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.
My Coloring Book
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As certain people do
Here's a new one for you
A most unusual coloring book
The kind you never see
Crayons ready, very well
Begin to color me
As he walked away
Color them gray
This is the heart that thought
He would always be true
Color it blue
These are the arms that held him
And touched him then lost him somehow
Color them empty now
These are the beads I wore
Until she came between
Color them green
This is the room I sleep in
Walk in and weep in
Hide in that nobody sees
Color it lonely, please
This is the man
The one I depended upon
Color him gone...
The lyrics of Andy Williams's "My Coloring Book" start with an interesting introduction, as the song talks directly to those who are fond of coloring books. But rather than presenting them with a usual book with expected content, this song presents a "most unusual coloring book," one that requires coloring the singer himself. The singer asks for the listener to start coloring him by coloring the eyes, which have watched the person he loved walk away, in gray. The color gray may signify the sadness and the emptiness that comes with heartbreak, as if the color is as dull and barren as someone's heart after losing someone they loved.
Next, the lyrics move to coloring the heart that once believed in true love in blue. Here, the blue color may symbolize hope or optimism towards new love, as if the heart is still open to new possibilities despite being newly broken. The lyrics continue to address the arms that once held and touched the loved one who is now lost, and it suggests coloring them empty, portraying the feeling of holding on to something that is no longer there.
Then the song talks about how someone else came between the singer and the person he loved, colored as green beads, indicating jealousy and envy towards the person who stole the loved one's heart. The song then moves to coloring the room where the singer sleeps, walks, and weeps in; a room that hides the singer's loneliness from the rest of the world. Lastly, the song talks about coloring the man whom the singer depended upon, who is now gone, and the plea of the singer to color him gone.
Overall, "My Coloring Book" is a poignant song that paints a vivid picture of the pain and heartbreak that comes with losing someone. The unusual coloring book format highlights the details of the love story, and the specific colors serve as a powerful metaphor for the singer's feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
For those who fancy coloring books
This song is for those who like coloring books.
As certain people do
Some people enjoy coloring books.
Here's a new one for you
This song is a new type of coloring book.
A most unusual coloring book
This coloring book is very unique.
The kind you never see
This coloring book is one of a kind.
Crayons ready, very well
Get ready to color this book.
Begin to color me
Start coloring the pages of this book.
These are the eyes that watched him
The eyes that saw him leave.
As he walked away
When he left.
Color them gray
Use a gray crayon to color my sad eyes.
This is the heart that thought
This is the heart that believed.
He would always be true
He would never betray or leave me.
Color it blue
Use a blue crayon to color my broken heart.
These are the arms that held him
These are the arms that embraced him.
And touched him then lost him somehow
And then lost him in some way.
Color them empty now
Use a color that represents emptiness to color my empty arms.
These are the beads I wore
These are the beads that I used to wear.
Until she came between
Until another woman came into his life.
Color them green
Use a green crayon to color the beads that represent jealousy.
This is the room I sleep in
This is the room where I sleep.
Walk in and weep in
I cry in this room.
Hide in that nobody sees
Hide in this room where nobody can see me cry.
Color it lonely, please
Use a color that represents loneliness to color my room.
This is the man
This is the man in my life.
The one I depended upon
The one that I trusted and relied on.
Color him gone...
Use any color to represent his absence because he is no longer here.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FRED EBB, JOHN KANDER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind