Last night I took a pop in to see what some of the girls in the Scrap scene have been up to lately and discovered a few who had taken to book reading.
It made me think, ‘gees, I haven’t read a book outside the bathroom in ages’. Inside, it’s Reader’s Digest, but I haven’t been able to get up to the post box in awhile, so I don’t have the latest issue. And it was because I had finished the entire August edition on Tuesday that set me to go looking for something I hadn’t read yet but bought at a time when I thought it was worth the purchase, even if to just rest on the shelf till I got around to it 
The book I pulled out was none other then Paul Williams’ Right to Pass and other true stories, in paperback, with a printing date of May 1977, an original.
Right away the authors name brought back the memory of why I picked it out of the many in an old book store years ago. However, like a few other books I have purchased by people with the same name, it was not who I was thinking of when I bought it. I recall skipping through it and thinking, well this is something Paul would do, and I paid a buck for it.
The Paul Williams I was thinking of at that time was the composer/actor who portrayed Swan in the movie Phantom of the Paradise, whom I also knew was a talented song writer. I remember Paul Williams when I was a teen in the 70’s and had watched him on quite a few shows. I still can’t put my finger on it but there was just something about this man that drew me to him. Although we had watched The Planet of the Apes, it was Phantom of the Paradise that really hooked me onto him. And without knowing it at the time, I had or was listening to many scores and lyrics he had composed, wrote or co-wrote. To me, he was, and quite rightly still is, at least in my view, an amazingly talented man.
But Right to Pass wasn’t written by this legend of music it was written by another legend of music. A man who, according to many of his readers, is a light into the world of Rock with a perspective unlike no other. I am still discovering him through this book. For me, there is no better way to get to know a writer except through their own words. And as I read the first 3 chapters, I became just a bit more interested in finding him out and this morning I set about to doing just that.
But before I do share that info here, I should fill you in on what I have read so far and go no further. I’ll be brief.
Chapter 1, is a short intro on the subject matter of the ‘Right to Pass’ on land where such a sign is posted. It then goes off wasting pages, sorry Paul, on short lines of insight, 52 pages worth. Chapter 2 gets a bit more interesting as Paul shares his insight on the Heart of Gold album by the Canadian born Neil Young.
In chapter 3, Paul shares his insights on The Basement Tapes by Bob Dylan. In chapter 4, which is where I am now, Paul shares his insights on Bruce Springsteen, whom at the time of the writing, was about to release his 3rd album.
So who is this Paul guy?
Paul Williams is known in the music world as the Father of CrawDaddy, the legendary magazine of Rock, which he began at the age of 17. Paul was born with a heart and soul geared to writing, not only about music, but any subject that has moved his spirit. He writes what he feels and feels very deeply what he writes about. He is by no means a braggart thou he has much to brag about as he has hung with many a legendary people. Instead he is one of those who has enjoyed the ‘behind the scenes of glitt and glam’ and has found it to be his best juxtaposition. And from that position he has done a terrific job in providing articles worth reading. He has sat with many a talent who have welcomed him firstly as friend and a writer second. He is as much a part of their world as they are of his. Pat Thomas met up with him in Germany many years back and saved the interview, which I found to be a great look into a great man.
Right to Pass is not Paul’s first book nor is it his last. What he shared with me, just in those few chapters, has brought back so many memories of my younger years. (The people behind the scenes, the bands I met and partied with way back when, the albums, the words and music therein.) For sure, I won’t be putting this book down till it’s done.
Okay, hun, where did you stash that record player
Living Loving Laughing
*DaisyQ*
