Paul Williams (music journalist)

Paul S. Williams (May 19, 1948 – March 27, 2013) was an American music journalist and writer who created ''Crawdaddy!'', the first national US magazine of rock music criticism, in January 1966. He was a leading authority on the works of musicians Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and Neil Young, and science fiction writers Philip K. Dick (serving as the executor of his literary estate) and Theodore Sturgeon.

Career

While briefly enrolled at Swarthmore College, Williams created '' :Crawdaddy!'', the first national US magazine of rock music criticism, in January 1966 with the help of some of his fellow science fiction fans (he had previously produced science fiction fanzines). His aim was to reflect the sophistication brought to pop music by two albums released in 1965: Bob Dylan's ''Bringing It All Back Home'' and the Beatles' ''Rubber Soul''. The first issue was ten mimeographed pages written entirely by Williams. In that issue, he declared that ''Crawdaddy!'' would include "neither pin-ups nor news-briefs" and that "the specialty of this magazine is intelligent writing about pop ..." He left the magazine in 1968 and reclaimed the title in 1993, but had to end it in 2003 due to financial difficulties.

Williams was the author of more than 25 books, of which the best-known are ''Outlaw Blues'', ''Das Energi'', and '' Bob Dylan: Performing Artist'', the acclaimed three-part series. Williams was a leading authority on the works of musicians Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and Neil Young, and science fiction writers Philip K. Dick (serving as the executor of his literary estate) and Theodore Sturgeon. His final published books were ''The 20th Century's Greatest Hits'' (a "Top 40" list that includes movies, books & other documents)(2000) and the last volume of his critical look at the music of Bob Dylan, ''Bob Dylan: Mind Out of Time (Performing Artist Vol. 3, 1987-2000)'' (2004).

In 1981 he edited and published, with David G. Hartwell, the first book edition of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (with the book entitled ''The International Bill of Human Rights''), with a foreword by Jimmy Carter. Williams also made significant contributions to David G. Hartwell's book length analysis of science fiction, ''Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction'' (Walker & Co., 1985; ), and Hartwell mentions Paul Williams prominently in the book's acknowledgements.

Association with Philip K. Dick

In the spring of 1967 Williams was introduced to the fiction of Philip K. Dick by Trina Robbins, Bhob Stewart and Art Spiegelman.''Williams, Paul, (1986), Only Apparently Real: The World of Philip K. Dick'' New York: Arbor House Publishing Company, pp. 14-15, He introduced himself to Dick in August 1968 at the 26th World Science Fiction Convention in Berkeley, California, beginning a friendship that lasted through the rest of Dick's life.

In 1974, Williams began working on a profile of Dick for ''Rolling Stone''. "The True Stories of Philip K. Dick", which appeared in the November 6, 1975 issue of the magazine, covered a variety of subjects, including many theories about the 1971 break-in of Dick's home in San Rafael, California, a 1972 suicide attempt in British Columbia, his subsequent move to Orange County, California, the politics of the era, and the relationship of Dick's drug use (including his amphetamine addiction and infrequent LSD experimentation) to his writing career.

Williams was Dick's literary executor for several years after Dick's death and used that position to get several of the author's previously unpublished neorealist novels into print.

From 1983 to 1992, Williams ran the Philip K. Dick Society along with Andy Watson and Keith Bowden in the UK. PKDS had some thousands of members internationally and was a significant influence in publicising Dick's work internationally. It published 30 quarterly newsletters, some of which included previously unpublished Dick material.

In 1986, Williams published '' Only Apparently Real: The World of Philip K. Dick'', one of the first biographies of Dick.

Williams is a featured interviewee in three documentaries about Dick: a biographical documentary BBC2 released in 1994 as part of its ''Arena'' arts series called ''Philip K Dick: A Day in the Afterlife'', ''The Gospel According to Philip K. Dick'', which was produced in 2001, and ''The Penultimate Truth About Philip K. Dick'', another biographical documentary film produced in 2007.

Personal life

In early 1968, he was dating Trina Robbins.

An acquaintance of Mel Lyman, Williams lived and worked at Lyman's intentional community at Fort Hill, Boston for a few weeks in 1971, before he was dosed with LSD, locked in a closet, and had his eye-glasses taken away. Paul broke out and hitchhiked back to Boston, hiding out for weeks at his mother's house, for fear of them coming after him. Paul told his wife Cindy Lee Berryhill, "what good feelings I'd had for Lyman utterly changed at that point". According to ''Rolling Stones David Felton, Williams told him he departed at night, as he felt he was being observed and would not be allowed to leave. According to his official website, he also lived in a wilderness commune at Galley Bay in British Columbia.

In 1972, Williams married Sachiko Kanenobu, a Japanese singer-songwriter; they raised two children.

In the 1980s, he was married to Donna Nassar who provided many illustrations for ''Crawdaddy!s second incarnation.

In 1992, Williams began a relationship with anti-folk co-founder and singer-songwriter Cindy Lee Berryhill, who became his widow.

In 2009, Williams lived in Encinitas, California with Berryhill and their 8 year old son, Alexander Berryhill-Williams, part of that year but eventually had to enter a nursing home due to dementia. He was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy dementia, the early onset of which was attributed to a brain injury Williams sustained in a 1995 bicycle accident.
The medical bills were enormous, and the family asked for donations toward his continued medical care. On December 14, 2009, Paul Williams was accepted for Medi-Cal (Medicaid) coverage.

Death

Williams died on March 27, 2013, at his home in California at age 64 from complications related to a 1995 bicycle accident. Williams, according to a note on his official website, "suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bicycle accident, leading to early onset of dementia, and a steady decline to the point where he now requires full-time care. The burden on his immediate family has been immense."

Books

*''Outlaw Blues: A Book of Rock Music'' (1969)
*''Time Between'' (1972)
*''Das Energi'' (1973)
*''Pushing Upward'' (1973)
*''Apple Bay'' (1976)
*''Coming'' (1977)
*''Right To Pass'' (1977)
*''Heart of Gold'' (written 1978, published 1991)
*''Bob Dylan: What Happened?'' (1979)
*''Fox and Hare: the story of a Friday evening.'' Entwhistle Books, Glen Ellen, California. Written by Chester Anderson; "Introduction: the Making of Fox & Hare" by Paul Williams, publisher; illustrations by Charles Stevenson. (1980)
*''The Book of House''s (1980)
*''Common Sense'' (1982)
*''Waking Up Together'' (1984)
*'' Only Apparently Real: The World of Philip K. Dick'', Arbor House, New York, ) (1986)
*''Remember Your Essence'' (1987)
*''The Map or Rediscovering Rock and Roll (a journey)'' (1988)
*''Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles'' (1993)
*''Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, Vol 1.'' (1990)
*''Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, Vol 2: The Middle Years'' (1992)
*''Energi Inscriptions'' (1995)
*''Bob Dylan: Watching The River Flow'' (1996)
*''Neil Young: Love To Burn'' London, New York, Paris, Sydney: Omnibus Press. (1997)
*''Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys – How Deep Is The Ocean?'' (1997)
*''The Twentieth Century’s Greatest Hits'' (2000)
*''Bob Dylan: Mind Out of Time (Performing Artist Vol. 3, 1987-2000)'' (2004)

Books as editor

*''The International Bill of Human Rights'', Glen Ellen, CA : Entwhistle Books, foreword by Jimmy Carter, (1981)
*''The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon'', Vol. I-XII

References

* Paul Williams, Ed, "The International Bill of Human Rights", Entwhistle, 1981.
* PKDS Newsletters 1-30
PKDS - the Philip K Dick Society Newsletter
1982–1992.

External links

Official Site''Crawdaddy!'' Online
*
Paul WIlliams on MySpacePaul Williams' Common Sense

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Paul
1948 births
2013 deaths
American magazine founders
American speculative fiction critics
American speculative fiction editors
Swarthmore College alumni
American magazine editors
American music critics
Science fiction fans
Science fiction critics
Science fiction editors
Writers from Boston
Deaths from dementia in California
Male speculative fiction editors