Howard Andrew Williams (born December 3, 1927 in Wall Lake, Iowa, died Sept… Read Full Bio ↴Howard Andrew Williams (born December 3, 1927 in Wall Lake, Iowa, died September 26, 2012), known as Andy Williams, was an American pop singer.

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.

Getting to Know You
Andy Williams Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Gettin' to know you,
Gettin' to know all about you.
Gettin' to like you,
Gettin' to hope you like me.

Gettin' to know you,
Putting it my way but nicely.
You are precisely,

My cup of tea.

Gettin' to know you,
Gettin' to feel free and easy.
When I am with you,
Gettin' to to know what to say.
Haven't you noticed,
Suddenly I 'm bright and breezy,
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I'm learning about you
Day by day.

Gettin' to know you,
Gettin' to know all about you.
When I am with you,
Gettin' to to know what to say.
Haven't you noticed,
Suddenly I 'm bright and breezy,
Because of all the beautiful and new

Things I'm learning about you
Day by day.

Overall Meaning

Andy Williams's song “Getting to Know You” expresses the joy and excitement of getting to know someone new. The song seems to be about a new relationship, which is slowly blossoming, and the singer is discovering new things about the person they are getting to know. The lyrics reveal that the singer is feeling a sense of liberation and comfort being around the person. The lyrics talk about putting things in his way, but nicely, which suggests that there is probably some adjusting involved in getting to know each other but the process has been pleasant.

The song's opening line, “Gettin' to know you, Gettin' to know all about you,” is very straightforward but quite powerful as it echoes the universal human experience of wanting to get closer to someone else. The third line, “Gettin' to like you, Gettin' to hope you like me,” is almost like a humble plea to the other person to return the favour of getting to know and like each other. The second verse reveals that the process of getting to know someone new can bring about a positive life change, as the singer admits to feeling “bright and breezy.” The use of the word “precisely” in “You are precisely, My cup of tea” is a clever way of saying that the person they are getting to know is precisely what they need at this moment in their life.

“Getting to Know You” was written by the legendary duo of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II for the 1951 musical “The King and I”. The musical was based on Margaret Landon's novel “Anna and the King of Siam” and tells the story of Anna, an English governess, who is hired by King Mongkut of Siam to educate his children. The song is sung by Anna as she tries to introduce herself to the unfamiliar people of Siam.

Line by Line Meaning

Gettin' to know you
I'm making an effort to understand who you are

Gettin' to know all about you.
I want to learn everything there is to know about you

Gettin' to like you,
I'm beginning to develop positive feelings towards you

Gettin' to hope you like me.
I'm hoping that you also start to develop positive feelings towards me

Gettin' to know you,
I'm still trying to understand your personality

Putting it my way but nicely.
I'm expressing myself in a way that is true to myself but also respectful towards you

You are precisely,
I'm starting to see that you are the perfect fit for me

My cup of tea.
I'm realizing that you are exactly what I've been looking for

Gettin' to know you,
As I continue to spend time with you

Gettin' to feel free and easy.
I'm starting to feel comfortable around you and like I can be myself

When I am with you,
Your presence has a positive impact on me