no, and they wonder why this is the case.
Every time I think I've had enough
And start heading for the door
Whenever the singer tries to leave, they change their mind and end up staying.
There's a very strange vibration
Piercing me right through the core
Something inside of the singer makes it impossible for them to leave, even when they want to.
It says "turn around, you're fool
You know you love him more and more"
Tell me why (tell me why) is it so
The voice inside the artist's head tells them to turn around and stay, despite any doubts they may have. The artist wonders why this is the case.
Don't wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye girl (never can say goodbye now)
Don't wanna let it go (don't want to let you go)
I never can say goodbye, no no no
No no no, no no no, no no
The artist doesn't want to let go of the person they care about and can never bring themselves to say goodbye.
I keep thinking that our problems
Soon are all gonna work out
But there's that same unhappy feeling
There's that anguish, there's that doubt
Although the artist hopes their problems will be resolved, they continue to feel unhappy, anguished, and doubtful.
It's the same old dizzy hangup
Can't do with you or without
Tell me why (tell me why) is it so
The singer continues to struggle with their feelings for this person, feeling stuck between wanting to be with them and wanting to be without them.
No, I never can say goodbye girl (I never can say goodbye now)
Don't wanna let it go (don't want to let you go)
I never can say goodbye, no no no
No no no, no no no, no no
The artist repeats that they can never say goodbye and don't want to let go of the person they care about.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Clifton Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Andyhoffman98
Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay
Would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you
Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
For I can't help falling in love with you
@harmvdmeer940
voor mij een van de beste zangers bedankt voor je mooie muziek [loes]
@michaelhammond3037
Played this at my mums funeral. It was my mum and dad's counting song. Love you mum R.I.P xxxx
@windowcleaninguk5265
what an upbeat version 👏 only just found this today, i must of been living under a rock.....and what a voice ❤❤👌
@irish9boy
Absolute best version ever
@davidfaulkner7805
Great version. The drummer rocks.
@susiejames9748
I love his voice. Best version of this song.
@jeffreywalker7872
Without a doubt
@alansiegel9417
damn right
@ivangranger8494
I agree. 😃
@arnnowicki7626
I believe his version of The Impossible Dream is the definitive version. Elvis Presley’s version of Can’t Help is the definitive version .