Rob Price
Paul Williams is a composer, singer, songwriter and actor and during the 1970s, 80s and into the 90s was prolific in providing songs of folk, pop and soft rock to many artist, movies and television programs. He has multiple Grammy and Oscar nominations. He wrote the lyrics to the opening theme song to The Love Boat (I am sorry if you now have that song stuck in your head). He also had a variety of well known acting roles including Little Enos Burdette in Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and Brian De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise which will be the main focus of this article as we look at the Movie Musicals of this diminutive but prolific artist.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Songwriter Winslow Leach (William Finley) catches the ear of famed music producer Swan (Paul Williams) who subsequently steals his opus and life’s work, a cantata based on the story of Faust. When attempting to confront Swan, Winslow meets songstress Phoenix (Jessica Harper) who will do anything to be able to sing. They have a connection, but before anything can come of it, Winslow is framed by Swan and sent to prison. Months later when he hears his music being butchered by another Group that Swan represents, he goes into a fit of rage and escapes, attacking the security guards at Death Records, Swan’s label. In a bizarre accident, Winslow is disfigured and believed dead when he falls into a huge record press. Having not died, he returns to the Paradise, Swan’s new club where Winslow’s cantata is going to be revealed, steals a costume and a mask and begins “haunting” the Paradise, destroying Swan’s chances of releasing his music. In a twist, Swan finds Windslow, and this time convinces him that they should work together. Winslow must rewrite his Opus, and Swan will have his songs be sung the way they were intended. They both sign a contract in blood. Winslow wants Phoenix to sing his music, but Swan betrays him once again and hires a new singer he calls Beef. Winslow, now known as the Phantom, doesn’t find out about this until it is almost too late, and Swan has him walled up inside a secret room. But the Phantom escapes and creates more chaos for Swan, eventually allowing Phoenix to take the stage and she starts her rise to stardom. But things aren’t what they seem and it seems that Swan, has his own dark, supernatural secrets. Can Winslow stop Swan before he destroys Phoenix? Watch and find out!
The movie, directed by Brian De Palma, has a lot of “De Palma”esq traits. He uses creative camera angles, split screens, and image montages to tell the story which adds some visual interest. There is a definite camp element similar to The Rocky Horror Picture Show which would come out a year later, although Rocky would gather a much larger and infamous fan base, Phantom of the Paradise is a cult classic as well. The story combines elements of several different classic pieces of horror literature, with it being parts Phantom of the Opera, Faust and The Picture of Dorian Gray, as well as a tiny bit of Frankenstein in addition it parodies the rock music industry speaking to themes of stardom vs. talent. Paul Williams not only starred as Swan, but also composed the songs and wrote the lyrics, earning him an Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. I personally love this film and watch it every few years or so.
Bugsy Malone (1976)
This gangster musical comedy starred Jodie Foster, Scott Baio and John Cassisi when they were just kids. The film written and directed by Alan Parker cast all children actors in the adult roles creating a kind of tainted innocence to the story. The songs were written by Paul Williams and the movie received eight nominations at the British Academy Film Awards, including one for Best Film as well as three Golden Globe award nominations. The story involves a feud between prohibition era mobsters and the affection of Tallulah, Fat Sam’s broad and Bugsy’s old flame!
A Star Is Born (1976)
Later that same year, a much bigger movie with the lyrics for a few of the songs being written by Williams who also served as the Music Supervisor for the film having the challenge of bringing three different composers in to produce an award winning score. The film about a washed up rock and roll star, John Norman Howard (Kris Kristofferson) who discovers a new star in Esther (Barbara Streisand) who must learn to deal with John’s self-destructive nature. Williams wrote the lyrics and Streisand wrote the melody to “Evergreen” the love song of the film which garnered them both Academy and Grammy wins for Best Original Song and Song of the Year respectively. It was also one of Bab’s biggest hits, sitting at the top of the charts for three weeks. It lost out on the Best Original Score Oscar to Jerry Goldsmith’s score for The Omen.
The Muppet Movie (1979)
This film is a musical road trip comedy starring everyone’s favorite puppets, the Muppets, created by Jim Henson. This was the first feature length film for the characters and is a type of origin story giving the history of how they all met. The music is composed by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher and the first song Kermit sings, “Rainbow Connection” garnered the pair a Grammy and Academy Awards for best Original Song. They also were nominated for best album at various award ceremonies winning the Grammy Award for Best Album for Children. I remember seeing this movie in the theatre when it was first released.
Ishtar (1987)
We do not mention this film…just know that Williams wrote some songs for it that Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman sing. The film itself is a disaster, and not worth going over.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
The last film we will look at, but not Williams’ last movie or song, it is a fan favorite and a return to the Muppets with the remake of a holiday classic staring Michael Caine as Scrooge. Oddly enough, Williams was criticized for his composure for this film as all the songs sounding a like but over the years the film has gathered a cult following and is listed on many lists as one of the best Christmas films made. I love most versions of a Christmas Carol and this is definitely one of my top favorites.
This is in no way a complete list of all the songs Paul Williams contributed to movies, television, or pop stars. You would be surprised to learn of songs you loved that were written by this talented composer that both made movies better or topped the charts!
