WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 I want to start today's deep dive with a bit 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:04.919 of a cognitive dissonance test. Oh, okay. A test. 00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:07.200 I'm in. What have you got? Okay, so I want you 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:10.539 to picture in your mind's eye the quintessential 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:14.939 1970s soft rock songwriter. Right. You know the 00:00:14.939 --> 00:00:17.379 archetype I'm talking about. I do. I'm picturing 00:00:17.379 --> 00:00:21.359 maybe a velvet tuxedo jacket sitting at a grand 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:24.640 piano, definitely. Yes. bathed in soft lighting. 00:00:24.780 --> 00:00:27.179 And he's singing lyrics that are so tender, so 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:30.440 vulnerable. Heartbreakingly beautiful. So heartbreakingly 00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:33.280 beautiful that they became the literal soundtrack 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:36.219 for a generation of weddings. Okay, I am with 00:00:36.219 --> 00:00:38.439 you. I'm picturing a very sensitive soul, someone 00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:39.920 who probably wears their heart on their sleeve 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:42.299 and sings a lot about, you know, rainy days and 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:44.939 Mondays. Exactly. Now, I want you to freeze that 00:00:44.939 --> 00:00:47.719 image. Hold it right there. Got it frozen. And 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:49.840 right next to it, I want you to picture a villain 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:54.909 in a Batman cartoon. Okay, that's a sharp turn. 00:00:55.030 --> 00:00:58.030 Or a shady cigar chomping arms dealer in an Edgar 00:00:58.030 --> 00:01:00.689 Wright action movie. Right. Or, and I promise 00:01:00.689 --> 00:01:03.369 I'm not making this up, an orangutan in Planet 00:01:03.369 --> 00:01:05.629 of the Apes wearing a futuristic jumpsuit. It 00:01:05.629 --> 00:01:07.810 feels like we are aggressively flipping channels 00:01:07.810 --> 00:01:11.590 between a romance movie, a gritty crime thriller, 00:01:11.829 --> 00:01:15.329 and like a Saturday morning cartoon. We are not 00:01:15.329 --> 00:01:18.030 done yet. Picture that same person standing on 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:20.769 stage at the Grammys in 2014. Okay. Flanked by 00:01:20.769 --> 00:01:24.010 Daft Punk, the French robots in chrome helmets, 00:01:24.189 --> 00:01:26.769 accepting the award for album of the year. And 00:01:26.769 --> 00:01:29.040 the punchline, which is... I mean, it is genuinely 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:31.099 hard to believe is that we are talking about 00:01:31.099 --> 00:01:33.560 one single human being. We are talking about 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:36.459 one single, slightly shorter than average, absolutely 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:39.879 ubiquitous human being. Today, we are diving 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:42.819 deep into the life, the crash and the resurrection 00:01:42.819 --> 00:01:45.959 of Paul Williams. This is such a rich topic because 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:47.920 Paul Williams isn't just a celebrity. He's a 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.900 paradox. He really is. Yeah. If you look at the 00:01:50.900 --> 00:01:52.859 source stack we've gone through, the comprehensive 00:01:52.859 --> 00:01:55.359 biography, the discography that spans decades, 00:01:55.579 --> 00:01:58.510 the film archives. You realize he is woven into 00:01:58.510 --> 00:02:00.469 the fabric of pop culture in a way that just 00:02:00.469 --> 00:02:02.629 doesn't make sense on paper. It really doesn't. 00:02:02.629 --> 00:02:04.969 He's the zealot of the music industry. He's just 00:02:04.969 --> 00:02:09.250 everywhere. That is the mission for this deep 00:02:09.250 --> 00:02:11.689 dive. We need to figure out how the same guy 00:02:11.689 --> 00:02:14.949 who wrote We've Only Just Begun, which is pure. 00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:18.659 innocent sentiment. Ended up being little Enos 00:02:18.659 --> 00:02:21.620 in Smokey and the Bandit and a counselor for 00:02:21.620 --> 00:02:23.879 recovering addicts. How does that Venn diagram 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:26.800 exist? How do you go from the Muppets to Phantom 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.139 of the Paradise? It's a Venn diagram of one. 00:02:29.340 --> 00:02:30.960 And I think the key insight we're going to uncover 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:33.780 today is about this tension between adaptability 00:02:33.780 --> 00:02:37.710 and authenticity. Williams managed to be a chameleon 00:02:37.710 --> 00:02:40.770 changing from folk to disco to electronic while 00:02:40.770 --> 00:02:44.310 maintaining this incredibly raw, authentic, emotional 00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:47.330 core. Right. He's a guy who wore masks literally 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:48.990 and figuratively, to tell the truth. Let's peel 00:02:48.990 --> 00:02:50.669 back the first mask. We have to start at the 00:02:50.669 --> 00:02:53.490 beginning in Omaha, Nebraska, 1940. And looking 00:02:53.490 --> 00:02:55.250 at his family tree, I honestly think there must 00:02:55.250 --> 00:02:56.770 have been something in the water at the Williams 00:02:56.770 --> 00:02:59.990 household because the talent concentration is 00:02:59.990 --> 00:03:04.159 statistically improbable. It's a family of high 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:07.180 -functioning outliers, isn't it? Usually when 00:03:07.180 --> 00:03:09.240 we do these deep dives on artists, you see a 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:12.159 family of musicians or maybe a family of actors. 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:14.520 You know, the apple doesn't fall far from the 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:17.960 tree. Right. But the Williams boys covered the 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:21.280 entire spectrum of human endeavor. It's wild. 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:24.439 You have Paul, the emotional architect, born 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:27.900 in 1940. Yep. You have his brother, Mentor Williams, 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:30.319 who was also a massive songwriter in his own 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:33.050 right. Oh, Mentor's a legend too. He wrote Drift 00:03:33.050 --> 00:03:35.330 Away for Dobie Gray. Give me the beat, boys, 00:03:35.449 --> 00:03:38.550 and free my soul. That song is a standard, an 00:03:38.550 --> 00:03:41.590 absolute classic. So, okay, two brothers, both 00:03:41.590 --> 00:03:43.789 successful songwriters. That tracks. That makes 00:03:43.789 --> 00:03:46.110 sense. It does. But then you have the third brother, 00:03:46.289 --> 00:03:48.270 John J. Williams. And this is where it goes off 00:03:48.270 --> 00:03:50.409 the rails. This is my favorite fact in the entire 00:03:50.409 --> 00:03:53.289 stack. While Paul is out in Los Angeles trying 00:03:53.289 --> 00:03:57.020 to figure out rhymes for rainbow and love. John 00:03:57.020 --> 00:03:59.659 is literally a rocket scientist for NASA. And 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:01.800 not just like an employee, not just a guy with 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:04.300 a pocket protector. No. John J. Williams was 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:06.819 deeply involved in the Mercury and Apollo programs. 00:04:07.159 --> 00:04:09.719 He won the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:13.659 1969. That is the highest honor NASA can bestow 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:17.180 on a civilian. So in 1969, think about this, 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:21.120 one brother is helping put humanity on the moon. 00:04:21.550 --> 00:04:23.990 using physics and engineering. Right. The hardest 00:04:23.990 --> 00:04:26.829 of hard sciences. And the other is in Los Angeles 00:04:26.829 --> 00:04:29.769 trying to put humanity in touch with their feelings. 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.360 Using melody and lyrics. It's the ultimate right 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:35.500 brain versus left brain family. You've got the 00:04:35.500 --> 00:04:37.800 emotional engineer versus the aerospace engineer. 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:40.839 It's perfect. And strangely, they both dealt 00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:43.160 with space in a way, didn't they? John dealt 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:45.759 with outer space and Paul, as we'll see, became 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:49.360 a master of inner space. You know, the internal 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:52.040 landscape of loneliness and hope. But Paul didn't 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:54.160 launch like a rocket. His trajectory was a bit 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:57.470 more. Well, meandering. He didn't start out trying 00:04:57.470 --> 00:04:59.529 to be the next Bob Dylan or the next Cole Porter. 00:04:59.610 --> 00:05:01.529 He actually started in the comedy scene. That's 00:05:01.529 --> 00:05:03.670 a crucial detail for understanding his later 00:05:03.670 --> 00:05:05.769 career, especially the acting. It really is. 00:05:05.870 --> 00:05:08.529 He didn't start as a brooding poet in a coffee 00:05:08.529 --> 00:05:10.769 shop. He started as a guy trying to make people 00:05:10.769 --> 00:05:13.490 laugh. He was working with a comedian named Biff 00:05:13.490 --> 00:05:16.290 Rose in L .A. Right. They were doing a sort of 00:05:16.290 --> 00:05:19.410 comedy slash folk routine. And out of that partnership 00:05:19.410 --> 00:05:22.029 came a song called Fill Your Heart. Right. And 00:05:22.029 --> 00:05:25.129 Feel Your Heart has a very vaudeville, almost 00:05:25.129 --> 00:05:27.990 theatrical vibe to it. It's jaunty. It's not 00:05:27.990 --> 00:05:31.230 the soft rock he's famous for yet. But it caught 00:05:31.230 --> 00:05:34.250 the ear of arguably the most eclectic musician 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:38.810 of the time, Tiny Tim. The ukulele falsetto tiptoe 00:05:38.810 --> 00:05:41.430 through the tulips. Tiny Tim. The very same. 00:05:41.490 --> 00:05:44.050 Tiny Tim covered it as a B -side. Now, getting 00:05:44.050 --> 00:05:46.709 a song cut by Tiny Tim is a win, for sure, but 00:05:46.709 --> 00:05:49.310 it doesn't exactly scream serious songwriter. 00:05:49.509 --> 00:05:52.069 No, not really. But here is the first pivot point 00:05:52.069 --> 00:05:55.300 in Williams' career. That same song... Found 00:05:55.300 --> 00:05:57.639 its way to David Bowie. The Finwhite Duke himself. 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.500 Bowie recorded a version of Fill Your Heart for 00:06:00.500 --> 00:06:04.439 his album Hunky Dory in 1971. Wow. So think about 00:06:04.439 --> 00:06:06.839 that range. Tiny Tin to David Bowie. That is 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:08.920 the polyam spectrum in a nutshell. It is. The 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:11.819 absurd and the artistic. The comedy and the glam 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:15.079 rock. All in one song. But while having Bowie 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:17.860 record your song is incredible street cred, it 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:19.699 wasn't the thing that paid the bills or made 00:06:19.699 --> 00:06:22.480 him a household name. Not yet. The real ignition 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:25.399 point was a partnership. Biff Rose introduced 00:06:25.399 --> 00:06:28.139 Williams to A &M Records, and there he met a 00:06:28.139 --> 00:06:30.540 guy named Roger Nichols. Roger Nichols. Yeah. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.720 If Paul Williams was the heart, Nichols was the 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:36.079 structure. Yeah. Nichols was a melody genius, 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:39.420 a technical wizard with chord progressions, and 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:42.120 together they essentially architected the sound 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:45.379 of 70s soft rock. They really did. But the story 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:48.139 of their breakout hit is my favorite business 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:51.759 case study in music history. It proves that inspiration 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:54.980 can come from the most boring places imaginable. 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:56.819 You're talking about the bank commercial. I'm 00:06:56.819 --> 00:06:58.360 talking about the bank commercial. It's 1970. 00:06:59.259 --> 00:07:01.399 Williams and Nichols are working songwriters, 00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:03.639 meaning they are hustling. They're taking any 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:06.019 gig they can get. Right. And they get a gig to 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:08.199 write a jingle for the Crocker National Bank. 00:07:08.670 --> 00:07:11.430 Crocker National Bank, which for our younger 00:07:11.430 --> 00:07:13.949 listeners is not exactly a sexy brand. It's a 00:07:13.949 --> 00:07:16.449 regional bank. It's about checking accounts and 00:07:16.449 --> 00:07:19.670 mortgages. It is the least rock and roll thing 00:07:19.670 --> 00:07:22.689 you can imagine. And the brief was simple but 00:07:22.689 --> 00:07:25.509 specific. The commercial visuals featured a young 00:07:25.509 --> 00:07:28.230 couple you know, casually dressed, getting married 00:07:28.230 --> 00:07:30.949 and starting their life. It was Crocker trying 00:07:30.949 --> 00:07:33.649 to appeal to the youth market, saying, we know 00:07:33.649 --> 00:07:35.730 you're just starting out and we can help. A very 00:07:35.730 --> 00:07:38.029 utilitarian premise. You need a loan for that 00:07:38.029 --> 00:07:40.949 wedding. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And most songwriters 00:07:40.949 --> 00:07:42.509 would have phoned it in. They would have written, 00:07:42.589 --> 00:07:45.189 come to Crocker. We have good rates. Sure. But 00:07:45.189 --> 00:07:48.769 Williams and Nichols wrote, we've only just begun. 00:07:49.360 --> 00:07:52.379 We've only just begun to live white lace and 00:07:52.379 --> 00:07:55.240 promises. A kiss for luck and we're on our way. 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:58.199 I mean, it is a masterpiece of optimism. They 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:00.399 took a commercial assignment and treated it with 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:02.519 absolute sincerity. And that's the key, right? 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:04.300 They didn't write down to the assignment. They 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:07.120 didn't see it as just a jingle. No. And Richard 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:10.120 Carpenter of the Carpenters heard this commercial 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:13.480 on TV. Wow. He literally heard the jingle while 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:16.459 watching television and he realized that is a 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:18.970 hit song. That's an amazing year. He contacted 00:08:18.970 --> 00:08:22.769 them, the Carpenters recorded it, and it became 00:08:22.769 --> 00:08:25.430 the wedding song of the decade. It's fascinating 00:08:25.430 --> 00:08:27.470 because it stripped away the commercial context 00:08:27.470 --> 00:08:30.769 entirely. It became a universal anthem. Totally. 00:08:31.089 --> 00:08:34.409 Millions of people had their first dance to a 00:08:34.409 --> 00:08:37.029 song that was technically designed to sell banking 00:08:37.029 --> 00:08:39.450 services. It speaks to the quality of the songwriting. 00:08:39.509 --> 00:08:41.450 The emotion was so genuine that the commerce 00:08:41.450 --> 00:08:44.960 just... It didn't matter. Yeah. And looking at 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:47.519 the charts from that era, once that door opened, 00:08:47.820 --> 00:08:50.139 Williams and Nichols just flooded the radio. 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:52.220 It was an avalanche. It really was. Let's run 00:08:52.220 --> 00:08:54.100 through the list because it is staggering. Yeah. 00:08:54.220 --> 00:08:56.480 You had Three Dog Night. Williams wrote an old 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.679 -fashioned love song, The Family of Man, and 00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:00.899 Out in the Country for Them. I want to pause 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:03.360 on an old -fashioned love song. The lyrics are, 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:05.799 just an old -fashioned love song playing on the 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:08.720 radio. It's meta -commentary. He's writing a 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:10.379 hit song about a hit song playing on the radio. 00:09:10.750 --> 00:09:13.690 He was very aware of the medium. He was. He knew 00:09:13.690 --> 00:09:16.629 he was crafting radio hits. But he also infused 00:09:16.629 --> 00:09:20.789 them with this communal spirit. The Family of 00:09:20.789 --> 00:09:23.990 Man is almost a gospel song. It really is. Yeah. 00:09:24.049 --> 00:09:25.990 And then you go back to the Carpenters. Of course. 00:09:26.070 --> 00:09:28.629 Rainy days and Mondays. I won't last a day without 00:09:28.629 --> 00:09:31.029 you. And Helen Reddy's You and Me. Against the 00:09:31.029 --> 00:09:33.370 World. I want to stop on Rainy Days and Mondays 00:09:33.370 --> 00:09:35.429 because I think that song defines his secret 00:09:35.429 --> 00:09:37.909 sauce and it explains why he became the voice 00:09:37.909 --> 00:09:41.149 of the 70s. Okay. On the surface, it's easy listening. 00:09:41.190 --> 00:09:44.450 It's soft. But look at the lyrics. Just really 00:09:44.450 --> 00:09:46.669 listen to them. Talking to myself and feeling 00:09:46.669 --> 00:09:50.409 old. Sometimes I'd like to quit. Nothing ever 00:09:50.409 --> 00:09:53.509 fits. That is dark. That is clinical depression 00:09:53.509 --> 00:09:56.169 wrapped in a velvet blanket. Sometimes I'd like 00:09:56.169 --> 00:09:59.269 to quit. Yeah. He is talking about giving up. 00:09:59.769 --> 00:10:02.009 in one of the biggest pop songs on the radio. 00:10:02.210 --> 00:10:03.889 But the melody is so comforting. It's like a 00:10:03.889 --> 00:10:06.909 warm hug. That is the paradox. That's the genius 00:10:06.909 --> 00:10:10.409 of it. Paul Williams took very complex, adult, 00:10:10.570 --> 00:10:14.549 slightly neurotic emotions, loneliness, alienation, 00:10:14.649 --> 00:10:16.950 the feeling of not fitting in, and he packaged 00:10:16.950 --> 00:10:19.669 them in these beautiful, accessible melodies. 00:10:19.950 --> 00:10:22.129 Right. He made it safe for the mainstream to 00:10:22.129 --> 00:10:25.029 sing along to their own sadness. It's a sad banger, 00:10:25.110 --> 00:10:28.190 basically. Before that term existed, yes. Absolutely. 00:10:28.350 --> 00:10:31.330 He validated that feeling of being down. And 00:10:31.330 --> 00:10:34.970 he was doing this while looking. Well, let's 00:10:34.970 --> 00:10:36.769 talk about the visual. He's five foot two. Yeah. 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:40.549 He has this very distinct, almost cherubic face. 00:10:40.769 --> 00:10:42.970 He didn't look like a rock star. He wasn't Robert 00:10:42.970 --> 00:10:45.269 Plant. Yeah. He wasn't Mick Jagger. Not even 00:10:45.269 --> 00:10:47.750 close. And he didn't try to be. He leaned into 00:10:47.750 --> 00:10:50.750 the Hollywood Renaissance man persona. He realized 00:10:50.750 --> 00:10:53.649 that his uniqueness was an asset. And this moves 00:10:53.649 --> 00:10:56.129 us into the mid -70s, which really was his golden 00:10:56.129 --> 00:10:58.690 era. He really was. He transitioned from radio 00:10:58.690 --> 00:11:01.090 to the silver screen, and he did it with a bang. 00:11:01.190 --> 00:11:03.409 A huge bang. We have to talk about A Star is 00:11:03.409 --> 00:11:07.090 Born. The 1976 version, Barbara Streisand and 00:11:07.090 --> 00:11:09.889 Chris Christopherson. This was a massive production, 00:11:10.190 --> 00:11:12.669 a huge movie. And Williams wasn't just a hired 00:11:12.669 --> 00:11:14.789 gun on this. He was collaborating directly with 00:11:14.789 --> 00:11:17.750 Streisand. Which is no small feat. I mean, Streisand 00:11:17.750 --> 00:11:21.220 is a perfectionist. To say the least. Yeah. Williams 00:11:21.220 --> 00:11:23.980 wrote the lyrics for the love theme, Evergreen, 00:11:24.139 --> 00:11:27.559 and Streisand wrote the music. Evergreen. It's 00:11:27.559 --> 00:11:30.399 a powerhouse. It's not just a hit. It's a standard. 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:32.840 Oh, absolutely. You hear it in elevators. You 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:34.700 hear it at weddings. You hear it on American 00:11:34.700 --> 00:11:37.549 Idol. It's part of the cultural furniture now. 00:11:37.649 --> 00:11:39.990 And the industry rewarded it. It won the Academy 00:11:39.990 --> 00:11:42.529 Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy for 00:11:42.529 --> 00:11:44.669 Song of the Year. That's the pinnacle. That is 00:11:44.669 --> 00:11:46.409 the pinnacle. But if you look at the soundtrack, 00:11:46.850 --> 00:11:49.789 Williams didn't just write the ballad. No. He 00:11:49.789 --> 00:11:53.590 also wrote Watch Closely Now and Halacious Acres 00:11:53.590 --> 00:11:56.350 for Christofferson's character. Which are rock 00:11:56.350 --> 00:12:00.399 songs. Greedy. Hard driving rock. So within one 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:02.740 movie, he's writing the most tender ballad of 00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:06.379 the year for Barbara and the arena rock anthems 00:12:06.379 --> 00:12:09.059 for Christox. That's the versatility we talked 00:12:09.059 --> 00:12:11.220 about. It is. He could channel different voices. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:13.600 He could find the truth in each of them. But 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:17.490 if a star is born, won him the trophies. I feel 00:12:17.490 --> 00:12:20.250 like his next collaboration won him immortality. 00:12:20.309 --> 00:12:22.169 Ooh, I know where you're going. We have to talk 00:12:22.169 --> 00:12:24.710 about the frog. The Muppets. This is the emotional 00:12:24.710 --> 00:12:27.389 core of the Paul Williams legacy for anyone born 00:12:27.389 --> 00:12:30.629 after 1970. It is, and it's almost strange that 00:12:30.629 --> 00:12:33.830 a guy writing about feeling old and rainy days 00:12:33.830 --> 00:12:36.889 connected so perfectly with Jim Henson's world. 00:12:37.070 --> 00:12:38.669 I don't know. I think it makes perfect sense. 00:12:39.289 --> 00:12:43.090 How so? They shared a worldview. It was a gentle, 00:12:43.269 --> 00:12:45.809 slightly melancholy optimism. Yeah, that's a 00:12:45.809 --> 00:12:47.720 good way to put it. They both understood that 00:12:47.720 --> 00:12:50.179 the world could be a hard place, but that kindness 00:12:50.179 --> 00:12:53.179 and connection were worth fighting for. Williams 00:12:53.179 --> 00:12:55.700 worked with Kenny Asher on that soundtrack, and 00:12:55.700 --> 00:12:58.779 they produced Rainbow Connection. It was inducted 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:00.980 into the National Recording Registry in 2020. 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:03.960 As it should be. The Library of Congress said, 00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:08.379 this is culturally significant. Why? I mean, 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:10.980 on the surface, it's a frog on a log with a banjo. 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:14.100 It's simple. It's the I want song to end all 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:16.340 I want songs. Look at the lyrics, the lovers, 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:20.039 the dreamers and me. It's an invitation. It acknowledges 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:22.759 that the world tells you magic isn't real. Rainbows 00:13:22.759 --> 00:13:25.340 are visions, but only illusions. That's the cynics 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:28.179 view. But the song rejects that. And rainbows 00:13:28.179 --> 00:13:30.799 have nothing to hide. It chooses to believe anyway. 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:34.139 It's an act of faith. And Williams didn't stop 00:13:34.139 --> 00:13:35.799 there with the Muppets. He did the soundtrack 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:38.879 for the Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992. When 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:41.399 Love is Gone is an absolute tearjerker in that 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:43.600 film. It is. I have to fast forward through it 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.399 sometimes. And we cannot skip Emmett Otter's 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:49.659 Jug Band Christmas. A cult classic. An absolute 00:13:49.659 --> 00:13:53.059 gem. It's a staple in my house. The music in 00:13:53.059 --> 00:13:56.559 that? It's authentic Americana. It's bluegrass. 00:13:56.820 --> 00:13:58.940 It's folk. It doesn't sound like children's music. 00:13:59.139 --> 00:14:01.840 That's because Williams never wrote down to kids. 00:14:02.179 --> 00:14:06.029 He wrote about longing, poverty, and love. just 00:14:06.029 --> 00:14:08.669 with puppets. Emmett Otter's a story about a 00:14:08.669 --> 00:14:10.590 poor family trying to make Christmas special. 00:14:10.750 --> 00:14:14.009 The songs like Barbecue and the Riverbottom Nightmare 00:14:14.009 --> 00:14:16.990 Band, they're just genuinely great compositions. 00:14:17.350 --> 00:14:19.370 Okay, so we have the soft rock, we have the Oscars, 00:14:19.370 --> 00:14:21.490 we have the Muppets. If we stopped here, he's 00:14:21.490 --> 00:14:23.929 a legend. Absolutely. Hall of Fame career, no 00:14:23.929 --> 00:14:25.950 question. The Paul Williams had this whole other 00:14:25.950 --> 00:14:29.289 side, the weird side, the cult classic side. 00:14:29.509 --> 00:14:31.029 You were referring, of course, to Phantom of 00:14:31.029 --> 00:14:34.149 the Paradise, 1974, directed by Brian De Palma. 00:14:34.250 --> 00:14:37.720 This movie is... deranged in the best way possible. 00:14:37.799 --> 00:14:40.799 It really is. It's a rock opera mashup of Phantom 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:43.299 of the Opera, Faust, and The Picture of Dorian 00:14:43.299 --> 00:14:45.799 Gray. It's bonkers. And Williams didn't just 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:48.399 write the score, which was Oscar nominated, by 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.899 the way. Which is wild. He starred in it. He 00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:53.230 played Swan, the evil record producer. And he 00:14:53.230 --> 00:14:56.830 is terrifying. He's the small, soft -spoken tyrant 00:14:56.830 --> 00:15:00.710 who sells his soul for eternal youth. It's such 00:15:00.710 --> 00:15:03.289 a stark contrast to the Rainbow Connection guy. 00:15:03.529 --> 00:15:06.110 It showed his willingness to be the villain. 00:15:06.809 --> 00:15:09.830 to be unlikable. He plays Swan with this icy, 00:15:10.009 --> 00:15:12.870 detached menace. He's wearing these flamboyant 00:15:12.870 --> 00:15:15.990 outfits, but his eyes are just dead. It proved 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:17.950 he wasn't just a songwriter who could act. He 00:15:17.950 --> 00:15:20.649 was a legitimate actor. He did it again in Bugsy 00:15:20.649 --> 00:15:24.549 Malone in 1976, writing the score for a gangster 00:15:24.549 --> 00:15:27.370 movie cast entirely with children. Which is such 00:15:27.370 --> 00:15:30.330 a 70s concept, just an unbelievably strange idea. 00:15:30.509 --> 00:15:32.909 Let's make a mob movie with kids and shoot whipped 00:15:32.909 --> 00:15:34.929 cream instead of bullets. Williams wrote the 00:15:34.929 --> 00:15:36.809 songs. They're perfect. And then there's Ishtar 00:15:36.809 --> 00:15:39.750 in 1987. Ishtar, the punchline of Hollywood for 00:15:39.750 --> 00:15:42.610 decades. A legendary flop. The movie flopped, 00:15:42.610 --> 00:15:45.509 but the songs Williams wrote for Dustin Hoffman 00:15:45.509 --> 00:15:48.210 and Warren Beatty to sing is a bad lounge act. 00:15:48.370 --> 00:15:50.659 Yeah. They're actually comedic genius. That is 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:52.559 a high degree of difficulty. I mean, think about 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:54.960 that assignment. He had to write songs that were 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:59.519 intentionally bad, clunky lyrics, awkward rhymes, 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:01.779 but they still had to be catchy enough to work 00:16:01.779 --> 00:16:04.500 in a movie. Dangerous business is a masterpiece 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:07.039 of bad songwriting. This leads us perfectly into 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:09.580 section three, the face on the screen. Yes. Because 00:16:09.580 --> 00:16:11.820 he wasn't just acting in his own musicals. He 00:16:11.820 --> 00:16:14.799 was a legitimate character actor. He was everywhere 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:17.740 in the 70s and 80s. Everywhere. Because of his 00:16:17.740 --> 00:16:20.700 size and his wit, he was the perfect foil. He 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:23.419 could play the eccentric, the sidekick, or the 00:16:23.419 --> 00:16:25.779 surprising threat. The most famous example has 00:16:25.779 --> 00:16:28.080 to be Smokey and the Bandit. Little Eno's Burdette. 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:31.840 Yes. He's wearing these loud cowboy suits, standing 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:33.960 next to Big Eno's challenging Burt Reynolds. 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:37.129 He holds his own against Jackie Gleason. He understood 00:16:37.129 --> 00:16:39.649 the visual comedy. He wasn't afraid to be the 00:16:39.649 --> 00:16:41.750 butt of the joke, but his character was also 00:16:41.750 --> 00:16:44.909 rich and powerful. He had status. Exactly. He 00:16:44.909 --> 00:16:47.870 had status. He played little Enos in all three 00:16:47.870 --> 00:16:50.669 movies. He was the catalyst for the entire plot. 00:16:51.009 --> 00:16:53.970 But my absolute favorite acting story, and this 00:16:53.970 --> 00:16:57.429 is one of those, wait, he did that moments, involves 00:16:57.429 --> 00:16:59.909 a lot of latex. You're talking about Battle for 00:16:59.909 --> 00:17:03.679 the Planet of the Apes. 1973. He played Virgil. 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:07.220 A genius orangutan. A genius orangutan. Now, 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:10.460 just being in the movie is funny enough. It is. 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:12.619 But the story isn't just that he took the role. 00:17:13.099 --> 00:17:16.019 It's what he did to promote it. This is legendary. 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:20.039 February 9th, 1973. Paul Williams is booked on 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:22.420 The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Primetime. 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:25.400 The biggest stage in television. Now, usually 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:27.299 when a songwriter goes on Carson, you wear a 00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:29.740 nice suit, you sit on the couch, you sing your 00:17:29.740 --> 00:17:32.509 hit. Standard procedure. Williams spent hours 00:17:32.509 --> 00:17:35.410 in the makeup chair beforehand. He came out onto 00:17:35.410 --> 00:17:39.049 the stage in full movie quality orangutan prosthetics. 00:17:39.210 --> 00:17:41.569 He didn't. Oh, he did. And he didn't break character. 00:17:41.710 --> 00:17:44.349 He sat there and smoked a cigarette as an orangutan. 00:17:44.630 --> 00:17:47.329 He bantered with Johnny Carson through the mask. 00:17:47.470 --> 00:17:49.289 That is amazing. And then this is the kicker. 00:17:49.309 --> 00:17:51.670 He sang Rainy Days and Mondays. As an ape. As 00:17:51.670 --> 00:17:54.309 a sad, soulful orangutan. It was surreal. It 00:17:54.309 --> 00:17:56.470 was performance art. It sums up his willingness 00:17:56.470 --> 00:17:59.970 to be playful, to be weird, to subvert his own 00:17:59.970 --> 00:18:02.980 image. Totally. He didn't take himself too seriously, 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:04.940 even though he took the work seriously. He really 00:18:04.940 --> 00:18:08.000 was ubiquitous. I was scrolling through his IMDb 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.220 credits. The love boat. He wrote the lyrics to 00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:14.619 the theme song, Love Exciting and New. That's 00:18:14.619 --> 00:18:16.859 Paul Williams. I had no idea. And he guest starred 00:18:16.859 --> 00:18:18.900 on the show multiple times. Of course he did. 00:18:19.059 --> 00:18:22.940 And then there's Babylon 5. Season 2, he played 00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:26.359 Tack, an alien aide to an ambassador. This one 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:28.619 feels like a deep cut. It is, but the source 00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:31.680 material notes a hilarious detail. His character's 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:34.779 species had a very unique way of finalizing treaties. 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:37.660 Oh no, dare I ask. They finalized agreements 00:18:37.660 --> 00:18:40.519 by having sex with the other signees. Only Paul 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:44.240 Williams. From White Lace and Promises to interspecies 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:47.140 treaty sex. It shows his range. And cartoons. 00:18:47.259 --> 00:18:50.220 He voiced the penguin in Batman, the animated 00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:52.720 series. Which is an iconic version of the penguin. 00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:56.700 Very refined, aristocratic. But vicious. And 00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:59.160 Professor Williams in Dexter's Laboratory. I 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:01.240 remember that. And recently he was the butcher 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:03.859 in Baby Driver, the Edgar Wright movie. That 00:19:03.859 --> 00:19:07.539 role in Baby Driver was genuinely menacing. He's 00:19:07.539 --> 00:19:10.359 an arms dealer. He's cold. He's staring down 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:13.279 Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx. He is. It reminded me 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:15.700 that he can do dark just as well as he can do 00:19:15.700 --> 00:19:19.019 light. But that darkness, it wasn't just acting. 00:19:19.299 --> 00:19:21.579 And this brings us to the most difficult but 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:24.529 perhaps most important. chapter of the Paul Williams 00:19:24.529 --> 00:19:27.769 story. Yeah. The fall. Yeah. We look at this 00:19:27.769 --> 00:19:30.890 list of hits, Oscars, Grammys, fame, The Tonight 00:19:30.890 --> 00:19:33.829 Show, and it looks perfect. But by the late 70s 00:19:33.829 --> 00:19:36.759 and 80s, his personal life was collapsing. It 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:39.000 was the era of excess. And Williams was right 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:41.579 in the center of it. He struggled severely with 00:19:41.579 --> 00:19:43.960 alcohol and substance abuse, specifically cocaine. 00:19:44.420 --> 00:19:47.539 He has described his ego at the time as rampant. 00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:49.680 He was living the rock star life, but it was 00:19:49.680 --> 00:19:51.740 eating him alive. There's a quote from the source 00:19:51.740 --> 00:19:53.759 material that actually scared me. He said, back 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:55.640 when I was drinking, I would imagine things that 00:19:55.640 --> 00:19:57.819 weren't there and I'd get frightened. That is 00:19:57.819 --> 00:19:59.740 the reality of addiction that the party stories 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:03.960 don't cover. Paranoia. Isolation. He was the 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:06.619 sad clown in real life. He was writing these 00:20:06.619 --> 00:20:08.880 songs about connection, about the family of man, 00:20:09.099 --> 00:20:11.500 but he was losing his connection to reality. 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:14.839 He said in one interview that he misplaced a 00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:18.779 decade. He just lost the 80s. He became unreliable. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.680 The hits stopped coming. The phone stopped ringing. 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:24.359 He went from being the guy everyone wanted to 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:26.759 the guy people were worried about. But, and this 00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:28.880 is why we are talking about him today, he didn't 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:31.609 die. He didn't become a tragedy. He became a 00:20:31.609 --> 00:20:34.549 survivor. The turning point came in 1990. He 00:20:34.549 --> 00:20:37.289 finally got sober. But he didn't just stop drinking. 00:20:37.369 --> 00:20:40.109 He reinvented his purpose. He did. He realized 00:20:40.109 --> 00:20:42.890 that the high of fame was empty, so he went back 00:20:42.890 --> 00:20:46.109 to school. Like university. He went to UCLA and 00:20:46.109 --> 00:20:48.470 became a certified drug rehabilitation counselor. 00:20:48.849 --> 00:20:51.529 Wait, so theoretically you could have gone to 00:20:51.529 --> 00:20:54.269 rehab in the 90s and your counselor could have 00:20:54.269 --> 00:20:56.960 been the guy who wrote Evergreen? Yes. And he 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.759 wasn't doing it for publicity. He wasn't doing 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:00.940 it for a reality show. He was doing the work. 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:03.420 He took the night shifts. He sat with people 00:21:03.420 --> 00:21:05.779 in their darkest moments. That is incredible 00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:09.400 humility. To go from the Oscars podium to a rehab 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:11.539 clinic in the middle of the night. It's amazing. 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:14.319 He co -authored a book called Gratitude and Trust. 00:21:14.859 --> 00:21:18.019 Recovery is not just for addicts. He became active 00:21:18.019 --> 00:21:21.000 with FacingAddiction .org. I saw a note here 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:23.390 about an event on the National Mall. That was 00:21:23.390 --> 00:21:26.829 in 2015. He and bass player Kasim Sultan led 00:21:26.829 --> 00:21:29.130 a crowdsourced anthem called Voice of Change. 00:21:29.509 --> 00:21:31.730 He stood at the base of the Washington Monument 00:21:31.730 --> 00:21:34.210 and led 10 ,000 people in recovery, families 00:21:34.210 --> 00:21:37.529 of addicts in song. That is a different kind 00:21:37.529 --> 00:21:40.230 of rock star moment. That's not about look at 00:21:40.230 --> 00:21:43.670 me. It's about look at us. Exactly. He shifted 00:21:43.670 --> 00:21:45.789 from being an entertainer to being a leader. 00:21:46.250 --> 00:21:48.569 He used his platform to destigmatize addiction. 00:21:48.890 --> 00:21:51.009 And honestly, if the story ended there, it would 00:21:51.009 --> 00:21:53.509 be a beautiful redemption arc. It would. Former 00:21:53.509 --> 00:21:55.890 star finds peace in service. A perfect ending. 00:21:56.049 --> 00:21:58.650 But the universe had one more plot twist. And 00:21:58.650 --> 00:22:01.529 it involved robots. Section 5. The Resurrection. 00:22:01.589 --> 00:22:03.470 This is my favorite part of the timeline. It's 00:22:03.470 --> 00:22:06.069 2013. Electronic music is dominating the world. 00:22:06.390 --> 00:22:08.950 And the kings of that world are Daft Punk. The 00:22:08.950 --> 00:22:11.890 French duo, The Robots. They are working on Random 00:22:11.890 --> 00:22:14.170 Access Memories, which would go on to be one 00:22:14.170 --> 00:22:16.569 of the most significant electronic albums ever 00:22:16.569 --> 00:22:18.990 made. A modern classic. And they wanted to explore 00:22:18.990 --> 00:22:21.150 the history of pop music. They didn't want samples. 00:22:21.269 --> 00:22:23.849 They wanted the real thing. They wanted the soul 00:22:23.849 --> 00:22:27.309 of the 70s. So they called Paul Williams. Williams 00:22:27.309 --> 00:22:29.430 has the best quote about this. He said, Then 00:22:29.430 --> 00:22:32.089 I got sober and two robots called and asked me 00:22:32.089 --> 00:22:34.190 to make an album. It sounds like a hallucination 00:22:34.190 --> 00:22:36.670 from his drinking days. It does. But it was real. 00:22:36.769 --> 00:22:38.970 He went into the studio with them. He co -wrote 00:22:38.970 --> 00:22:42.009 a song called Beyond. And he co -wrote and sang 00:22:42.009 --> 00:22:45.650 lead vocals on a track called Touch. Touch. We 00:22:45.650 --> 00:22:48.289 have to talk about this song. It is. It's a masterpiece. 00:22:48.430 --> 00:22:50.390 It's eight minutes long. It's an odyssey. It 00:22:50.390 --> 00:22:54.190 starts scary. It's discordant, robotic, almost 00:22:54.190 --> 00:22:57.400 glitchy. That represents the isolation, the feeling 00:22:57.400 --> 00:23:00.279 of being a machine. But then the clouds part, 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:02.680 and this beautiful, heartbreaking melody comes 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:05.380 in, and it's Paul Williams' voice. Touch, sweet 00:23:05.380 --> 00:23:08.319 touch. You've given me too much to feel. It's 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:10.619 a song about a robot trying to understand human 00:23:10.619 --> 00:23:13.140 emotion. And who better to sing that than Paul 00:23:13.140 --> 00:23:16.079 Williams? A man who spent his life trying to 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:18.680 articulate emotions, who numbed them with drugs, 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:21.799 and then had to learn how to feel again in sobriety. 00:23:21.900 --> 00:23:24.680 It's biographical. It brings me to tears every 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:27.079 time. It feels like his entire life story in 00:23:27.079 --> 00:23:30.859 one song. The darkness, the confusion, and then 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:33.960 the clarity. The industry agreed. Dap punk won 00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:37.240 album of the year at the 2014 Grammys. And because 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.019 Thomas and Guy Manuel, the robots, don't speak 00:23:40.019 --> 00:23:42.380 in public. They sent Paul to the mic. Imagine 00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:44.740 the scene. You have Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, 00:23:44.779 --> 00:23:46.920 and these two guys in chrome helmets. And then 00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:49.859 73 -year -old Paul Williams steps up. The guy 00:23:49.859 --> 00:23:51.660 from the Muppet movie. The guy who was little 00:23:51.660 --> 00:23:54.079 Enos. And he delivers this incredible speech. 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:57.019 He said, Captain Kirk uses the Enterprise. They 00:23:57.019 --> 00:24:01.779 daft pumps. He talked about the elegance and 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:04.240 class of the collaboration. It was the elder 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:06.599 statesman bridging the gap to the future. And 00:24:06.599 --> 00:24:08.740 that moment seemed to unlock a whole new career 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:12.240 for him. cool again. He wasn't just oldies. He 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:16.019 was retro cool. He did. He collaborated with 00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:19.380 the Scissor Sisters on their album Ta -Da. He 00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:22.000 worked with Gustavo Santolala on the Book of 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:24.380 Life soundtrack. They wrote the Apology song. 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:26.779 And Community. He was on Community. The illegal 00:24:26.779 --> 00:24:30.099 textbook dealer. It's such a niche joke, but 00:24:30.099 --> 00:24:33.079 he played it perfectly. He refuses to buy a batch 00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:35.880 of misprinted chemistry textbooks. It's a deep 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:38.880 cut for fans. And looking at the notes, he is 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:43.240 still at it. April 2025. This is the ultimate 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:46.539 fever dream sentence. He performed Rainbow Connection 00:24:46.539 --> 00:24:49.000 at Yo Gabba Gabba Coachella. Excuse me. He was 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:51.259 on stage with Portugal, The Man, and Weird Al 00:24:51.259 --> 00:24:54.059 Yankovic. No way. At Coachella singing with the 00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:56.779 Yo Gabba Gabba characters. That proves he transcends 00:24:56.779 --> 00:25:00.220 genre. He transcends generations. He is just. 00:25:01.230 --> 00:25:03.569 Paul Williams. He also appeared in Yoga Bagadalan 00:25:03.569 --> 00:25:06.509 in 2024. He loves working with kids programming. 00:25:06.710 --> 00:25:08.609 It goes back to that purity of spirit we talked 00:25:08.609 --> 00:25:11.309 about with the Muppets. He never lost that sense 00:25:11.309 --> 00:25:13.789 of wonder. We've covered the fun stuff, but we 00:25:13.789 --> 00:25:15.549 should mention that he's arguably one of the 00:25:15.549 --> 00:25:17.670 most powerful people in the music industry, business 00:25:17.670 --> 00:25:21.069 -wise, too. Yes. Since 2009, he has been the 00:25:21.069 --> 00:25:23.759 president and chairman of ASCAP. Which is the 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:26.359 American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:29.779 It's a huge deal. In the age of Spotify, Apple 00:25:29.779 --> 00:25:33.319 Music, and AI, he is the guy fighting to make 00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:35.759 sure songwriters actually get paid. Right. He's 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:38.240 testifying before Congress. He's fighting for 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:41.319 copyright reform. He knows how hard the business 00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:44.400 can be. And he's using his twilight years to 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:46.740 protect the next generation of Paul Williamses. 00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:49.339 It's a serious legacy. Songwriters Hall of Fame, 00:25:49.539 --> 00:25:52.680 National Recording Registry, ESCAP President. 00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:55.940 And he frames it all with such humility. He talks 00:25:55.940 --> 00:25:59.180 about his height, his recovery. He uses his vulnerability 00:25:59.180 --> 00:26:02.019 as a superpower. He never pretends to be something 00:26:02.019 --> 00:26:04.099 he isn't. Except when he's an orangutan. Except 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:06.319 when he's an orangutan. Exactly. So as we wrap 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:09.789 this up, how do we summarize? The man. How do 00:26:09.789 --> 00:26:11.990 we tie all these threads together? I think we 00:26:11.990 --> 00:26:14.230 look at the trajectory. He started as a comedy 00:26:14.230 --> 00:26:16.650 writer who wanted to be loved. He became the 00:26:16.650 --> 00:26:19.569 voice of love for a generation. He lost himself 00:26:19.569 --> 00:26:22.109 in the success of it all. And then he found himself 00:26:22.109 --> 00:26:24.589 again by being of service to others. It makes 00:26:24.589 --> 00:26:26.430 you think about the rainbow connection differently. 00:26:26.789 --> 00:26:28.730 Someday we'll find it. The rainbow connection. 00:26:29.029 --> 00:26:33.009 The lovers, the dreamers, and me. When he wrote 00:26:33.009 --> 00:26:36.380 that, he was chasing the rainbow. He was chasing 00:26:36.380 --> 00:26:40.500 the Oscar, the hit, the applause. And now? Now, 00:26:40.500 --> 00:26:42.900 I think he realized the connection isn't the 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:45.940 award. It's the people. It's the 10 ,000 people 00:26:45.940 --> 00:26:48.460 on the National Mall. It's the recovering addict 00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:51.200 he counseled. It's the robots who just wanted 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:53.759 to make art. That's the real magic. He found 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:55.759 the connection by getting sober and waking up. 00:26:55.960 --> 00:26:58.279 The rainbow connection might actually be clarity. 00:26:58.539 --> 00:27:00.960 That is a beautiful thought. From the bank commercial 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:03.599 to the robots, Paul Williams has kept us dreaming. 00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:06.170 Absolutely. Thanks for listening to this deep 00:27:06.170 --> 00:27:08.789 dive. If you want a homework assignment, go listen 00:27:08.789 --> 00:27:11.130 to Touched by Daft Punk. Then listen to We've 00:27:11.130 --> 00:27:13.950 Only Just Begun. Marvel at the fact that they 00:27:13.950 --> 00:27:16.950 came from the same mind. And maybe, just maybe, 00:27:17.109 --> 00:27:19.150 watch Phantom of the Paradise if you're feeling 00:27:19.150 --> 00:27:20.829 brave. We'll see you next time.