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.
You Don't Want My Love
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the redbird sings, I'll be blue
Cause you don't want my love
"Some other time", that's whatcha say when I want you
Then you laugh at me and make me cry
Cause you don't want my love
You'd rather live without me
Than to have my arms around you
When the nights are cold and you're so all alone (all alone)
[Chorus]
In the summertime when all the trees and leaves are green
And the redbird sings, I'll be blue
Cause you don't want my love
Once upon a time you used to smile and wave to me
And walk with me but now you don't
Cause you don't want my love
Some other guy is takin' up all your time
Now ya don't have any time for me
Cause you don't want my love
You don't seem to care a thing about me
You'd rather live without me
Than to have my arms around you
When the nights are cold and you're so all alone (all alone)
In the summertime when all the trees and leaves are green
And the redbird sings, I'll be blue
Cause you don't want my love
In the summertime when all the trees and leaves are green
And the redbird sings, I'll be blue
Cause you don't want my love
(In summertime, in summertime when all the leaves are green)
In the summertime, I'll be blue all the time
Cause you don't want my love
The lyrics of Andy Williams's "You Don't Want My Love" speak of a man who is rejected by his love interest. The song is set during summertime when life is otherwise beautiful and enchanting, but the singer feels blue because he can't be with the person he loves. The redbird's singing, which is generally associated with joy and contentment, only brings sadness to him. He expresses his disappointment in the person he loves, who is unwilling to reciprocate his feelings. They kept saying "some other time" when the man wants to be with them, but those were just empty words as they had no intention of being with him. The man is heartbroken as the love of his life is now with someone else, and there's no hope of ever getting back together with them.
The lyrics capture the feelings of rejection and heartbreak that one experiences when they are not loved in the way they want to be. The song has a melancholic, slow tempo that emphasizes the sadness of the situation. The man's love is unreturned, and all he can do is be blue.
Overall, the lyrics of "You Don't Want My Love" are about unreciprocated love and the pain of rejection. The song's simple melody and Andy Williams's smooth voice effectively convey the emotion of the lyrics, making it a timeless classic.
Line by Line Meaning
In the summertime when all the trees and leaves are green
And the redbird sings, I'll be blue
Cause you don't want my love
Even though the world seems bright and happy around me, I feel sad and lonely because you don't love me.
"Some other time", that's whatcha say when I want you
Then you laugh at me and make me cry
Cause you don't want my love
Whenever I try to be with you, you never have time for me and even make fun of me. It hurts because you don't have any feelings for me.
You don't seem to care a thing about me
You'd rather live without me
Than to have my arms around you
When the nights are cold and you're so all alone (all alone)
It seems like you don't have any concern or interest in me, and you would rather be alone than be with me when you need someone in the dark, lonely nights.
Once upon a time you used to smile and wave to me
And walk with me but now you don't
Cause you don't want my love
There was a time when you treated me with kindness and affection, but now you have changed your ways and don't even deign to acknowledge me because you don't love me.
Some other guy is takin' up all your time
Now ya don't have any time for me
Cause you don't want my love
You are preoccupied with another man, and now you don't have any time for me because you don't have any feelings for me.
In the summertime, I'll be blue all the time
Cause you don't want my love
I will be sad and lonesome all summer long because you don't love me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ROGER MILLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@prestonsplace007
An often overlooked contribution is his establishment of the St. Jude Children's Hospital. Love you Andy!
@markkilgore9588
The best, not possible today
@oraliaillanes4432
I remember my Daddy singing this song when I was little... He would sing his heart out ... I absolutely love this song....
@johnager9428
❤️❤️❤️
@terrytoohill5736
Andy Williams, Fantastic, saw him live at the Horden Pavilion in 72 never forget he brought the audience to their feet. God bless you Andy for your wonderful voice and songs.
@CBSEye
One of Andy's "fun" songs written by his friend, the late, great Rober Miller. Nice vintage effect.
@foursixtwenty
R.I.P. And y, You gave us a lot of enjoyment.
@cmahue1235
Love this song. I remember a goofy little dance that Andy did to it. Hope someone will post that. It is adorable.
@janandmikecolinese6408
My wife ran his Fan club back in the day
@johntate5722
Yes i remember that dance too!! At the time it embarrassed me and i thought why is he doing this? But now i wish i could see it too!