Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known both for his solo work and his collaboration with Art Garfunkel. He and his school friend Garfunkel, whom he met in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel. Their blend of folk and rock, including hits such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "America" and "The Boxer", served as a soundtrack to the counterculture movement. Their final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), is among the bestselling of all time.
For other people named Paul Simon, see Paul Simon (disambiguation).
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon
October 13, 1941
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
New York City, U.S.
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
- actor
- Vocals
- guitar
1956–present
As a solo artist, Simon has explored genres including gospel, reggae and soul. His albums Paul Simon (1972), There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973), and Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) kept him in the public eye and drew acclaim, producing the hits "Mother and Child Reunion", "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". Simon reunited with Garfunkel for several tours and the 1981 Concert in Central Park.
In 1986, Simon released his most successful and acclaimed album, Graceland, incorporating South African influences. "You Can Call Me Al" became one of Simon's most successful singles. Graceland was followed by The Rhythm of the Saints (1990), and a second Concert in the Park in 1991, without Garfunkel, which was attended by half a million people. In 1988, Simon wrote a Broadway musical, The Capeman, which was poorly received. In the 21st century, Simon continued to record and tour. His later albums, such as You're the One (2000), So Beautiful or So What (2011) and Stranger to Stranger (2016), introduced him to new generations. Simon retired from touring in 2018, but continued to record music. An album, Seven Psalms, was released in May 2023.[1]
Simon is among the world's best-selling music artists. He has twice been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has been the recipient of sixteen Grammy Awards, including three for Album of the Year. Two of his works, Sounds of Silence and Graceland, were inducted into the National Recording Registry for their cultural significance, and in 2007, the Library of Congress voted him the inaugural winner of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.[2] He is a co-founder of the Children's Health Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides medical care to children.
Early life[edit]
Simon was born on October 13, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey, to Hungarian-Jewish parents.[3][4][5] His father, Louis (1916–1995), a professor of education at the City College of New York,[6] was a double-bass player and dance bandleader who performed under the name Lee Sims. His mother, Belle (1910–2007), was an elementary-school teacher. In 1945, his family moved to the Kew Gardens Hills section of Flushing, Queens, in New York City.[7]
The musician Donald Fagen described Simon's childhood as that of "a certain kind of New York Jew, almost a stereotype really, to whom music and baseball are very important. I think it has to do with the parents. The parents are either immigrants or first-generation Americans who felt like outsiders, and assimilation was the key thought—they gravitated to black music and baseball, looking for an alternative culture."[8] Simon said Fagen's description was not far from the truth.[8] Simon played baseball and stickball as a child. He described his father as funny and smart, but said he worked late and did not see his children much.[8]
Simon met Art Garfunkel when they were 11 years old
and performed together in a production of Alice in Wonderland for their sixth-grade graduation. The two began singing together at the age of 13,[9] occasionally performing at school dances. At the age of 12 or 13 Simon wrote his first song, "The Girl for Me", for him and Art Garfunkel to perform. According to Simon, it became the "neighborhood hit". His father wrote the words and chords on paper for the boys to use, and that paper became the first officially copyrighted Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel song. It is now in the Library of Congress. In 1957, in their mid-teens, they recorded the song "Hey, Schoolgirl" under the name "Tom & Jerry", a name that was given to them by their label, Big Records. The single reached number 49 on the pop charts.
After graduating from Forest Hills High School, Simon majored in English at Queens College and graduated in 1963. Garfunkel studied mathematics education at Columbia University in Manhattan.[10][8] Simon was a brother in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity,[11] and attended Brooklyn Law School for one semester in 1963.[12][13]
Songwriting[edit]
In 2012, in an interview reprinted in American Songwriter, Simon discussed the craft of songwriting with music journalist Tom Moon and talked about the basic themes in his songwriting: love, family and social commentary, as well as messages of religion, spirituality and God. Simon explained how he wrote his songs. "The music always precedes the words. The words often come from the sound of the music and eventually evolve into coherent thoughts. Or incoherent thoughts. Rhythm plays a crucial part in the lyric-making as well. It's like a puzzle to find the right words to express what the music is saying."[96]
Projects[edit]
Music for Broadway[edit]
In the late 1990s, Simon wrote and produced a Broadway musical called The Capeman, which lost $11 million during its 1998 run. In April 2008, the Brooklyn Academy of Music celebrated Paul Simon's works, and dedicated a week to Songs From the Capeman, with some of the show's songs performed by a cast of singers and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Simon appeared during the BAM shows, performing "Trailways Bus" and "Late in the Evening". In August 2010, The Capeman was staged for three nights in the Delacorte Theatre in New York's Central Park. The production was directed by Diane Paulus and produced in conjunction with the Public Theater.[97]
Film and television[edit]
Simon also worked in acting. He played music producer Tony Lacey, a supporting character in the 1977 Woody Allen feature film Annie Hall, and made a cameo appearance in the movie The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash the following year. He later wrote and starred in 1980's One Trick Pony as Jonah Levin, a journeyman rock-and-roller, and wrote all the songs in the film. In 1981 He appeared in an episode of The Muppet Show, the only episode of the series to use the songs of one songwriter. He appeared in several episodes of Sesame Street in the 1970s and 1980s, including in a memorable performance of "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" in 1977, and a cameo appearance in the song "Put Down the Duckie!" in 1986.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Simon played the character of Simple Simon in the Disney Channel TV movie Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme, and provided cameos in Millennium and The Great Buck Howard. In the 2010s he appeared briefly in shows such as Portlandia, Welcome to Sweden and Horace & Pete. He appeared as an interviewee and as a musical guest on talk shows such as The Dick Cavett Show, Late Night with David Letterman, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Colbert Report, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He was the subject of two films by Jeremy Marre on the making of Graceland and The Capeman.
Saturday Night Live[edit]
Simon appeared on Saturday Night Live 14 times, both as host and as a musical guest. He was the host of the second episode, on October 18, 1975. SNL star Chevy Chase appeared in Simon's video for "You Can Call Me Al", lip syncing the song. In the video, Simon looks disgruntled and mimes backing vocals while playing various instruments. Chase also appeared in Simon's 1991 video for the song "Proof", with Steve Martin.
Simon appeared alongside George Harrison on the Thanksgiving Day episode of SNL on November 20, 1976 and they performed "Here Comes the Sun" and "Homeward Bound" together. Simon performed "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" earlier in the show. Simon opened the show in a comedy sketch in which he performed "Still Crazy After All These Years" in a turkey outfit, Thanksgiving being the following week. Halfway through the song, he told the band to stop playing because he was embarrassed, gave a speech to the audience and left the stage. Lorne Michaels greeted him backstage, but Simon, still acting upset, yelled at him because of the humiliating turkey outfit. This was one of SNL's most replayed sketches.
In one SNL skit from 1986, when he was promoting Graceland, Simon played himself waiting in line with a friend to get into a movie. He amazed his friend by remembering intricate details about prior meetings with passers-by, but drew a complete blank when he was approached by Art Garfunkel.[98] In the late 1980s, he worked with a politician who shared his name, Illinois Senator Paul Simon.[99]
Simon closed the 40th anniversary SNL show on February 15, 2015, with a performance of "Still Crazy After All These Years". He played a snippet of "I've Just Seen a Face" with Sir Paul McCartney during the introductory sequence. Much of the Thanksgiving episode from 1976 was shown during this prime-time special. His most recent SNL appearance was on October 13, 2018, when he was the musical guest on his 77th birthday.[100]
Personal life[edit]
When Simon moved to England in 1964, he met Kathleen Mary "Kathy" Chitty at the first English folk club he played, the Railway Inn Folk Club in Brentwood, Essex, where Chitty worked part-time selling tickets. She was 16 and he was 22 when they began a relationship. Later that year they visited the U.S. together, mainly touring by bus.[109] Kathy returned to England and Simon followed some weeks later. When he returned to the U.S. with the growing success of "The Sounds of Silence", Kathy, who was quite shy,[110] wanted no part in success and fame and they ended their relationship.[111] She is mentioned by name in at least two of Simon's songs: "Kathy's Song" and "America". She is also referred to in "Homeward Bound" and "The Late Great Johnny Ace". There is a photo of Simon and Kathy together on the cover of Simon's 1965 album The Paul Simon Songbook.[112]
Simon has been married three times, first to Peggy Harper in 1969. They had a son, Harper Simon, in 1972, and divorced in 1975, inspiring the song "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". Simon wrote about this relationship in the song "Train in the Distance" from his 1983 album Hearts and Bones.[113] In the late 1970s, Simon lived in New York City next door to Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, who has been described as Simon's "best friend" during the period.[114]
He and Shelley Duvall lived together as a couple for two years until she introduced him to her friend Carrie Fisher. Simon and Fisher became a couple,[114] and his second marriage, from 1983 to 1984, was to Fisher. He proposed to her after a New York Yankees game.[113] The song "Hearts and Bones" was written about their time together, and the song "Graceland" is believed to be about seeking solace from the ending of the relationship by taking a road trip.[115] A year after they divorced, Simon and Fisher resumed their relationship, which lasted for several years.
Simon married singer Edie Brickell on May 30, 1992. Brickell and Simon have three children, Adrian, Lulu, and Gabriel.[116][117][118] On April 26, 2014, Simon and Brickell were involved in a domestic dispute that involved violence by both parties. Each was issued a summons to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges.[119]
All four of his children, grown by 2024, are musicians.[120]
Simon and his younger brother, Eddie Simon, founded the Guitar Study Center sometime before 1973.[121] The Guitar Study Center became part of The New School in New York City, sometime before 2002.[122]
Simon is an avid fan of the New York Rangers ice hockey team, the New York Knicks basketball team and the New York Yankees baseball team.[123][124][125]
Philanthropy[edit]
Simon is an advocate of music education for children. In 1970, after recording "Bridge Over Troubled Water", he held auditions for a young songwriters' workshop at the invitation of the NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. The auditions were advertised in The Village Voice, and brought hundreds of hopefuls to perform. Among the six teenage songwriters selected for tutelage were Melissa Manchester, Tommy Mandel and rock/beat poet Joe Linus. Maggie and Terre Roche (the Roche Sisters), who later sang back-up for Simon, joined the workshop in progress in an impromptu appearance.
Simon invited the six teenagers to experience the recording process at Columbia studios with engineer Roy Halee. During these sessions, Bob Dylan was downstairs recording his album Self-Portrait, which included a version of Simon's "The Boxer". Violinist Isaac Stern visited the group with a CBS film crew and spoke to the young musicians about lyrics and music.
Manchester later paid homage to Simon with her recorded song "Ode to Paul". Other musicians Simon mentored include Nick Laird-Clowes, who co-founded the band The Dream Academy. Laird-Clowes credited Simon with helping to shape the band's biggest hit, "Life in a Northern Town".[126]
In 2003, Simon became a supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provided free musical instruments and free lessons to children in public schools in the U.S. He sits on the organization's board of directors as an honorary member.
Simon is also a major benefactor and one of the co-founders, with Irwin Redlener, of the Children's Health Project and The Children's Health Fund[127][128] which began by creating specially equipped buses to take medical care to children in medically under-served areas, both urban and rural. Their first bus was placed in the impoverished South Bronx of New York City, but the buses now operate in 12 states, including on the Gulf Coast. The project has expanded greatly and partners with major hospitals, local public schools and medical schools, and advocates policy for children's health and medical care.
In May 2012, Paul Simon performed at a benefit dinner for the Turkana Basin Institute in New York City, raising more than $2 million for Richard Leakey's research institute in Africa.[129] For his 2019 performance at San Francisco's Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, Simon donated his appearance fee to the San Francisco Parks Alliance and Friends of the Urban Forest.[130]
