New York, NY
April 16, 2009Songwriter Paul Williams was elected President and Chairman of the Board of ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) today by the ASCAP Board of Directors at its meeting in Nashville, TN.
“It’s a great honor and privilege to be elected President and Chairman of the Board of ASCAP,” Williams says. “The ability to make a viable living from creating music is of critical importance not just to songwriters and composers, but also to our society as a whole. Recent advances in areas like technology have opened many new doors for music creators. But we also face a host of daunting challenges relative to how the act of creating music is both fairly valued and compensated. ASCAP must remain a strong voice for our creative community, and I plan to do all I can to ensure this is the case.”
Timeless Standards Mark an Award-Winning Career
Paul Williams is an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winning Hall of Fame songwriter. “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” “You and Me Against the World,” “An Old Fashioned Love Song,” “I Won’t Last a Day Without You” and “Let Me Be The One” are among his timeless standards.His songs have been recorded by such diverse musical icons as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Ella Fitzgerald, David Bowie, Ray Charles, R.E.M., Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughn, Johnny Mathis, Luther Vandross and Kermit the Frog.
Bugsy Malone and Phantom of the Paradise are among his song scores for film. “The Rainbow Connection” from the children’s classic The Muppet Movie and “Evergreen” from A Star is Born are two of his songs that grace the American Film Institute’s list of the top 100 movie songs of all times.
Having completed the music and lyrics for the Garry Marshall musical Happy Days, Williams joined forces with the Henson Company to produce a new Christmas musical based on the perennial favorite, Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. In 2008, NBC aired A Muppet Christmas: Letter To Santa, an original Christmas special with both story and songs by Williams.
Publicly lauded for his work as a songwriter, performer, actor and humanitarian, Williams predicts he’ll be most remembered for playing Little Enos in the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy and for his lyrics to “The Love Boat” theme. As a devoted husband to writer Mariana Williams and proud father, he considers his son Cole and daughter Sarah to be his best work.
I certainly don’t mean to disagree with Mr. Williams, but for me personally it’s his composition of “The Rainbow Connection” for which I admire him most. In my opinion, it’s his single greatest musical contribution — a universal anthem of encouragement that dreams can and do come true.
Furthermore, animation enthusiasts will remember him well for various characters he’s voiced on such cartoons as The Pirates of Darkwater, The Tick, Dexter’s Laboratory, Phantom 2040, and most notably as the voice of The Penguin on Batman: The Animated Series.
Congratulations to Mr. Williams on receiving such a great honor and responsibility.
He also has a number of upcoming performances and appearances scheduled through 2010. Visit his official website for more details: PaulWilliamsConnection.org.
