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.
When You're Smiling
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was a kind man,
Helping a fellow along,
One could not see,
One could not walk,
But they both were humming this song;
When you're smiling, When you're smiling,
When you're laughing, When you're laughing,
The sun comes shining through,
But when you're crying you bring on the rain,
So stop your sighing be happy again,
Keep on smiling 'cause when you're smiling,
The whole world smiles with you.
I used to worry,
I used to hurry,
Each time it started to rain,
Now I see light,
Learned wrong from right,
And you'll never hear me complain;
When you're smiling, When you're smiling,
The whole world smiles with you,
When you're laughing, When you're laughing,
The sun comes shining through,
But when you're crying you bring on the rain,
So stop your sighing be happy again,
Keep on smiling 'cause when you're smiling,
The lyrics of Andy Williams's song "When You're Smiling" is about the power of a smile and the impact it can have on the world. The song starts with a description of a blind man helping another man who cannot walk. Though they are struggling physically, they are both happy and humming the song. The lyrics then emphasize the contagious nature of a smile and how it can brighten up someone's day. In contrast, the song warns against the negative effects of crying and sighing, which can figuratively bring rain to one's life. The message of the song is clear - a smile can be a powerful force that can make the world a better place.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw a blind man,
I witnessed a kind, generous person helping another person who was visually impaired and could not walk autonomously.
When you're smiling, When you're smiling,
A smile is a powerful emotion that can elicit a positive response from others.
The whole world smiles with you,
Smiling can have a contagious effect on others.
When you're laughing, When you're laughing,
Laughter also has the power to brighten the mood of others.
The sun comes shining through,
When you're happy, the world feels more colorful, vibrant, and free.
But when you're crying you bring on the rain,
Crying can bring a gloomy, sad atmosphere that can negatively impact the mood of others.
So stop your sighing be happy again,
Feeling sad is normal, but it's important to pick yourself up and be happy again.
Keep on smiling 'cause when you're smiling,
Keep smiling because it's an emotion that is contagious and can bring happiness to those around you.
The whole world smiles with you.
A smile can positively influence and light up the world around you.
I used to worry,
There was a time where the singer would stress and worry about things.
I used to hurry,
The singer used to rush around life without stopping.
Each time it started to rain,
Every time life got difficult or trying, the singer would feel down and negative.
Now I see light,
However, the singer has learned to see the positive and brighter things in life.
Learned wrong from right,
The singer has learned how to distinguish and make better decisions in life.
And you'll never hear me complain;
The singer will no longer complain or dwell on the negatives of life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Joe Goodwin, Larry Shay, Mark Fisher
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
JD in Huntsville AL
This is a slightly different version than what was on his album, proving that he is indeed singing here and not just lip-synching to his recording.