Local music geeks got a surprise Sunday night when elfin Long Beach-based songwriter Paul Williams appeared on stage at the GRAMMYs to give an acceptance speech on behalf of French electronic duo Daft Punk, who won Album of the Year for Random Access Memories.
Williams was one of the main collaborators on Random and was joined on stage by the pop robots themselves–Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter–as well as Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers and presenter Yoko Ono as he served as a spokesperson for the project.
“You know, back when I was using and doing drugs, I used to imagine things that weren’t there and were frightening,” he said as he started his speech. “And then I got sober and two robots called me and asked me to make an album.”
Williams, a singing, songwriting and acting industry veteran with two previous GRAMMYs under his belt, sang on the Daft Punk song “Touch” and penned lyrics for Random‘s “Beyond.” He has more than 40 years of experience in the music industry and has written songs (like “Rainy Days and Mondays”) for The Carpenters, Barbara Streisand, Three Dog Night and Helen Reddy.
In 2007, he collaborated with pop-disco group Scissor Sisters, though the most familiar song he has written to date may be “Rainbow Connection,” the Oscar-nominated theme to The Muppet Movie.
“I just got a message from the robots and they had something they wanted me to say,” Williams said Sunday as one of the Daft Punk members put his hand on Williams’ shoulder. “As elegant and classy as the GRAMMYs have ever been is the moment when we saw those same marriages [during the “Same Love” performance]. This is the height of fairness and love for all people at any time in any combination is what they wanted me to say.”
Williams moved to Long Beach as a teenager and attended Wilson High School before starting his career as a theatre actor in local productions.
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