Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! Creator)

Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! Creator)

Paul Williams (born May 19, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American music journalist and writer. Williams created the first national US magazine of rock music criticism Crawdaddy! in January 1966 on the campus of Swarthmore College with the help of some of his fellow science fiction fans (he had previously put out some science fiction fanzines). The first issue was ten mimeographed pages written entirely by Williams. He left the magazine in 1968 and reclaimed the title in 1993, but had to end it in 2003 due to financial difficulties.

He is also 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 is 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 most recent book is The 20th Century's Greatest Hits (a "Top 40" list that includes movies, books & other documents).

In 1981 he edited and published, with David G. Hartwell, the first book edition of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with a foreword by Jimmy Carter.