The 2014 Grammy Awards with Adrienne Papp

Beyoncé’s stunning new body and erotic opening number, Paul McCartney and Dave Grohl, Pop maven Katy Perry bursting into fire with her performance of “Darkhorse,” with Juicy J., mass gay marriage, Pink suspended in air, Pharrell’s hat, R&B singer Robin Thicke and Chicago  performing a medley of “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”/”Beginnings”/”Saturday in the Park”/”Blurred Lines” and Madonna capping the show. The 56th Grammy Awards telecast on CBS Sunday evening gave viewers plenty of unforgettable moments and images, and even some questions.

One of the questions on a lot of people’s minds, after Daft Punk‘s multiple wins on Sunday, where the robotic-costumed French electronica duo won the top Grammys for album and record of the year, was who was that guy accepting the prestigious awards for the French duo with a speech about his struggles with drinking?

Adrienne Papp and Paul Williams, Grammy Awards, 2014

Adrienne Papp at the 2014 Emmys Awards

If you’re relatively new to the world of pop music then you probably couldn’t have known the answer is Paul Williams.  An award winning songwriter and music industry veteran, who happened to befriend Atlantic’s own Adrienne Papp during the award ceremonies, Williams is a songwriting dynamo who’d already won two Grammys prior to Sunday’s ceremony.  “Back when I was drinking, I used to imagine things that weren’t there that were frightening,” Williams said after taking the stage with Daft Punk’sThomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. “Then I got sober and two robots called me and asked me to make an album.” Last year Williams worked as a vocalist and songwriter on Daft Punk‘s “Random Access Memories,” providing the vocals on the out-of-this world ballad “Touch” and contributing the lyrics to the song “Beyond.”

The French duo were probably interested in Williams for his reputation as a legendary tunesmith, someone who had crafted timeless melodies that became big hits for the Carpenters, who recorded his songs “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “We’ve Only Just Begun,” a wedding standard even today, and Barbra Streisand, with whom he wrote “Evergreen.”

The theme song from Streisand’s movie with Kris Kristofferson “A Star Is Born,” “Evergreen” went to number one on Billboard’s charts in 1977, and the following year it earned Williams his first Grammy for Song of the Year, not to mention an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for best song as well.  Williams also was awarded a Grammy in 1980 for his contributions to the soundtrack of “The Muppet Movie,” for best children’s recording.

Paul Williams at the 1977 Oscars

Paul Williams’ long and illustrious career has included solo albums, movie stints and he is currently president of the songwriter’s trade group ASCAP. In 2006 he collaborated with the New York disco-pop outfit Scissor Sisters on their album “Ta-Dah,” the kind of project that served as a good introduction to his work with Daft Punk, where he proved that he still has plenty of musical chops left.

For the Grammys in general, it proved to be another eclectic show, opening with Beyoncé’s steamy performance with husband  Jay Z on “Drunk in Love,” and continuing with a blend of young and old, hip hop and country, classic and offbeat, Carole King dueting with Sara Bareilles, all a way of celebrating the vast musical canvas that is the record industry in 2013. LL Cool J introduced himself as host and talked about music’s power to unite people across the world. “Make some beautiful noise,” he said, before moving on to the evening’s first award.

As mentioned, Daft Punk took most of the top honors for record of the year with “Get Lucky,” (with Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers), and album of the year for “Random Access Memories.” They also took the awards for best pop duo/group performance and dance/electronica album.

Other winners in the top categories include New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde who performed delivers her chart-topping single “Royals,” which went on to win for record of the year.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, in addition winning for best new artist, in somewhat of a surprise, were also the top winners in the pre-telecast ceremony, nabbing the awards for best rap performance, rap song and rap album. Other early winners were Imagine Dragons for rock performance and Black Sabbath for metal performance.

Adrienne Papp and Paul Williams in 2014 at the Grammy Awards

Other winners:

Best new artist:Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Best music film: “Live Kisses,” Paul McCartney

Best music video: “Suit and Tie,” Justin Timberlake featuring Jay Z

Producer of the year, non-classical: Pharrell Williams

Best R&B album: “Girl on Fire,” Alicia Keys

Best rap performance: “Thrift Shop,” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz

Best rap song: “Thrift Shop” Ben Haggerty & Ryan Lewis

Best rap album: “The Heist,” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Best rock album: “Celebration Day,” Led Zeppelin

Best alternative music album: “Modern Vampires of the City,” Vampire Weekend

Best country solo performance: “Wagon Wheel,” Darius Rucker

Best country duo/group performance: “From This Valley,” The Civil Wars

Best country song: “Merry Go ‘Round,” Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves and Josh Osborne

Best American roots song: “Love Has Come For You,” Edie Brickell and Steve Martin

Best Americana album: “Old Yellow Moon,” Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell

Best bluegrass album: “The Streets Of Baltimore,” Del McCoury Band

Best blues album: “Get Up!,” Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite

Best folk album: “My Favorite Picture Of You,” Guy Clark

Best regional roots music album: “Dockside Sessions,” Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience

About the Author of This Article: Dame Adrienne Papp is a recognized journalist, economist and feature writer who has written for many publications including Savoir, Beverly Hills 90210, Malibu Beach, Santa Monica Sun, The Beverly Hills Times, Brentwood News, Bel-Air View,Celebrity Society,Celeb Staff, It Magazine, Chic Today, LA2DAY, West Side Todayamong many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles / New York-based publicity company, Atlantic Publicity and publishing house, Atlantic Publisher. Adrienne writes about world trends, Quantum Physics, entertainment and interviews celebrities, world leaders, inventors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. She also owns Atlantic United Films that produces and finances true stories made for theatrical release or the silver screen. Spotlight News Magazine is owned by Atlantic United, Inc. Dame Adrienne Papp is a member of the International Press Academy.

Adrienne Papp and Paul Williams, Grammy 2014