First of all, my songs are basically co-dependent anthems. I write Ouch Mommy Pick Me Up and Love Me songs. -- Composer Paul Williams

Yeah, but Paul, they're great songs we can all sing (except maybe "Evergreen," written for Barbra) like "We've Only Just Begun," "An Old Fashioned Love Song," "Rainy Days and Mondays," and "The Rainbow Connection." They make us happy. Heck, "The Love Boat" theme may have been the best part about the show.

Paul Williams, a longtime Long Beacher, emceed the Grammy Museum's 2010 Songwriters Hall of Fame concert, so in the past few episodes, we've heard him talking with other musicians about music. Now, he gets to tell his stories and sing his songs. 

Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

Next up in our Summer of Song and excerpts from the stage of the Grammy Museum in 2010 is Ashford and Simpson. Valerie Simpson and her late husband Nick Ashford wrote "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "You're All I Need to Get By," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)," and "I'm Every Woman," among many others.

They were awesome to see onstage, with Valerie at the piano vamping grandly as she and Nick told the stories behind their songs. 

Support for this podcast comes from Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

It's the Off-Ramp 10th anniversary special: Off-Ramp Live. Harbor Party, Musker&Clements, David Whitfield, Rico Gagliano, Chris Redd, and much more, live onstage in downtown LA.

A Christmas Carol Redux brings together all the good, bad, fun, and thoughtful aspects of Dickens' classic tale of redemption, which also almost singlehandedly created the modern Christmas holiday.

We go to the Sunset Strip to see how activists are trying to save from demolition Lytton Savings, a beautiful Mid-Century Modern representation of the California Dream ... Baldwin Hills, Baldwin Ave, Baldwin Lake, Lucky Baldwin’s Pub -- so who was Baldwin? ... We check back in with the 77-year old woman who finds herself homeless for the holidays for the first time in her life ... And Rachel Bloom joins our annual reading of “The Night Before Christmas” with Salman Rushdie, Larry Mantle, Kathleen Turner, and NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

Griffith Park is beloved and turns 120 Dec. 16, but its namesake was an alcoholic, murderous misanthrope who thought the pope was plotting against him ... A woman who's found herself homeless for the first time, at 77 ... If you love classical music on the radio, but hate stodgy, bad news. Rich Capparela, is semi-retiring ... With SantaCon coming to town, we get the lowdown on the big guy from an elf.

LACMA marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation with a huge show, but leaves out one important fact: Martin Luther was a horrible anti-Semite ... The LA Zoo marks its 50th birthday with a 1966 cocktail party. Rabe and the way cool Toronado (R) also debuted in 1966 ... We’ll take you to a racetrack where the cars do thousand-foot laps in 17-seconds, cost 4-thousand dollars, and are as big as a shoebox ... We go to Newport Beach to see possibly the most awesome Christmas light display you’ll ever see. There will be penguins.

The Institute of Mental Physics, founded near Joshua Tree as a sort of utopian society, happens to be the largest single collection of buildings designed by architect Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright. ... There have been many exhibits of Roy Lichtenstein’s work. But our critic says The Skirball Center’s new show stands out because it pairs the pop artist’s work with the comic book illustrations that inspired it, and they deserve the share the spotlight.

Prepare to drool as Mario Batali gives us his Thanksgiving making turkey porchetta recipe ... We meet a woman who’ll spend Thanksgiving organizing dinner for her huge family, taking care of her elderly parents, and being the caregiver for a 91-year old woman ... Rosalie Atkinson explains how the late Leon Russell’s music helped her meet her mom ... The Friends of the Rockhaven Sanitarium in Glendale are celebrating after the city council approved their preferred plan to preserve the historic site.

Pasadena's annual Doo Dah Parade is an artsy, easygoing alternative to the Rose Parade ... California’s coast stretches 840 miles, and has never been captured in one art exhibit, until now ... The LA Ladies Arm Wrestling Fall Brawl ... Comedian Danny Lobell tells us how a tortoise named Mr Tennebaum helped him learn to love living in LA.