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.
Yesterday When I Was Young
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue,
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game,
The way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame;
The thousand dreams I dreamed,
The splendid things I planned
I always built, alas,
On weak and shifting sand;
And only now I see how the years ran away
Yesterday, when I was young,
So many happy songs were waiting to be sung,
So many wayward pleasures lay in store for me
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see,
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out,
I never stopped to think what life was all about
And every conversation I can now recall concerned itself with me
And nothing else at all
Yesterday the moon was blue,
And every crazy day brought something new to do,
I used my magic age as if it were a wand,
And never saw the waste and emptiness beyond;
The game of love I played with arrogance and pride
And every flame I lit too quickly, quickly died;
The friends I made all seemed somehow to drift away
And only I am left on stage to end the play
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung,
I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue,
The time has come for me to pay for Yesterday
When I was Young
Yesterday, when I was young,
So many happy songs were waiting to be sung,
So many wayward pleasures lay in store for me
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see,
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out,
I never stopped to think what life was all about
And every conversation I can now recall concerned itself with me
And nothing else at all
In "Yesterday When I Was Young", Andy Williams reflects back on his youth and the way that he lived his life without care or concern for the future. He compares himself to a candle flame being teased by the evening breeze, easily extinguished and never able to truly shine. Williams reminisces about the dreams that he once had and the plans that he made, only to realize that they were built on weak and shifting sand. He lived by night, avoiding the uncomfortable light of day, and never really considered the consequences of his actions.
Williams recalls the many happy songs that he wanted to sing and the wayward pleasures that he thought he would experience. He was so caught up in his youth and arrogance that he failed to see the emptiness behind the magic age he used as a wand. The game of love was played with pride and arrogance, but every flame was extinguished too quickly. The friends he made all seemed to drift away, leaving him on stage to end the play alone.
Now, Williams feels the bitter taste of tears upon his tongue as he realizes that time has run out. He never stopped to think what life was all about, and every conversation he can recall was about himself and nothing else. He is left with so many songs that won't be sung and no way to make up for the time he has lost.
"Yesterday When I Was Young" is a poignant and powerful reflection on the limited nature of youth and the regret that often comes with age. It serves as a warning to those who live in the moment without considering the consequences of their actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday when I was young,
In the past, when I was young and naive
The taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue,
Life felt pleasing and enjoyable
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game,
I treated life carelessly
The way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame;
In a way that's playful yet dangerous
The thousand dreams I dreamed,
The numerous aspirations I had
The splendid things I planned
The grand things I hoped to accomplish
I always built, alas,
Unfortunately, I constructed them
On weak and shifting sand;
On a foundation that was unstable
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of day
I avoided facing reality and lived recklessly
And only now I see how the years ran away
Only now do I realize how time passed me by
So many happy songs were waiting to be sung,
There were many joyful moments to experience
So many wayward pleasures lay in store for me
Numerous fleeting pleasures were available
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see,
I was blinded to the hurt surrounding me
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out,
I moved so quickly that I lost track of time and opportunities
I never stopped to think what life was all about
I didn't take time to ponder the purpose of existence
And every conversation I can now recall concerned itself with me
All discussions only centered around me
And nothing else at all
No other topics were addressed
And every crazy day brought something new to do,
Each eventful day offered fresh opportunities
I used my magic age as if it were a wand,
I leveraged my youth and energy recklessly
And never saw the waste and emptiness beyond;
I didn't recognize the futility in my pursuits
The game of love I played with arrogance and pride
I was conceited in my approach to relationships
And every flame I lit too quickly, quickly died;
Any passion I had didn't last long
The friends I made all seemed somehow to drift away
People I befriended eventually left me
And only I am left on stage to end the play
I'm the only one left to finish the performance
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung,
Numerous experiences I'll never get to have
I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue,
I'm filled with regret and sorrow
The time has come for me to pay for Yesterday
I must face the consequences of my past
When I was Young
When I was inexperienced and foolish
Lyrics © EDITIONS MUSICALES DJANIK
Written by: Charles Aznavour, Herbert Kretzmer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind