Paul Simon

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Paul Simon (disambiguation) .

Paul Simon, 2007

Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941 in Newark , New Jersey ) is an American musician and songwriter . Together with Art Garfunkel he formed the duo Simon & Garfunkel from 1957 , for which Simon wrote practically all the songs. Their commercial breakthrough came in 1965 with the song The Sound of Silence .

After separating in 1970, Simon began a successful solo career. The highlight was the 1986 album Graceland , in which he combined African music with Western pop music. It was his most commercially successful album, for which he received two of a total of twelve Grammy Awards .

Life

Paul Simon's ancestors are descended from Hungarian Jews . He was born in Newark in 1941 and grew up in the New York borough of Queens .

When Paul Simon moved to England in 1964, he met Kathleen Mary Chitty - referred to as "Kathy" in Simon's later works. He performed in a folk club where Chitty sold the tickets. The two, he was 22 and she was 17, became a couple. In the same year they went on a bus tour of the USA together, from which Chitty returned to England earlier than Simon. When the song The Sound of Silence helped Simon and Garfunkel to become more and more successful and popular in the USA, Simon returned to his homeland, with Chitty staying in England and separating from Simon. She wanted to keep her private life and not be part of Simon's great success. The works in which Paul Simon refers to "Kathy" Chitty are Kathy's Song , America , Homeward Bound , The Late Great Johnny Ace . The cover of The Paul Simon Songbook features a picture of Paul Simon and Kathy Chitty.

Simon's first wife was Peggy Harper. The marriage lasted from 1969 to 1975. The song Train in the Distance on Simon's album Hearts and Bones is about this relationship. In the 1972 song Run That Body Down , Peggy is named as "Peg" in the second verse. The two have a son, Harper Simon (1972). Harper was the guitarist on his father's album Songs from the Capeman .

Simon was married to his second wife, Carrie Fisher , from 1983 to 1984. A year after the split, the two got back together for a few more years. Simon wrote the songs Hearts and Bones (1982), Graceland (1985) and She Moves On (1990) about this marriage.

His third and current wife, Edie Brickell, married Simon in May 1992. They have three children together. Paul Simon and his younger brother, guitarist Eddie Simon, founded the Guitar Center in New York City. This was later accepted into the "New School" in New York.

Career

Before 1965

When he was twelve, his parents gave Simon an acoustic guitar , and when he was 13 he wrote his first song (The Girl for Me) . In the early summer of 1953 he met Art Garfunkel while rehearsing for the play Alice in Wonderland and initially formed the musical duo "Tom and Jerry" with him (based on the cartoon characters of the same name ). After the first big hit in 1957, Hey, Schoolgirl , which resulted in an appearance on a popular rock and roll television show and $ 2,500 in royalties , Simon devoted his life to music, initially in unsuccessful pursuit to land more hits with rock 'n' roll.

He also published titles such as The Lone Teen Ranger (as Jerry Landis, 1963) and Motorcycle (Tico & the Triumphs, 1962) under the name "Jerry Landis" and as a member of the doo-wop group "Tico & the Triumphs" when Motorbiene became a hit in Germany in the version with Benny Quick . He also used the pseudonym "Paul Kane" as a composer a few times.

From 1963 he followed the folk boom and wrote challenging songs. His texts were less political than z. B. that of the early Bob Dylan , but looked more at the problems of the individual. In 1964 Simon & Garfunkel, as they now called themselves, recorded the album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM for Columbia Records , which only sold modestly. He separated from his musician partner and moved to London . There he became more and more a notable figure in the folk scene, most recently with fees of 20 pounds per evening, from which he could live well.

Simon (left) & Garfunkel , 1966

This was followed by radio broadcasts, a television appearance and his first solo album Songbook in collaboration with the BBC , which, however, was not a groundbreaking success. However, the electric folk-rock editing the title was The Sound of Silence by Tom Wilson suddenly a hit for Simon & Garfunkel.

After 1970

In 1970 the duo separated. In 1972 he released the album Paul Simon , from which three singles were released. The most successful Mother and Child Reunion became a top 10 hit in both the US and the UK. In the same year, the single Duncan was released , but Simon could not book a chart placement. The album can best be classified in the folk rock genre, but songs like the title track Mother and Child Reunion and Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard already point to Simon's fascination for world music , which he later found on the Graceland and The Rhythm albums in particular of the Saints lived out stronger.

During the 1970s he released two more albums ( There Goes Rhymin 'Simon and Still Crazy After All These Years ) and by 1977 had five singles in the US top 10, three of which became million sellers ( Loves Me Like Rock , 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and Slip Slidin 'Away ). Still Crazy After All These Years also won the 1976 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

After 1975

After Simon had had a brief appearance in Woody Allen's film Der Stadtneurotiker in 1977 , the film One-Trick Pony was released in 1980 . He wrote the script and soundtrack for this film and also played the lead role. However, the film flopped. In Germany it was not even shown in cinemas, but ran a few years later under the title When the lights go out on television. The accompanying album, despite the top 10 hit Late in the Evening, did not reach the previous sales figures and only achieved gold status.

Paul Simon (right) with Art Garfunkel , 1981

On September 19, 1981 Simon & Garfunkel gave in New York's Central Park a concert as The Concert in Central Park (, The Concert in Central Park 'Engl. For) was known. It was a contribution of the two musicians to the renovation of the run-down city park in the center of Manhattan. More than half a million spectators came to the benefit concert with free admission. It also marked the temporary reunification of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel after a separation of several years.

Simon reached the commercial low of his career in 1983 with the album Hearts and Bones . Originally planned as a "Simon-and-Garfunkel" album, Simon released it alone due to a disagreement with Garfunkel. Although all of the recordings with Garfunkel were done, Simon recorded the album again solo and released it without further advertising.

After 1985

In 1986 Simon returned. Simon received a Grammy for the South African influenced album Graceland , on which, in addition to Ladysmith Black Mambazo , Los Lobos and Stimela , Youssou N'Dour (on the percussions for Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes ) and Morris Goldberg also participated . The record was a huge hit and peaked at number 3 on the US album charts. However, Simon was accused of disregarding the cultural boycott against South Africa's apartheid regime . The United Nations Anti-Apartheid Committee did not share this opinion, however, as the album represented the talent of black artists. In addition, some black people accused him of abusing their culture to make money. At a concert in South Africa there were even death threats if he performed; the concert took place anyway.

After 1990

In 1990 the follow-up album The Rhythm of the Saints was published, for which Simon stayed in Brazil . The album reflected that; The group Olodum was involved in the hit release The Obvious Child , and Naná Vasconcelos in several other songs . In August 1991 Simon gave a free concert in New York's Central Park in front of approximately 750,000 people.

The 1997/98 musical The Capeman was not a commercial success. The accompanying album Songs from the Capeman reached number 42 in the US album hit parade of Billboard magazine .

From 2000

In 2000 the album You're the One was released. The Paris concert of the accompanying tour was filmed and is available on DVD.

In autumn 2003, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunited and started the successful old friends tour through North America. In the summer of 2004 this was also extended to Europe. In July 2004 a free final concert took place in Rome in front of 600,000 spectators.

In May 2006 Simon's album Surprise was released by Warner Music . It contained eleven new songs, including the title Father and Daughter , which appeared on a soundtrack in 2002 . The songs were written between 2002 and 2005 and produced with Brian Eno .

Paul Simon gave several concerts in Brooklyn in April 2008 under the title Love in Hard Times: The Music of Paul Simon . In July 2008 he was on a European tour. Together with Art Garfunkel, Simon toured Australia, New Zealand and Japan as Simon & Garfunkel in 2009 (May). In April 2011 his album So Beautiful or So What was released . This is followed by a world tour through North America and Europe from April to July.

In December 2012, Simon sang his song Sound of Silence for the victims of the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School at a victim's funeral. In 2016 he wrote the theme music for comedian Louis CK's Horace and Pete web series

In February 2018, Simon announced the end of his concert career and retreat into private life. A farewell tour of the United States, Northern Europe and the United Kingdom ended with a final concert on September 22, 2018 in New York. Simon reserves the right to appear occasionally for charitable purposes. In 2018 the album Graceland was re-released as a remix album. The plate Graceland: The Remixes was in the US dance charts successful. The project was initiated with the consent of Paul Simon and distributed via Paul Simon's YouTube account. In parallel to his stage farewell, he released his 13th studio album In the Blue Light in early September .

Honors and Influence

In 2001 Simon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame solo , although the duo Simon & Garfunkel was already represented.

In 2003 he was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the song Father and Daughter from the children's film The Gooseberry Family .

He received a total of 12 Grammys, including three times the most important Grammy for the album of the year ( Bridge over Troubled Water , 1970 with Garfunkel, Still Crazy After All These Years , 1975 and Graceland , 1986), and also three times the next most important Grammy for the single des Year ( Mrs. Robinson , 1968 with Garfunkel, Bridge over Troubled Water , 1970 with Garfunkel, and Graceland , 1987).

He also received two BRIT Awards , one in 1977 for the album Bridge over Troubled Water with Art Garfunkel , named Best International Album , the other in 1987 for Graceland , named Best international solo artist .

In May 2006, Simon was voted one of the 100 most important living personalities in the world for that year by American magazine Time .

In May 2007 he was selected and honored by the Library of Congress as the first recipient of the new Gershwin Prize. Stevie Wonder , James Taylor and Alison Krauss played at the award ceremony in Washington on May 23, 2007 . In 2011 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

In 2012 Paul Simon received the Polar Music Prize , together with Yo-Yo Ma .

The Rolling Stone listed Simon eighth of the 100 best songwriters and 93rd of the 100 best guitarists of all time .

Trademark

Simon is left-handed but, like Mark Knopfler , plays his guitar with the right.

The guitar manufacturer Martin Guitar has immortalized Paul Simon's name in two guitar models ( Martin PS2 Paul Simon and Martin OM-42PS Paul Simon ). Paul Simon plays almost exclusively Martin guitars, while he almost always uses a black Yamaha guitar to accompany the band (including in 1991 at the Graceland Africa Concert and others), which has now become one of his distinguishing features. In the 1980s, for example at the concert in Central Park and the subsequent tour through Europe, he played a black Ovation guitar.

politics

At the 5th Festival Internacional da Canção , a hit competition that took place in Rio de Janeiro in October 1970 , Simon, who was hired as a juror, declared in advance that he would not give Germany any points, obviously because of his political dislike of Germany because he was of Jewish origin its Holocaust story. The German representative, then fifteen-year-old Marianne Rosenberg , is the daughter of the prominent Auschwitz survivor Sinto Otto Rosenberg .

In 1990 he was an official election observer in the first democratic elections after the collapse of the Eastern bloc in Czechoslovakia .

He campaigned for Chris Dodd, a member of the United States Democratic Party . For a long time he has played at various election campaign events of democratic politicians . He was on stage with his namesake Paul Simon and Al Gore , among others .

In October 2007, he described George W. Bush's refusal to provide money for the organization SCHIP to urgently support children as a "heartless act".

Simon recently took part in the public debates on the climate crisis and species extinction . Inspired by publications by biologist Edward O. Wilson , Simon said, “Simply put, if we do n't reverse climate change that is rising sea levels and making droughts and floods chronic, the consequences will be the collapse of the many ecosystems that home to us for all living creatures and plants necessary for the existence of life. ”In recent years, the environmental issue has become Simon's main theme and he donated the proceeds from his last tours to environmental organizations.

Discography

→ Main article : Paul Simon / discography

See also : Simon & Garfunkel / Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1972	Paul Simon	DE37 (20 weeks) DE	-	-	UK1 (24 weeks) UK	US4th platinum (36 weeks)US	First published: January 24, 1972 Producers: Paul Simon, Roy Halee Place 268 of the Rolling Stone 500 (2009)
1973	There Goes Rhymin 'Simon	-	-	-	UK4th gold (22 weeks)UK	US2 platinum (48 weeks)US	First published: May 5, 1973 Producers: Paul Simon, Phil Ramone , Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section No. 267 of the Rolling Stone 500 (2003)
1975	Still Crazy After All These Years	-	-	-	UK6th gold (31 weeks)UK	US1 gold (40 weeks)US	First published: October 25, 1975 2 × Grammy (Album of the Year / Best Pop Singer) Producers: Paul Simon, Phil Ramone Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
1980	One-trick pony	-	-	-	UK17th silver (12 weeks)UK	US12 gold (26 weeks)US	First published: August 12, 1980 Producers: Paul Simon, Phil Ramone
1983	Hearts and Bones	DE51 (5 weeks) DE	-	CH25 (1 week) CH	UK34 (8 weeks) UK	US35 (18 weeks) US	First published: November 4, 1983 Producers: Paul Simon, Russ Titelman , Roy Halee
1986	Graceland	DE2 × 3 Triple gold (59 weeks)DE	AT3 (30 weeks) AT	CH1 (43 weeks) CH	UK1 × 8 Eight times platinum (163 weeks)UK	US3 × 5 Quintuple platinum (105 weeks)US	First release: August 25, 1986 Grammy (album of the year) Producer: Paul Simon Number 71 of the Rolling Stone 500 (2009)
1990	The Rhythm of the Saints	DE11 gold (26 weeks)DE	AT4th gold (14 weeks)AT	CH3 gold (16 weeks)CH	UK1 × 2 Double platinum (28 weeks)UK	US4th × 2 Double platinum (53 weeks)US	First published: October 16, 1990 Producer: Paul Simon
1997	Songs from The Capeman	DE26 (11 weeks) DE	-	CH49 (1 week) CH	UK83 (2 weeks) UK	US42 (11 weeks) US	First published: November 16, 1997 Producer: Paul Simon
2000	You're the one	DE17 (4 weeks) DE	AT30 (3 weeks) AT	CH40 (6 weeks) CH	UK20th silver (6 weeks)UK	US19th gold (21 weeks)US	First published: October 3rd, 2000 Producer: Paul Simon
2006	Surprise	DE37 (4 weeks) DE	AT72 (1 week) AT	CH55 (3 weeks) CH	UK4th gold (8 weeks)UK	US14 (13 weeks) US	First published: May 9, 2006 Producer: Paul Simon
2011	So beautiful or so what	DE20 (6 weeks) DE	AT13 (6 weeks) AT	CH21 (6 weeks) CH	UK6th silver (6 weeks)UK	US4 (16 weeks) US	First released: April 8th, 2011 Producers: Paul Simon, Phil Ramone
2016	Stranger to Stranger	DE14 (5 weeks) DE	AT7 (7 weeks) AT	CH9 (6 weeks) CH	UK1 silver (8 weeks)UK	US3 (6 weeks) US	First published: June 3, 2016 Producer: Paul Simon, Roy Halee
2018	In the blue light	DE36 (2 weeks) DE	AT29 (3 weeks) AT	CH14 (2 weeks) CH	UK10 (2 weeks) UK	US70 (1 week) US	First published: September 7, 2018

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

More studio albums

• 1965: The Paul Simon Songbook (release: August)
• 1986: Interview Show with Music from His Album Graceland (Promo)

Web links

Commons : Paul Simon  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Paul Simon in the catalog of the German National Library
• Paul Simon at Discogs (English)
• Paul Simon at Allmusic (English)
• Paul Simon in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• paulsimon.com

swell

1. ↑ The new rock dictionary. ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Volume 2. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH, Reinbek near Hamburg 1998. 
2. ↑ The urban neurotic on IMDb.com . Retrieved October 14, 2009.
3. ^ ^{A b} Paul Simon Biography ( Memento from April 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) In: Rolling Stone .
4. ↑ ^{a b} Rolling Stone: Paul Simon - Hearts and Bones. Retrieved October 14, 2009 . 
5. ↑ News / Paul Simon Performs "Sound of Silence" at Sandy Hook Teacher Vicki Soto's Funeral , accessed December 20, 2012
6. ↑ Horace and Pete in the Internet Movie Database (English)
7. ^ Paul Simon Announces Third & Final Leg of Homeward Bound - The Farewell Tour. In: paulsimon.com. Accessed April 6, 2018 . 
8. ^ Paul Simon: Statement From Paul Simon. In: paulsimon.com. February 5, 2018, archived from the original on March 8, 2018 ; accessed on April 6, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Paul Simon's 80s record as a DJ edition. Retrieved June 15, 2018 . 
10. ↑ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Paul Simon in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
11. ^ Paul Simon, Yo-Yo Ma win Polar Music Prize. on cbc.ca, accessed February 14, 2016.
12. ↑ The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Rolling Stone , August 2015, accessed August 8, 2017 . 
13. ↑ 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 18, 2015, accessed August 8, 2017 . 
14. ↑ gibson.com: Left-Handed Guitarists: the Famous and the Facts. ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
15. ↑ Martin Guitar PS2 on martind-acousticguitar.blogspot.de, accessed on February 14, 2016.
16. ↑ From pop star to scene star. In: The world . September 13, 2006. The festival took place in Rio in October 1970 → Billboard , October 24, 1970, p. 60.
17. ↑ Simon concert a crowd pleaser on paul-simon.info, accessed on February 14, 2016.
18. ↑ Paul Simon blasts Bush over "Heartless" Veto of Kids' Health Care
19. ^ Book Review: The Year in Reading. In: The New York Times. December 19, 2016, accessed January 29, 2019 . 
20. ↑ Paul Simon, ending his touring career, says he doesn't believe in 'legacy'. In: CNN. November 14, 2018, accessed January 29, 2019 . 
21. ↑ Chart sources: Singles Albums DE UK US