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.
Under Paris Skies
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Try to be smart and don't let your heart catch on fire
Love becomes king the moment it's spring under Paris skies
Lonely hearts meet somewhere on the street of desire
Parisian love can bloom high in a skylight room
Or in a gay café where hundreds of people can see
Don't ever be a heartbroken stranger like me
Oh, I fell in love
Yes, I was a fool
For Paris can be so beautifully cruel
Paris is just a gay coquette who wants to love and then forget
Stranger beware, there's love in the air
Just look and see what happened to me under Paris skies
Watch what you do, the same thing can happen to you
Watch what you do, the same thing can happen to you
Watch what you do, the same thing can happen to you
In "Under Paris Skies," Andy Williams sings about the perils of falling in love in the romantic city of Paris. The song advises caution, warning listeners to be smart and not let their hearts catch on fire, for love becomes king the moment it's spring under Paris skies, and lonely hearts may find themselves meeting somewhere on the street of desire. The song describes how Parisian love can bloom in many different settings, from high skylight rooms to gay cafes, where hundreds of people can see.
The lyrics reveal the singer's own experience of falling in love in Paris and losing their heart. The song warns against becoming a heartbroken stranger, like the singer did. The closing lyric is a repetition of the warning to watch what you do, the same thing can happen to you. The song suggests that Paris is a beautiful but cruel city, where love comes easily but can quickly disappear. Love is in the air in Paris, but it is also a city where strangers need to be aware of the dangers of falling in love too quickly.
Line by Line Meaning
Stranger beware, there's love in the air under Paris skies
Be cautious, as falling in love in Paris is easy and common
Try to be smart and don't let your heart catch on fire
Don't be naive and get too caught up in a love affair
Love becomes king the moment it's spring under Paris skies
With the arrival of spring, love blossoms everywhere in Paris
Lonely hearts meet somewhere on the street of desire
Those looking for love can find it on the streets of Paris
Parisian love can bloom high in a skylight room
Love can flourish in a beautiful, romantic setting in Paris
Or in a gay café where hundreds of people can see
Love can also develop in a busy, bustling cafe in Paris
I wasn't smart and I lost my heart under Paris skies
The singer fell in love in Paris and regrets not being more cautious
Don't ever be a heartbroken stranger like me
Don't make the same mistake and end up heartbroken like the singer
Oh, I fell in love
The singer fell in love in Paris
Yes, I was a fool
The singer recognizes that they were foolish to fall in love so easily
For Paris can be so beautifully cruel
Paris can be both beautiful and harsh when it comes to love
Paris is just a gay coquette who wants to love and then forget
Paris is like a flirtatious woman who enjoys love but quickly moves on
Watch what you do, the same thing can happen to you
Be careful and don't let yourself fall too deeply in love in Paris
Watch what you do, the same thing can happen to you
Repeat of the previous line, emphasizing the need to be cautious in love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEAN ANDRE BRUN GANNON, JEAN DREJAC, HUBERT YVES GIRAUD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
D Gordon
I just found this song. Incredible. I think the very best song he recorded.
D Gordon
I discovered this song via Sirius XM, Sirusly Sinatra. It blew me away. All I knew was Moon River. This song has swing and swagger and the artists voice is frankly ace.
MetroDogsMN
I miss him so much.
Hossam Shawky
+MetroDogsMN Great singer
tuxguys
I heard this on Boston's WJIB yesterday (unique station, check it out), and I would have been willing to bet the farm that this hard-swinging arrangement was by Nelson Riddle, but no...
The arrangement of this gem is by Billy Byers (Google him!), the orchestra is being conducted by Quincy Jones, and the producer of this 1960 recording is...
Andy Williams.
Chuck Duzzie
Quincy Jones …. In the beginning
axel garcia
i can't decide between this or dabchicks
Tahmeed Mazumder
dabchick sadly has that zing. dabchick really wins on this one.
Snow Siclari
Yeah i want a whole album from dabchick
Jeff Foster III
Dabchicks version sucks. There is no vocality. Andy Williams was probably one of the greatest vocalists ever to walk the earth.