Paul Simon

Singer

• Born: October 13, 1941
• Place of Birth: Newark, New Jersey

MUSICIAN

A singer-songwriter, Simon worked in collaboration with Art Garfunkel and solo to produce songs of enduring popularity. He expanded his repertoire in promote world music.

AREA OF ACHIEVEMENT: Music

Early Life

Paul Simon was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1941, the older of two sons of Hungarian Jewish parents, Bella and Louis Simon. Bella taught elementary school, and Louis was a college professor, an accomplished bass player, and a dance bandleader. Simon’s brother, Eddie, was born when Simon was four years old. Their mother reared her sons in the Jewish faith and customs, regularly taking them to the synagogue. Simon’s father took him to Yankee Stadium to watch New York Yankee baseball players such as Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. In later years, Simon would include DiMaggio’s name in his famous song “Mrs. Robinson.” After the release of the song, Simon met DiMaggio for the first time in an Italian restaurant.

While in school at Forest Hills High School, Simon wrote songs under names such as Jerry Landis, True Taylor, and Paul Kane. In high school, he teamed up with Art Garfunkel, a fellow musician, to sing and perform for social and school functions. Under the names of Tom and Jerry, the two released a successful recording of “Hey, Schoolgirl” in 1957 while still in their teens. This record made the pop music hit charts at number forty-nine. As Landis, Simon also recorded “The Lone Teen Ranger,” which was listed at number ninety-nine in the pop music charts.

After high school, Simon began his college education at Queens College, The City University of New York, where he joined the Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi. He graduated with a degree in English literature and applied for graduate school at Brooklyn Law School. He was accepted and briefly attended before he decided to leave and to pursue a career in music in 1964.

Life’s Work

Simon wrote and recorded more than thirty songs during the years 1957 to 1964. During this time, he worked alone and in collaboration with several musicians, including Garfunkel. In the fall of 1964, Simon and Garfunkel recorded their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., but it met with little success. Simon moved to England to tour coffeehouses and clubs in 1965. While there, he recorded The Paul Simon Songbook for CBS Records. Meanwhile, Tom Wilson at Columbia Records, the producer of Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., remixed and added drums, bass, and electric guitar to “The Sounds of Silence,” originally recorded with only acoustic guitar. Released as a single record in late 1965, the song moved to the top of the pop charts in early 1966. Simon returned to the United States, and in 1966 he and Garfunkel released the Sounds of Silence album, with hits such as “I Am a Rock” and “Richard Cory.” The fall of 1966 brought the duo another winner, with the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, released with popular songs such as “Homeward Bound” and “The Fifty-Ninth Street Bridge Song/Feeling Groovy.”

In 1967, Simon was asked to compose for a new film, The Graduate.“Mrs. Robinson” would serve as the theme song for this film and be released on the Bookends (1968) album. Simon and Garfunkel recorded Bridge over Troubled Water, their last album together, in 1970, before they decided to dissolve their musical partnership. The album was a hit, staying at the top of the music charts for six weeks.

Simon became a popular and successful singer-songwriter in his own right. In 1972, Simon released Paul Simon, with two successful tunes, “Mother and Child Reunion,” which went to number four on the charts, and “Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard,” which rose to number twenty-two. The following year Simon successfully released his second solo album, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973). Two songs from that album went to number two on the pop charts, “Kodachrome” and “Loves Me Like a Rock,” which included back-up voices by the Dixie Hummingbirds. “American Tune” was released as a single and rose to number thirty-five on the Billboard charts. In 1975, Simon’s solo album, Still Crazy After All These Years, brought him his biggest hit single, “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover,” number one on the Billboard Top 100 for three weeks in early 1976. Simon married actor Carrie Fisher in 1983, but the couple divorced a year later. That loss gave rise to much of the content of the 1983 solo album Hearts and Bones.

Simon’s most successful solo work, Graceland, was released in 1986 and won album of the year at the Grammy Awards ceremony in 1987. This recording placed number three on the hit-music charts in the United States and number one on those in the United Kingdom. This award winner, recorded in South Africa in collaboration with South African musicians, offered a variety of music styles. Though somewhat politically controversial, Simon found a large audience willing to appreciate his music. Simon married singer Edie Brickell in 1992, and they had three children. He has one son from his first marriage to former business manager Peggy Harper from 1970 to 1975.

Simon next turned to Latin American music for inspiration, resulting in The Rhythm of the Saints (1990). Songs from The Capeman (1997) was born of a collaboration with Caribbean writer Derek Walcott on a musical about a gangster turned poet-activist, which was poorly received when first run on Broadway. You're the One (2000) blended Simon's earlier sound with the newer African and Latin influences. Simon's 2006 album Surprise, produced by Brian Eno, brings a more modern sensibility and delves into thematic concerns from parenthood to post-September 11 life in America. So Beautiful or So What (2011) represents more of a return to Simon's musical roots while retaining the contemporary feeling of his later recordings.

Simon has rejoined Garfunkel for reunion performances every few years since their official split in the 1970s; Garfunkel, while expressing the wish to reform their duo, has accused Simon of having suppressed his creativity and blamed him for their disbanding. Simon also toured with other music legends such as Bob Dylan and Sting.

Simon released the album Seven Psalms in April 2023. The album consists of seven pieces performed on acoustic guitar. The musician created on the album while on a ranch in Texas during the COVID-19 global pandemic. He came up with the idea for the album after having a vivid dream. Filmmaker Alex Gibney released a documentary about the project called In Restless Dreams. Simon announced in 2023 that he had lost most of his hearing in his left ear but hoped it might be possible for him to play Seven Psalms live.

Significance

Simon’s work as a collaborator singer-songwriter and as a solo artist has brought him much recognition. He has won twelve Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, and numerous other honors. The Library of Congress Gershwin Lifetime Prize for Popular Song was an honor he received from outside the music industry. Simon was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once with Garfunkel and once as a solo musician. Simon’s work expanded beyond the borders of America to transcend cultures and countries. He accepted an invitation from South African leader Nelson Mandela to perform concerts in South Africa, becoming the first American musician to play there after the dissolution of apartheid.

Simon exemplifies the artist who forfeited a traditional career path to develop his innate artistic gifts and to grow in his passion for music. No matter his age or stage in life, Simon has written and sung songs about his journey, maturing from novice to master musician. He demonstrates that growing older can mean getting better in your craft.

Bibliography

Deming, Mark. "Paul Simon Biography." AllMusic. AllMusic, 2016. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

Harrington, Richard. “Paul Simon: The Sound of America.” The Washington Post, May 18, 2007.

Ito, Robert. "Paul Simon Faced Unexpected Struggles. Cameras Were Rolling." The New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/03/18/arts/music/paul-simon-in-restless-dreams-documentary.html. Accessed 3 Sept. 2024.

Light, Alan. “Paul Simon’s Electric Sonic Texture Test.” The New York Times, May 7, 2006.

Simon, Paul. Lyrics, 1964-2008. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2008.

Simon, Paul. “The Silent Superstar.” The New York Times, March 9, 1999.

Tyrangiel, Josh. “Paul Simon.” Time, April 30, 2006.