Paul Simon is one of the greatest American song writers of all time. During a recording career that spans an epic 66 years so far, and that has yielded five Simon & Garfunkel studio albums and fifteen solo albums, Simon has written countless classic songs.
Simon has been called “America’s Most Intelligent Songwriter,” and has not only given the world many great songs, he’s also an outstanding singer, guitarist, arranger, producer, and musical innovator.
Simon was a pioneer of the American folk scene that emerged in the early sixties, and with Garfunkel he was among the first to use electric instruments and studio effects in the initially entirely acoustic genre.
In the seventies, Simon was an early innovator when he blended folk, reggae, rock, jazz, gospel, soul and other genres, and his most famous and popular album, Graceland, mixes European and American music styles with African music.
All this led to Simon winning an amazing sixteen Grammy Awards, including three Album of the Year awards, for Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), Still Crazy After All These Years (1975), and Graceland (1986).
Simon also has received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, was entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and inducted twice into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, in 1990 as part of Simon & Garfunkel, and in 2001 for his solo career.
In 2006, Time Magazine declared Simon one of the “100 People Who Shaped The World.” In this blog we’ll have a look at what makes him so great, and why and how he changed music.
BEGINNINGS
Paul Frederic Simon was born on October 13th, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey, but grew up in Queens, New York City. He was interested in the jazz his father was playing, but also in folk, doo wop and soul. He met Art Garfunkel when he was 11, and the two began singing together. Garfunkel had a tape recorder, which they used to record and develop their harmony singing.
In 1954, Simon heard Elvis Presley for the first time, and began to play the guitar as a result, because he wanted to become a rock ‘n roll star. Garfunkel was equally inspired by the new rock ‘n roll music. Now using two tape recorders, and also inspired by The Everly Brothers, the teenagers continued to work on their singing and harmonies
A year later, Simon and Garfunkel took on the name Tom and Jerry, and in 1957, they recorded a song written by Simon called “Hey, Schoolgirl,” which was released on Big Records. It sold 100.000 copies and went to number 49 on the Billboard chart.
Further releases flopped, and Simon and Garfunkel each went on their own way. Simon worked hard on writing songs and on recording demos, and released a number of solo singles under various pseudonyms, including Paul Kane, True Taylor, and Jerry Landis. They all sank without trace, apart from “The Lone Teen Ranger,” which reached to number 97 in 1962.
In 1963, Simon became involved in the burgeoning folk scene in Greenwich Village. He auditioned for Columbia producer Tom Wilson, who had worked with Bob Dylan. When Wilson suggested that the tracks Simon played would work better in a small group, Simon reached out to Art Garfunkel, and Wilson signed them as a duo.
GOING TO NUMBER ONE
Now operating under the name Simon & Garfunkel, the duo’s debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3.A.M., was recorded at Columbia Studios in March 1964. Tom Wilson was the producer, and Columbia staff engineer Roy Halee engineered. One of Simon’s songs, “The Sound of Silence,” would go on to become one of the most famous songs of all time.
Wednesday Morning, 3.A.M. sold badly, and the commercial failure led Garfunkel to return to university, while Simon moved to England in 1965. Simon built a following performing in folk clubs around the country, and CBS asked him to record a solo album. All songs were recorded with just one microphone for Simon’s vocals and acoustic guitar. “The Sound of Silence” was again included.
The Paul Simon Songbook was released in August 1965 to general disinterest, and with Wednesday 3 A.M. also having bombed, Simon career appeared to be going nowhere. However, around the same time, DJ’s of radio stations in Boston and in Florida had noticed the world-class quality of the song “The Sound of Silence” and began playing it, to enthusiastic reactions from radio listeners.
A new folk-rock version of the song was released on September 12, and started to climb up the Billboard singles chart. By the end of the year, it had gone to number one.
Columbia asked Simon & Garfunkel to quickly record a second album.
The resulting album was called Sounds of Silence, and hurriedly released on January 17th, 1966. In addition to “The Sound of Silence,” it contained several songs that have become classics, including “I Am A Rock,” and “Kathy’s Song.”
Sounds of Silence reached to number 21, and a song Simon had co-written for The Seekers, “Red Rubber Ball,” also became a big hit in the US, going to number 2 in the Billboard singles chart.
The duo started work on a third album in the beginning of 1966. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, was released in October 1966. It contains several tracks that have since become classics, most notably the English traditional song “Scarborough Fair,” and “Homeward Bound.” The album was a commercial success, reaching to number four in the US and number 13 in the UK, and went three times platinum in the US.
In 1967, film director Mike Nichols asked the duo to write songs for a film he was shooting, The Graduate. Simon’s song “Mrs Robinson,” became closely associated with the movie. Released in January 1968, the soundtrack album went to number one in the US.
ON TOP OF THE WORLD
Simon & Garfunkel were now one of the biggest acts in the world, and kept their momentum going with their fourth album, Bookends, which was released just a few months after The Graduate soundtrack, in April 1968.
Bookends became Simon & Garfunkel’s first American and British number one album. A complete version of “Mrs. Robinson” was released as a single from the album, and became their first number one single.
During the Grammy Awards of 1969, Simon and Garfunkel were nominated for five Grammy Awards, and won three: Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Performance for “Mrs Robinson,” and Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special for the soundtrack of The Graduate.
The duo managed to surpass Bookends with their next and final studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, which ended up becoming one of the most lauded albums of all time. Released in January 1970, it went to number 1 in dozens of countries around the world, and 8 times platinum in the US and 11 times platinum in the UK. The album ended up winning six Grammy Awards, and has to date sold 25 million copies.
Simon and Garfunkel decided to go their own ways soon after the album’s release. They never reformed formally, but have since sporadically recorded together in the studio, and performed a number of Simon & Garfunkel reunion concerts, including the famous The Concert in Central Park in 1981.
CREATIVE PEAK
Since 1970 Simon’s main focus has been on developing a solo career. He travelled extensively, and visited Jamaica. At Dynamic Sound studio in Kingston he recorded a song called “Mother and Child Reunion.”
“Mother and Child Renion” was released in January 1972 as the lead single of his forthcoming self-titled solo album. It became a top 10 hit in many countries, including the US and the UK, and preceded other international reggae hits.
The Latin-influenced song “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” was engineered by Phil Ramone, who was on his way to become one of the great legends of the American music world. Paul Simon was released in January 1972, and went to number one in the UK and number four in the US.
For his next album, Simon tried out several new co-producers, with Roy Halee only playing a part in two songs. Phil Ramone co-produced four songs, and Paul Samwell-Smith one. Released in May 1973, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon was awarded with two Grammy Nominations, including for Album of the Year.
Simon hit the first creative and commercial peak of his solo career with his next album, Still Crazy After All These Years, which was released in October 1975, and enormously successful. It was Simon’s first American number one solo album, and won him two Grammy Awards, one for Album of the Year.
STUNNING TRIUMPH
Simon’s next step was to write a film script. He also acted in the movie, which was called One Trick Pony, and he released a solo album of the same name in August 1980. It was again co-produced with Phil Ramone. After the punk wave and an absence of five years, Paul Simon was regarded as less relevant than before. As a result, the album sold far less than its predecessor.
After this, Simon worked with producer Russ Titelman on a new solo album. The result, Hearts and Bones, was released in November 1983, and despite several great songs, the album also failed to find commercial success. It only reached to number 35 in the Billboard charts and number 34 in the UK.
However, rather than semi-retire and rest on laurels, Simon came up with the most successful, ground-breaking and influential album of his career, Graceland. The seed was sown when singer Heidi Berg gave him a cassette tape called “Accordion Jive Vol. II,” which contained mbaqanga, also called township jive, aka black street music from Soweto in Johannesburg.
The idea formed in Simon’s head to go to South Africa and work with the musicians that played on the tapes. Going to South Africa was morally and practically dubious at the time. There was a cultural boycott by the United Nations because of the nation’s racist apartheid policy, which Simon would have to violate, and it could be physically dangerous for him to go into the black townships.
Simon and Roy Hallee travelled to Johannesburg in February 1985, where they set up in Ovation Studios. The creative process of writing over backing tracks was a new one for Simon, whose process until then was, as he remarked, “to sit with a guitar and write a song.”
Simon called the sessions “euphoric.”
After two weeks of sessions, Simon and Halee returned to New York, to take stock of what they had and edit it, and for Simon to write his top lines. The first single of the album, “You Can Call Me Al,” was recorded entirely at the Hit Factory, with a blend of American and South African musicians.
Graceland was released in August 1986, and it was clear that Simon had managed to pull off one of the most remarkable artistic and political triumphs of the 20th century. The amazingly fresh and vibrant sound of the album, the great songs and the stunning South African sounds, were instrumental in convincing almost everyone that the album was not exploitative, but instead a perfect vehicle for bringing South African music and musicians to the world.
Graceland and Simon were seemingly everywhere in 1986 and 87, and the album went to number one in many countries, including the UK. It sold more than 16 million copies worldwide and has become part of popular culture. Graceland won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, while the title song received a Grammy for Record of the Year.
SURPRISE
The enormous artistic and commercial success of Graceland was not easy to repeat. Simon tried it in 1989 with the album The Rhythm of the Saints, which was largely recorded in Rio de Janeiro, and explored Brazilian music in the same way as Graceland was based on South African music.
Released in October 1990, the album was a commercial success, though far less so Graceland, and it received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. However, the general feeling was that the whole of The Rhythm of the Saints did not exceed the sum of the excellent parts in the same way as its predecessor.
Simon’s next album did not appear until 1997. Songs from The Capeman, was released in November 1997, and a commercial and critical failure. Simon tried to revive his stalling career with You’re The One, which was released in October 2000. The album was a moderate commercial and critical success, earning Simon a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year.
It took six years for Simon’s next album to appear. Called Surprise, it was a collaboration with the legendary Brian Eno, known for his work with Roxy Music, U2 and Talking Heads. Surprise was released in May 2006, and earned Simon another Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
Simon reunited with Phil Ramone for his twelfth solo album, So Beautiful or So What. It marked the first time since Hearts and Bones in 1983 that Simon wrote songs again just him singing with an acoustic guitar. So Beautiful or So What was released in April 2011, and was Simon’s most commercially successful album since The Rhythm of the Saints 21 years previously, reaching to number 4 in the Billboard album charts.
Simon reunited with Roy Halee for his thirteenth solo album, Stranger to Stranger, which was released in June 2016, and well-received critically.
AFTERTHOUGHT
In 2018, at the age of 76, Simon announced his retirement from touring. He has since then occasionally appeared on stage for guest performances.
Simon and Halee again collaborated on In The Blue Light (2018), an album of reinterpretations of song from Simon’s back catalogue that Simon felt did not get the attention they deserved at the time.
Five years and a pandemic later, in June of this year, Seven Psalms was released. The album is entirely acoustic, with the seven psalms segued into a single 33-minute long piece. Kyle Crusham engineered and coproduced Seven Psalms.
Seven Psalms album comes across like an afterthought to an already incredibly long and rich career. With Simon now 81, and in recent interviews explaining that he has lost most hearing in one ear, it is very likely to be his last release.
If so, it will conclude a remarkable career. For 66 year we have been able to enjoy not so much the sound of silence, but the sound of Paul Simon, one of the best songwriters who ever lived, who has created some of the most enduring songs of all time, and albums that changed music forever. It are achievements that few people can better.
© 2024, Paul Tingen.