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.
do you mind
Andy Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Make an idol of you, do you mind
If I shower you with kisses
If I tell you honey this is
How I think of heaven, do you mind
I'd like to whisper, whisper sweet nothings in your ear
Nothings that were meant for my love alone to hear
And if I say I love you, do you mind
Make an idol of you, do you mind
If I shower you with kisses
If I tell you honey this is
How I think of heaven, do you mind
I'd like to whisper, whisper sweet nothings in your ear
Nothings that were meant for my love alone to hear
And if I say I love you, do you mind
Make an idol of you, do you mind
And if I shower you with kisses
If I tell you honey this is
How I think of heaven, do you mind
Do you mind
Mmh, do you mind
If I say I love you, do you mind
The lyrics to Andy Williams's song "Do You Mind" are about a man expressing his love to a woman and asking if it is okay with her. The refrain "If I say I love you, do you mind" is repeated several times throughout the song. The man sings about wanting to shower her with kisses and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. He tells her that she is like an idol to him and he thinks of her as heaven.
The first verse establishes the man's desire to express his love for the woman but also his uncertainty about whether or not it is welcome. He asks her if it is okay with her if he makes an idol of her and showers her with kisses. He is expressing his love and admiration, but he needs to know if she feels the same.
The second verse is more specific about his intentions. He wants to whisper sweet nothings in her ear, to share intimate moments that are meant only for the two of them. He is asking for permission to express his love and desires.
Overall, "Do You Mind" is a sweet, romantic song about a man who wants to express his love to a woman but needs to know if it is okay. The repetition of the refrain emphasizes his uncertainty and his need for reassurance.
Line by Line Meaning
If I say I love you, do you mind
Would you be bothered if I told you I love you?
Make an idol of you, do you mind
Would you feel uncomfortable if I put you on a pedestal and adored you like an idol?
If I shower you with kisses
Is it okay if I give you a lot of kisses?
If I tell you honey this is
If I were to call you 'honey' and explain that this is how I feel about heaven, would that bother you?
How I think of heaven, do you mind
If I told you that my idea of heaven is like being with you, would that be a problem?
I'd like to whisper, whisper sweet nothings in your ear
I want to tell you intimate, romantic things just between us that no one else hears.
Nothings that were meant for my love alone to hear
I want to say romantic things only meant for you, my love, to hear.
Do you mind
Is everything I said okay with you? Do you have any objections or issues with anything?
Mmh, do you mind
Again, I'm asking if everything I said is alright with you. Can we proceed with our romantic interactions?
If I say I love you, do you mind
To reiterate, would you have any problems if I told you that I loved you?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ROBERT PETER WILLIAMS, KELVIN ANDREWS, CHAZ JANKEL, DANIEL MOULD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
LoveTheOConnor
I never mind getting to listen to Andy Williams' wonderful voice! Thanks for sharing another beautiful upload, Jim! Have a great weekend and stay cool, my friend--a hot week ahead of us here, too. Wish I could find Vernors, it would sure hit the spot :))
Jymster46
So glad you didn't mind, Heather. Been listening to his wonderful voice for many years...never tire of it. Oh, Vernors is perfect on a hot summer day or night :)) You stay cool, too, my friend. Have a great weekend :))
Jim
Christine Anne
great singer andy, anthony newley's version was the hit here jim....big like from jane and brian...oh and nice stereo too.
Jymster46
The kind of stereo we like, Jane and Brian. They had it right in 1960. Thanks so much for listening :))
Jim