Paul S. Williams (May 19, 1948 – March 27, 2013) was an American music journalist and writer who created ''

Crawdaddy! ''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine ...

'', the first national US magazine of

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...

, in January 1966. He was a leading authority on the works of musicians

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

, and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

, and science fiction writers

Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...

(serving as the executor of his literary estate) and

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

Career

While briefly enrolled at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

, Williams created '' :Crawdaddy!'', the first national US magazine of

, in January 1966 with the help of some of his fellow

science fiction fans Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

(he had previously produced

science fiction fanzines A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" was ...

). His aim was to reflect the sophistication brought to pop music by two albums released in 1965:

's ''

Bringing It All Back Home ''Bringing It All Back Home'' (known as ''Subterranean Homesick Blues'' in some European countries; sometimes also spelled ''Bringin' It All Back Home'') is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was released in Apri ...

'' and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' ''

Rubber Soul ''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom, on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work ...

''. 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,

, and

, and science fiction writers

(serving as the executor of his literary estate) and

. 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 David Geddes Hartwell (July 10, 1941 – January 20, 2016) was an American critic, publisher, and editor of thousands of science fiction and fantasy novels. He was best known for work with Signet, Pocket, and Tor Books publishers. He was also no ...

, the first book edition of

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, i ...

(with the book entitled ''The International Bill of Human Rights''), with a foreword by

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. 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

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins (born Trina Perlson; August 17, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first female artists in that movement. In the 1980s, Robbins beca ...

Bhob Stewart Robert Marion Stewart, known as Bhob Stewart (November 12, 1937 – February 24, 2014) was an American writer, editor, cartoonist, filmmaker, and active fan who contributed to a variety of publications over a span of five decades. His articles a ...

and

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade (comics maga ...

.''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 The 26th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Baycon, was held on 29 August–2 September 1968 at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California, United States. In 1968, Worldcon, annual World Science Fiction Convention, was ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, 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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''. "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 San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

, a 1972 suicide attempt in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, his subsequent move to

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, the politics of the era, and the relationship of Dick's drug use (including his

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

addiction and infrequent

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

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 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

released in 1994 as part of its ''

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

'' 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

. An acquaintance of

Mel Lyman Melvin James Lyman (March 24, 1938 – March 1978) was an American musician and writer, and the founder of the Fort Hill Community, which has been variously described as a family, commune, or cult. Early life Lyman grew up in California and Oreg ...

, Williams lived and worked at Lyman's

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

Fort Hill, Boston Fort Hill is a 0.4 square mile neighborhood and historic district of Roxbury, in Boston, Massachusetts. The approximate boundaries of Fort Hill are Malcolm X Boulevard on the north, Washington Street on the southeast, and Columbus Avenue on th ...

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

. 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 Anti-folk (sometimes referred to as unfolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in response to the remnants of the 1960s folk music scene. Anti-folk music was made to mock the perceived seriousness of the time's mainstream music scene, a ...

co-founder and singer-songwriter

Cindy Lee Berryhill Cindy Lee Berryhill (born June 12, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, co-founder of the New York Antifolk movement, who recorded multiple albums, hit singles, and compilations over the years. Biography Berryhill was born in Silver Lake, L ...

, who became his widow. In 2009, Williams lived in

Encinitas, California Encinitas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California. Located within Southern California, it is approximately north of San Diego, between ...

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 Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

. He was suffering from

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...

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 The California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal or MediCal) is California's Medicaid program serving low-income individuals, including families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, pregnant women, and childless adults wi ...

(

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

) 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 A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...

in a bicycle accident, leading to early onset of

, 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 The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

– 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 Glen Ellen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 784 at the 2010 census, down from 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is the location of Jack London State Historic Par ...

, CA : Entwhistle Books, foreword by

, (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