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.

HOPELESS
Andy Williams Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yes, it's hopeless
Yes, it's so hopeless
'Cause you're not
Coming back anymore

Oh, I tried
Yes, I tried to forget you
I've tried running around

But I find

That it's hopeless
Yes, it's hopeless
I just can't get you
Out of my mind

I keep telling my heart
That I'm lucky
That I'm much better off
All alone

But it's hopeless
It's just hopeless
'Cause my heart has
A mind of it's own

I walk away the nights
Until the city lights
Fade into another lonely day

I still can't go to bed
I walk some more instead
But I just can't
Walk those blues away

I keep praying that you'll
Change your mind, dear
And I'll see your
Sweet face at the door

But it's hopeless
Yes, it's so hopeless

'Cause you're not
Coming back anymore

Overall Meaning

The song "Hopeless" by Andy Williams is a heartbreaking ballad that speaks of the sadness of a breakup. It's a song about unrequited love and the pain that comes with trying to forget someone who has already moved on. The lyrics express both denial and hopelessness of the heart that keeps on yearning for someone who's no longer coming back.

The chorus of the song, "Yes, it's hopeless, 'cause you're not coming back anymore," serves as a reminder of the harsh reality that the person being sung to has already moved on. The singer, despite trying to forget and move on, is still caught in a haze of memories that haunt him even as he tries to tell himself that he's much better off alone. The line "But it's hopeless, it's just hopeless 'cause my heart has a mind of its own," speaks volumes about how hard it is to break free from the emotional hold someone has on us.

The song powerfully portrays the helplessness we feel when we can't control our emotions or forget someone we love. It's a sad realization that, no matter how hard we try, some things are simply out of our control. The song ends with a faint hope that the ex-lover will change their mind and come back, but in the end, it's a futile hope.

Line by Line Meaning

Yes, it's hopeless
The situation is beyond repair

Yes, it's so hopeless
The situation is extremely dire

'Cause you're not Coming back anymore
The cause of the problem is the fact that the other person has left permanently

Oh, I tried
I made an effort

Yes, I tried to forget you
I attempted to erase all memories of you

I've tried running around
I tried to keep myself busy

But I find
But it turns out

That it's hopeless
That my efforts were in vain

I just can't get you Out of my mind
I am unable to stop thinking about you

I keep telling my heart
I keep trying to convince myself

That I'm lucky
That I am fortunate