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Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr.[1] (born September 19, 1940)[3][4][5] is an American composer, singer, songwriter and actor. He is perhaps best known for writing popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s, as well as for his contributions to films. He has been awarded 3 Grammy's and one Academy Award for Best Original Song.

He has also had a variety of high-profile acting roles such as Little Enos Burdette in the action-comedy Smokey and the Bandit (1977), and as the villainous Swan in Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (1974), which Williams also co-scored, receiving an Oscar nomination in the process. He has worked as well in television, theater, and provided voice-overs for animation.

In March 2012, it was announced that Williams had "written a couple of tunes" on Random Access Memories, the album by Daft Punk.[2] Williams co-wrote and sang vocals on "Touch" and co-wrote "Beyond". Williams and Nile Rodgers were the only featured artists to speak on behalf of Daft Punk at the 2014 Grammy Awards upon their receipt of the Album of the Year award for Random Access Memories. Williams told an anecdote about his work with Daft Punk:  

"You know, back when I was drinking and using I used to imagine things that weren't there and were frightening, then I got sober and two robots called me and asked me to make an album. We are random access memories, some of us more random than others. You know, I just got a message from the robots, and what they wanted me to say is that as elegant and as classy as the Grammy has ever been, is the moment when we saw those wonderful marriages, and that same love is as fantastic… and it was the height of fairness and love and the power of love for all people at any time, in any combination, is what they wanted me to say. They sail… you know, Captain Kirk uses the Enterprise, they sail on a ship called generosity. They are generous of spirit."

Williams is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In April 2009, Williams was elected President and Chairman of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).[3]

References[]

  1. "Paul Williams's biography at Film Reference". Filmreference.com. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  2. "'The Muppets' songwriter to feature on new Daft Punk album? | News". Nme.Com. March 19, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  3. "Songwriter Paul Williams Elected President and Chairman of ASCAP". Retrieved August 27, 2010.
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