Paul Williams has a secret.
I had the pleasure of reconnecting with the famed songwriter recently at the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) Latin Music Awards in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We first met in Los Angeles when he appeared on my KMPC Radio show.
His timeless words can have you singing for hours and it's there's no telling how many have associated a memory or emotion with his precious lyrics.
As I write, I look out on an unusually cold and wet morning in San Antonio and remember, "What I feel has come and gone before. No need to talk it out. We know what it's all about. Hangin' around, nothing to do buy frown. Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down."
Another of his classics, We've Only Just Begun, first recorded by the Carpenters, has become anthem for newlyweds around the world.
Just An Old Fashioned Love Song (Three Dog Night), Evergreen (written with and sung by Barbara Streisand), You and Me, Against The World (Helen Reddy), and one of my personal favorites, Waking Up Alone, are but a sampling of how his pen has touched listeners around the world.
As this little giant once said, "There are those who listen and those who wait to talk."
So, what is Paul's secret?
Is it that he proudly celebrates 18 years of sobriety after, "misplacing a decade," and now speaks of life, love, and creativity, having been recognized by UCLA as a Certified Drug Rehabilitation Counselor?
No, Mr. Williams' real secret can be found in the lyrics of what is surely his greatest work to date, Rainbow Connection, written for Kermit the Frog. You see, anyone who could give birth to the thought, "Who said that ev'ry wish would be heard and answered when we wished on the morning star? Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it. Look what it's done so far," will surely be forever young.
Paul Williams has not only discovered the Fountain of Youth, he's provided us with a musical map.
He continues to look at life through the twinkle in his eye, comforting those of us who still believe in magic, reminding, all the while, that if we never give up, someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection. The lovers, the dreamers and a wizard named Paul.
