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.
For Once In My Life
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Someone I've needed so long
For once unafraid I can go where life leads me and somehow I know I'll be strong
For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of
Long before I knew
Someone warm like you
Who have my dreams come true
For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me
Not like it's hurt me before
For once I have someone I know won't desert me
I'm not alone anymore
For once I can say
This is mine you can't take it
As long as I know I have love I can make it
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
For once I can say
This is mine you can't take it
As long as I know I have love we can make it
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
The lyrics of Andy Williams's song "For Once In My Life" express the joy of finding someone who completes you, someone who has been longed for and needed for a long time. The singer is happy to have someone warm and loving like the person he is singing to, and he believes that being with them is his destiny, and he trusts that he'll be strong enough to go through anything that life has to offer since he has the blessing of their love. This love has made his dreams come true in a way he didn't know before.
The second verse emphasizes the newfound strength and happiness that having someone love you can bring. The singer declares that the sorrow that once hurt him before won't hurt him anymore now that he has someone who won't leave him. He is no longer alone, and the love he has found makes him feel invincible, like he has finally found something to hold on to that no one can take away. He knows that their love will endure, and as long as he has that, he can face anything.
Overall, the lyrics to "For Once In My Life" are a beautiful representation of the joy that comes from finding love after a long time of searching. The words express the deep emotions that come with having somebody you truly need and the security that comes with it.
Line by Line Meaning
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
Finally, I have found someone who truly needs me in their life.
Someone I've needed so long
I have been yearning for someone like this for a very long time.
For once unafraid I can go where life leads me and somehow I know I'll be strong
I am now unafraid to follow wherever life takes me because I know that having this person in my life makes me feel stronger and more courageous.
For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of, Long before I knew Someone warm like you Who have my dreams come true
With this person in my life, I can finally achieve the dreams I once thought were only a figment of my imagination, because they believe in me and my abilities.
For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me, Not like it's hurt me before
Having this person in my life makes me feel more resilient and better able to handle any hardships that may come my way.
For once I have someone I know won't desert me, I'm not alone anymore
With this person in my life, I know that I will never feel alone again, as they are a constant presence and source of emotional support.
For once I can say This is mine you can't take it, As long as I know I have love I can make it
I finally feel confident in claiming my own happiness and success, knowing that no one can take it away from me as long as I have the love and support of this person.
For once in my life I have someone who needs me
Overall, having this person in my life has given me a sense of purpose and fulfillment, as I am finally able to provide someone with the love and support that they need and deserve.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ronald N. Miller, Orlando Murden
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lovely Groovey
His version is wonderful! Everybody loves Stevie Wonder and everyone including Sinatra, Buble, and Bennette want to cover this song. I can see why.
jay
Best version for this song. Beautiful voice of Andy Williams. Thanks for sharing.
Christine Watts
What a fantastic voice!
TheZimbabwegirl
For once in my life
Andy Williams
Love keeps children strong
It helped me after I lost Dad.
Life goes on
And living it to the fullest, each day, counts.
Guadalupe esquivel lopez
my fav version
dino crocetti
thats great ,thank you
TobyJae
Those "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahs" make me smile every time! I could listen to an entire album of his "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahs!" I love this dynamic rendition. "Listen with your eyes" and you can hear him smiling! I think he's singing this to Noelle. Daddy's get really happy when they sing to their daughters!
Eisen J Eisen
very nice