Ludacris and Pharrell Williams

Most artists only dream of having a year as big as Pharrell Williams has had. He sang and co-wrote Daft Punk's summer smash, "Get Lucky"; produced and co-wrote Robin Thicke's mega-hit "Blurred Lines"; and had his first solo hit, the Oscar-nominated "Happy."

"Does it feel different having a huge hit with your name on it?" asked correspondent Anthony Mason.

"It's super weird," he replied. "Because I'm used to being the guy standing next to the guy. I was happy being that guy!"

Pharrell Williams

Born in 1973, Pharrell Williams grew up in Virginia Beach, Va., the son of a handyman and a teacher. His grandmother urged him to get serious about music, so he went to summer band camp and joined the school band.

"And that's where I met my first music teacher, Mrs. Warren," Pharrell told CBS News' Anthony Mason. "And then I met my other band teacher, Mr. Warren. And then there was Mr. Edwards and there was Mr. Sharps."

"You remember them all?"

"Yes, I do. And Ralph Copley had taught me how to play the drum set. My story is the average story, you know. It's just filled with special people."

"You're giving everybody else credit."

"Well, what am I without them?"

Pharrell Williams with Jay-Z

Jay-Z performs with Damon Dash, Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes, and The Roots on "MTV Unplugged" at the MTV studios in New York City, November 18, 2001.

N.E.R.D.

N.E.R.D., aka The Neptunes, performs at the Central Park SummerStage in New York City, May 22, 2002.

Pharrell Williams with Faith Evans

Faith Evans performs with Clipse and Pharrell of N.E.R.D. during MTV2's $2 Bill Concert Series at The World in Times Square, New York City, October 2, 2002.

Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake

Justin Timberlake and Pharrell Williams (NERD and Neptunes) are pictured on MTV's Spankin New Music Week on TRL, at the MTV Times Square Studios in New York City, November 5, 2002.

Pharrell Williams and Snoop Dogg

Rapper Snoop Dogg (left) and singer Pharrell Williams accept the award for Best Collaboration at the 3rd Annual BET Awards Show at the Kodak Theatre June 24, 2003 in Hollywood, California.

GQ "Men of the Year" Awards

Rapper Pharrell performs onstage at the 2003 GQ "Men of the Year" Awards at The Regent Hotel on October 21, 2003 in New York City.

Pharrell Williams

Musicians Pharrell Williams, Sting, Dave Matthews, and Vince Gill perform "I Saw Her Standing There" during the 46th Annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center on February 8, 2004 in Los Angeles, California.

Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams

Rapper Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams perform on the "Best of Both Worlds" tour, November 1, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani

Singers Pharrell and Gwen Stefani perform onstage during the 2005 American Music Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on November 22, 2005 in Los Angeles, California.

Mariah Carey and Pharrell Williams

Singers Mariah Carey and Pharrell Williams leave the Four Seasons Hotel in Paris to shoot scenes for the video of their new single, "Say Somethin'," March 10, 2006 in Paris, France.

Pharrell Williams and Kanye West

Singers Pharrell Williams and Kanye West perform on CBS's "The Early Show," at CBS Plaza, August 4, 2006 in New York City.

Ludacris and Pharrell Williams

Singers Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Pharrell Williams perform onstage at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall, August 31, 2006 in New York City.

Concert for Diana

Pharrell Williams performs on stage at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium on July 1, 2007 in London, England. The Concert falls on the date that would have been the late Princess's 46th birthday and marks 10 years since her death.

Paris Fashion Week

Pharrell Williams arrives at the Louis Vuitton fashion show during Spring/Summer '08 Fashion Week, October 7, 2007 in Paris.

Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D. performs on the Main Stage during Day 1 of the Isle of White Festival, June 13, 2008 in Newport, England.

Pharrell Williams

Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Motorola

Recording artist Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D. performs onstage at "One Night in Los Angeles," at the Wiltern Theatre on September 11, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.

Moscow

Pharrell Williams performs at the Dolce & Gabbana and Martini Dance Art Garage party on March 17, 2011 in Moscow.

Jay-Z, Beyonce and Pharrell

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Made With Elastic

Jay-Z, Beyonce and Pharrell Williams attend the 10th anniversary party of Billionaire Boys Club presented by HTC at Tribeca Canvas on June 4, 2013 in New York City.

"Despicable Me 2"

Recording artist Pharrell Williams arrives at the premiere of "Despicable Me 2" at Gibson Amphitheatre on June 22, 2013 in Universal City, California.

Timberlake, Wilson and Williams

Recording artists Justin Timberlake, Charlie Wilson and Pharrell Williams perform onstage during the 2013 BET Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on June 30, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.

Swizz Beatz and Pharrell Williams

Recording artists Swizz Beatz (left) and Pharrell Williams arrive at the Pure Nightclub at Caesars Palace to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Williams' Billionaire Boys Club clothing line on August 21, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pharrell Williams and Jennifer Hudson

Recording artists Pharrell Williams and Jennifer Hudson perform onstage during the 56th annual Grammy Awards Pre-Grammy Gala, at The Beverly Hilton on January 25, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California.

Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh

Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh married in October 2013. Here they attend the 56th annual Grammy Awards Pre-Grammy Gala, at The Beverly Hilton on January 25, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California.

"Get Lucky"

Musicians Nile Rodgers, Pharrell Williams, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk, and Stevie Wonder perform onstage during the 56th Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

Rodgers, Wonder and Williams

Musicians Nile Rodgers, Stevie Wonder and Pharrell Williams perform onstage during the 56th Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

Grammy Awards

Musicians Pharrell Williams, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo of Daft Punk, and Nile Rodgers accept the Record of the Year award for "Get Lucky," during the 56th Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

Pharrell Williams and Brad Paisley

Recording artists Pharrell Williams and Brad Paisley perform onstage during "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute To The Beatles," at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 27, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

NBA All-Star Game

Pharrell Williams, Sean Combs, and Busta Rhymes perform onstage at the 63rd NBA All-Star Game 2014 at the Smoothie King Center on February 16, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Pharrell Williams

Singer Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh attend the Oscars held at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California.

"Happy"

Singer Pharrell Williams performs the Oscar-nominated song "Happy," onstage during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California.

Future Music Festival

Pharell Williams performs live at the 2014 Future Music Festival at Royal Randwick Racecourse on March 8, 2014 in Sydney, Australia.

Happy Birthday

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Nickelodeon

Pharrell Williams poses with Patrick at the SpongeBob SquarePants-themed 41st birthday party for Pharrell Williams, at Bikini Bottom at Cipriani Wall Street, April 4, 2014 in New York City.

Australia

Pharrell performs live at The Riverstage on March 12, 2014 in Brisbane, Australia.

For more info:

pharrellwilliams.com

"Girl" by Pharrell Williams (Columbia); Available at Amazon and iTunes

24 Hours of "Happy"

Follow Pharrell Williams on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan