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.
Joy To The World
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let Earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and nature sing
And Heaven and Heaven and nature sing
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders, wonders of His love
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
The lyrics of "Joy to the World" by Andy Williams is a beautiful and uplifting remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christ. The song speaks of rejoicing and celebrating the arrival of the Savior. The line "Joy to the world, the Lord is come" signifies the birth of Jesus Christ, and it calls upon every person on Earth to receive their King. This line speaks to the essential truth of Christian belief, which is that Jesus Christ came to Earth as a savior.
The second verse of the song declares "Let every heart prepare Him room." This line tells us that we should make space in our hearts for Christ, so that we may receive Him, love Him, and cherish His life-giving message. It also encourages us to spread love, sing praise, and join with Heaven and nature in celebrating the goodness and light of Christ. The message in this verse is that Christ brings immeasurable joy and happiness, and that by preparing our hearts and living in his light, we can experience this joy too.
The chorus in the song is a powerful reminder of Christ's reign over the Earth. It talks about how He rules the world with truth and grace and how every nation can experience the wonders of His love. The last line repeats the joyful message that the Savior reigns, and the Lord is come. It is a declaration of hope and salvation, and an affirmation of Christian faith.
Line by Line Meaning
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let there be happiness everywhere as the Lord has arrived
Let Earth receive her King
May the entire Earth embrace the arrival of the King
Let every heart prepare Him room
Let every heart make space for Him in their lives
And Heaven and nature sing
May even Heaven and nature rejoice and sing
Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns
There should be happiness on Earth as the Savior takes charge
Let men their songs employ
Let people express their joy through songs
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Even the fields, floods, rocks, hills and plains follow the joyful melody
Repeat the sounding joy
Keep repeating the joyful sound to relish the moment more
He rules the world with truth and grace
He governs the world with honesty and benevolence
And makes the nations prove
And the nations experience and demonstrate
The glories of His righteousness
The splendor of His upright character
And wonders of His love
And the marvels of His love
And wonders, wonders of His love
And the miraculous things that happen because of His love
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns
Let there be happiness everywhere as the Savior is in power
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
May the happiness be everywhere as the Lord has arrived
Lyrics © DistroKid, CONSALAD CO., Ltd., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Isaac Watts
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind