Folk · Rock · Songwriting
A songwriter who never stopped wandering, in music or in life.
The biography
Paul Simon (born 1941) grew up in Queens, New York, and first found fame as one half of Simon & Garfunkel — the duo behind “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” But after the duo split in 1970, Simon began a solo career that proved even more restless and wide-ranging than the partnership that made him famous.
The 1970s brought a run of classic solo albums — Paul Simon, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, and Still Crazy After All These Years — and his only solo number one, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” Then, in 1986, he traveled to South Africa to record Graceland with local musicians, an album that won Album of the Year and introduced mbhaqanga and isicathamiya rhythms to millions of listeners. He followed it with the Brazilian-influenced The Rhythm of the Saints.
Across six decades, Simon has collected sixteen Grammys — including three Album of the Year wins — and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: with Garfunkel and as a solo artist. He has written musicals, scored films, and explored gospel, reggae, and worldbeat without ever losing his signature: the perfectly turned lyric, the melody that feels inevitable.
Paul Simon’s career is a map of American music’s possibilities — proof that the best songwriters are the ones who keep listening.