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.
Last Tango In Paris
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We are nothing but shadow and mist
In the mirror we look as we pass
Our reflections revealed in the glass
Don't you know that the blood in your veins
Is as lifeless as yesterday's rain
It's a game where we come and conceal
As long as we're nameless
Our bodies are blameless
You cried when we kissed
It was nothing but shadow and mist
Two illusion who touch in a trance
Making love not by choice, but by chance
To a theme we tore from their past
To a tango we swore was their last
We are shadows of dance
As long as we're nameless
Our bodies are blameless
You cried when we kissed
It was nothing but shadow and mist
Two illusions who touch in a trance
Making love not by choice, but by chance
To a theme that we tore from their past
To a tango we swore was their last
We are shadows of dance
The last tango
The last tango
The lyrics to Andy Williams's song Last Tango in Paris are hauntingly beautiful and evocative. The song speaks to the idea of the ephemeral nature of human existence and how fleeting our lives can be. The opening lines- "We don't exist, We are nothing but shadow and mist," set the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is stating that, in the grand scheme of things, humans are insignificant, and our lives are fleeting. The imagery of "shadow and mist" creates a sense of transience and impermanence, and the mirror and reflection imagery further emphasize this idea.
The next stanza continues the sense of transience and addresses the idea of mortality. The line, "Don't you know that the blood in your veins is as lifeless as yesterday's rain" speaks to the fact that, no matter how much we may want to cling to life, in the end, we are all mortal. The line "It's a game where we come and conceal the confusion we feel," further emphasizes the notion that life can be a fleeting and confusing game.
The final stanzas use the metaphor of the tango to further explore the themes of chance, transience, and love. The two illusions who touch in a trance represent fleeting moments of love and passion in a life that is otherwise full of shadow and mist. The tango itself represents the idea of transience, as it is a dance that is full of intensity and passion, but ultimately ends. The line "We are shadows of dance" encapsulates the entire theme of the song, as it implies that even our moments of love and passion are fleeting and transitory.
Line by Line Meaning
We don't exist
We are mere shadows and illusions of ourselves, lacking a true sense of existence.
We are nothing but shadow and mist
Our being is barely tangible, evanescent, and obscure like shadows and mist.
In the mirror we look as we pass
We only catch glimpses of ourselves as we move by, and these self-reflections can be fleeting and vague.
Our reflections revealed in the glass
We can only truly see ourselves through a clear and honest reflection on ourselves.
Don't you know that the blood in your veins
The essence of life, which runs through your veins, can be as stagnant and unchanging as yesterday's rainfall.
Is as lifeless as yesterday's rain
The vitality of our very being can sometimes seem non-existent or stagnant.
It's a game where we come and conceal
Life can sometimes feel like a game, where we attempt to mask our true and raw emotions.
The confusion we feel
We often feel lost, conflicted, and uncertain, even though we conceal these feelings from others.
As long as we're nameless
If we do not have an identity, then we cannot be held accountable for our actions or emotions.
Our bodies are blameless
Our physical forms, separated from our names and emotions, are innocent and free of reprimand.
You cried when we kissed
The emotional weight of our interactions can feel heavy and overwhelming, leaving us in tears.
Two illusions who touch in a trance
As two people come together, they can feel like a mere mirage, disconnected from reality and lost in a trance.
Making love not by choice, but by chance
Intimacy can feel accidental, a product of fate and chance, rather than a conscious decision.
To a theme that we tore from their past
Our actions and feelings can be influenced by past experiences and memories.
To a tango we swore was their last
We cling to a specific experience, event or memory, vowing that it will never happen again.
We are shadows of dance
As physical beings, we are mere reflections of the transience and fluidity of life, like shadows dancing across a space.
The last tango
The final dance, the last fleeting moment that we can fully experience and hold onto in our memory.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GATO BARBIERI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael Ilushin
We don't exist
We are nothing but shadow and mist
In the mirror we look as we pass
No reflections revealed in the glass
Don't you know that the blood in your vein
is as lifeless as yesterday's rain?
It's a game where we come to conceal
the confusion we feel
But as long as we're nameless our bodies are blameless
You cried when we kissed
It was nothing but shadow and mist
Two illusions who touch in a trance
making love not by choice but by chance
To a theme that we tore from the past
to a tango we swore was the last
We are shadows who dance
To a theme that we tore from the past
to a tango we swore was the last
We are shadows who dance
We are shadows who dance
We are shadows who dance
Judy Chung
Andy Williams is a legend , his voice never dies
Vikki Parker
One of the greatest voices and my favorite song.
jackiescanlon
Great song! Wow! Andy could really belt it out.
Michael Dean
This man had one of the most beautiful voices ever. Such a pure and balanced instrument. God Bless Mr. Williams. Wonderful, wonderful talent.
Judith Jackson
Beautiful song.
yosiefrati
Great song and singer
capeheartriz
great tune and a great singer
小松たけ
Best vocal performance of this song ever.
vickomankester
great voice
Judith Peligro
His voice is as hauntingly beautiful as the song💕