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.
Sweet Memories
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Night after night the past slips in and gathers all my sleep
My days are just an endless stream of emptiness to me
Filled only by the fleeting moments of her memory
Sweet memories
Sweet memories
Mmmmmmmm
She slipped into the silence of my dreams last night
Wandering from room to room, she's turning on each light
Her laughter spills like water from the river to the sea
I'm swept away from sadness, clinging to her memory
Sweet memories
Sweet memories
Mmmmmmmm
The song “Sweet Memories” by Andy Williams is a jazz ballad that describes the pain of a lover after the end of a relationship. The singer describes his world as a “river” that is “dark as it is deep.” He explains that each night memories of his past relationship come to him and steal away his sleep. His days feel empty without the presence of his loved one, and he is only able to find solace in fleeting memories of her.
In the second verse, the singer describes a dream he had where his former lover appeared. She moved through his rooms, turning on each light, and her laughter spilled forth like water flowing from a river to the sea. Though he is sad without her, the memory of her provides a sense of comfort and allows him to be “swept away from sadness.”
Line by Line Meaning
My world is like a river, it's dark as it is deep
My life is akin to a river, whose depths are as pitch-black as the night sky.
Night after night the past slips in and gathers all my sleep
Every night, the events of the past come flooding back, robbing me of my sleep.
My days are just an endless stream of emptiness to me
My days are hollow, devoid of any joy or meaning.
Filled only by the fleeting moments of her memory
My life is sustained only by the brief moments I spend reminiscing about her.
Sweet memories
The memories of her are sweet and precious to me.
Sweet memories
The memories of her are sweet and precious to me.
Mmmmmmmm
Inexpressible longing and yearning for her.
She slipped into the silence of my dreams last night
Last night, she entered the stillness of my dreams.
Wandering from room to room, she's turning on each light
In my dreams, she moves from one room to another, flicking on the lights as she goes.
Her laughter spills like water from the river to the sea
Her laughter flows like water, inexorably finding its way to the sea.
I'm swept away from sadness, clinging to her memory
I'm lifted out of the depths of my sadness by holding onto the memories of her.
Sweet memories
The memories of her are sweet and precious to me.
Sweet memories
The memories of her are sweet and precious to me.
Mmmmmmmm
Inexpressible longing and yearning for her.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Mickey Newbury
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind