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.
Solitaire
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who lost his love through his indifference
A heart that cared, that went unchecked
And slowly died within his silence
And solitaire's the only game in town
And every road that takes me, takes me down
And by himself, it's easy to pretend
And keeping to himself he plays the game
Without her love it always ends the same
While life goes on around him everywhere
I'm playing solitaire
Another day, a lonely day
So much to say that goes unspoken
And through the night, his sleepless nights
The eyes are closed, the heart is broken
And solitaire's the only game in town
And every road that takes him, takes him down
And by myself it's easy to pretend
You're coming back again
And keeping to myself I plays the game
Without your love it always ends the same
While life goes on around him everywhere
I'm playing solitaire
Solitaire's the only game in town
And every road that takes me, takes me down
The lyrics of Andy Williams's song Solitaire tells the story of a man who lost his love because of his indifference. His heart cared for her, but he didn't express his feelings and slowly, his love died within his silence. The man is now alone and playing the game of solitaire because he doesn't want to love again, preferring to pretend that he will never love again. He keeps to himself and plays this game each day, and without love, it always ends the same. While life goes on around him, he is stuck playing solitaire.
This song portrays the harsh reality of love and its consequences when it goes unspoken. The man in the song is a perfect example of this - he's now alone and silently suffering in his loneliness. The lyrics perfectly depict the pain he feels and the game of solitaire symbolizes his life, which he spends alone, pretending everything is alright.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a man, a lonely man
This song is about a man who was lonely and lost his love due to his lack of attention.
Who lost his love through his indifference
The man's lack of care for his partner caused him to lose her.
A heart that cared, that went unchecked
The man had a caring heart, but failed to show it or act on it.
And slowly died within his silence
His silence and lack of communication caused his love to slowly fade and die.
And solitaire's the only game in town
The man's only solace or pastime is playing the game of solitaire.
And every road that takes me, takes me down
The man feels that every path he takes in life leads to sadness or disappointment.
And by himself, it's easy to pretend
Being alone, the man can easily pretend that he'll never love again and live in denial.
I'll never love again
The man believes that he'll never be able to love again after losing his previous love.
And keeping to himself he plays the game
The man continues to play solitaire and keep to himself, despite the loneliness.
Without her love it always ends the same
Without his love, the game always ends in the same way, with no joy or happiness.
While life goes on around him everywhere
Although life continues for others, the man's life remains stagnant and unchanging.
I'm playing solitaire
The man spends his time playing solitaire, as it's his only source of escapism and entertainment.
Another day, a lonely day
The man experiences another day of loneliness and isolation.
So much to say that goes unspoken
The man has a lot to say, but chooses not to speak up or express himself.
And through the night, his sleepless nights
The man spends his nights awake and unable to sleep, tormented by his thoughts and emotions.
The eyes are closed, the heart is broken
Despite closing his eyes, the man's heart remains broken and his emotional pain persists.
And by myself it's easy to pretend
Being alone, it's easy for the man to pretend that his love will return and that he won't be lonely forever.
You're coming back again
The man holds onto hope that his love will return and they'll be reunited.
And keeping to myself I play the game
The man continues to play solitaire and isolate himself from others.
Without your love it always ends the same
Without his love, the game of solitaire always ends in the same way, with no satisfaction or pleasure.
Solitaire's the only game in town
For the man, solitaire is the only game or activity he has left to pass the time.
And every road that takes me, takes me down
The man feels like every path he takes only leads to despair and hopelessness.
And solitaire's the only game in town
The man repeats that solitaire is all he has left to fill his time and provide some sense of comfort.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Neil Sedaka, Phil Cody
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@williamli7477
This song is in the last Album he has in the late 70s or early 80s. I love most if his songs, perhaps it started with Moon River, a summer place, never on Sunday etc...
With the last album I bought, got excited, and love, being this album and esp this song.
Saw his concert when he came to Singapore in early 2000. He voice dried up quite a lot, but it didn't effect any of his songs I like.
I also always remember
May each day
It's all over
Sunny
Alfie
Raindrops Keep falling on my head
Happy heart
Danny boy
Summer times
The days of wine and roses
When I listen to those songs, i still remember how I felt when I listen to them in the 70s.
How come the music in the 70s is very daily regular lovely life, yet today it is like going to big party, must shout and dance violently.
Can we say no to those today music with a billion views?
@mariamerkle5800
There was a man
A lonely man
Who lost his love
Through his indifference.
A heart that cares
That went unshared
And slowly dies
Within his silence.
Chorus:
Now solitaire's the only game in town and
Every road that takes me takes me down,
I find myself that's easy to pretend,
I'll never love again and deep into myself I play the
Game, without you love it always ends the same,
While life goes all around me everywhere, I'm playing Solitaire.
Another day a lonely day
So much to say that goes unspoken
And through the night
Each sleepless night
The eyes are closed
The heart is broken.
Chorus:
Now Solitaire's the only game in town and
Every road that takes me takes me down,
I find myself that's easy to pretend I'm coming back
Again and deep into myself I play the game without
You love it always ends the same,
While life goes all around me everywhere, I'm playing Solitaire.
Solitaire's the only game in town.
Every road that takes me takes me down.
@paigemacbeth3947
My mother recently passed and she always loved Andy Williams and that song. She played it at Christmas. It will forever remind me of her at that time of year.
@lindagarrote1439
This song was so touching
and makes me cry l just l remember my remarkable experience of my love .
@BillSikes.
What a voice...RIP Andy Williams 🙏
@clivedytor2069
This has to be one of the finest ever songs sung by an absolute master.Respect!
@kevinwhite616
The best version of this great song, and how appropriate for our times. RIP.
@johnbarrett9673
How can people not like this ... stunning song , great voice ...
@jessicahainesmusic
Questionable production.
@habibisuckslol
@@jessicahainesmusic how?
@redline700
@@jessicahainesmusic rubbish. It's a great production.
@itsabouttime8680
An absolute singing legend with such a unique voice that was Andy Williams