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.
It's Too Late
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's somethin' wrong here, there can be no denyin'.
One of us is changin', or maybe we've just stopped tryin'.
And it's too late, baby now, it's too late,
Though we really did try to make it.
Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide,
And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no.
It used to be so easy, livin' here with you.
You were light and breezy, an' I knew just what to do.
Now you look so unhappy, and I feel like a fool.
And it's too late, baby now, it's too late,
Though we really did try to make it.
Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide,
And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no.
There'll be good times again for me and you,
But we just can't stay together; don't you feel it too?
Still I'm glad for what we had and how I once loved you.
And it's too late, baby now, it's too late,
Though we really did try to make it. (we can't make it)
Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide,
And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.
It's too late baby, it's too late now darling
It's too late.
The lyrics of "It's Too Late" by Andy Williams speak to the ending of a relationship. The first line "Stayed in bed all mornin' just to pass the time" suggests that one or both partners have lost interest in their relationship and are avoiding facing the truth. The next line "There's somethin' wrong here, there can be no denyin'" confirms that there is an issue in the relationship that they are ignoring. The line "One of us is changin', or maybe we've just stopped tryin'" suggests that the relationship has changed and that one or both partners have changed as well.
The chorus of the song "And it's too late, baby now, it's too late, Though we really did try to make it. Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide, And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no" suggests that despite their efforts to save the relationship, it has come to an end. The line "Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide" refers to the loss of feelings and emotions within the relationship.
The third verse "There'll be good times again for me and you, But we just can't stay together; don't you feel it too? Still I'm glad for what we had and how I once loved you" suggests that the couple can move on and that there is a possibility of finding happiness again. However, the line "But we just can't stay together; don't you feel it too?" reaffirms that they cannot continue to be together.
Line by Line Meaning
Stayed in bed all mornin' just to pass the time.
I had nothing better to do than to lay in bed for hours.
There's somethin' wrong here, there can be no denyin'.
I just know that there's an issue in our relationship but don't want to admit it.
One of us is changin', or maybe we've just stopped tryin'.
We either grew apart, or we just stopped putting in effort into the relationship.
And it's too late, baby now, it's too late,
Our romance is already over.
Though we really did try to make it.
Despite our best efforts, things didn't work out.
Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide,
Our love has died, and I can't pretend everything is okay.
And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no.
I can't pretend anymore that our love is still alive.
It used to be so easy, livin' here with you.
We used to get along so well without any problems.
You were light and breezy, an' I knew just what to do.
You were simple and carefree to be with, and I knew how to make you happy.
Now you look so unhappy, and I feel like a fool.
Now you appear unhappy, and I feel foolish for not being able to help you.
There'll be good times again for me and you,
We'll both find happiness again, but separately.
But we just can't stay together; don't you feel it too?
Our relationship has run its course, and you feel it too, don't you?
Still I'm glad for what we had and how I once loved you.
Even though things didn't work out, I'm grateful for the love we shared in the past.
It's too late baby, it's too late now darling
Our love is officially over, and there's nothing more we can do about it.
It's too late.
Our relationship is over and there's no turning back now.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID JOHANSEN, JOHNNY THUNDERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind