Graceland - Album
Graceland (Album) by Paul Simon
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Artist Biography For Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon Born October 13 1941 Is An American Singer-Songwriter. One Of The Most Celebrated Artists Of The Twentieth Century Simon's Career Has Spanned Six Decades. Born In New Jersey Simon Grew Up In The Borough Of Queens In New York City And Developed An Interest In Rock Music In His Teens. He Began Performing With His Schoolfriend Art Garfunkel In 1956 Together The Two Came To Prominence In The 1960s As Simon & Garfunkel. The Duo's Blend Of Folk And Rock Music In Hits Like "The Sound Of Silence" "Mrs. Robinson" "America" And "The Boxer" Served As A Soundtrack To The Counterculture Movement. Their Career Together Peaked With Their Last Album Bridge Over Troubled Water 1970 At One Point The Best-Selling Album Of All Time. Throughout His Subsequent Solo Career Simon Has Continued To Explore An Eclectic Mixture Of Genres Including Gospel Reggae Soul And More. His Celebrated 1970s Output—comprising Paul Simon 1972 There Goes Rhymin' Simon 1973 And Still Crazy After All These Years 1975 —kept Him In The Public Spotlight And Saw Critical And Commercial Acclaim Spawning The Hits "Mother And Child Reunion" "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard" And "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover". Across His Life Simon Has Intermittently Reunited With Garfunkel For Several Tours Including The Famed Concert In Central Park. The Widely Lauded Graceland 1986 Became Simon's Biggest Album Of His Career Melding His Rock Sound With Worldbeat Flavors Its Single "You Can Call Me Al" Became One Of Simon's Top Hits. A Sequel Of Sorts The Rhythm Of The Saints 1990 Preceded His Own Successful Concert In The Park Attended By A Half-Million Fans. That Decade Simon Focused His Energies On A Broadway Musical The Capeman 1997 Which Was Poorly Received. In The First Quarter Of The Next 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 Have Introduced Him To New Generations. He Retired From Touring In 2018. His Most Recent Work Seven Psalms Will See Release In May 2023. Simon Is Among The Most Acclaimed Musicians And Songwriters In Popular Music And One Of The World's Best-Selling Music Artists Both For His Solo Work And With Garfunkel. He Is A Two-Time Inductee 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 Have Seen Induction Into National Recording Registry For Their Cultural Significance And In 2007 The Library Of Congress Crowned Him The Inaugural Winner Of The Gershwin Prize For Popular Song. He Is A Co-Founder Of The Children's Health Fund A Nonprofit That Provides Medical Care To Children. In An In-Depth Interview Reprinted In American Songwriter Simon Discusses The Craft Of Songwriting With Music Journalist Tom Moon. In The Interview Simon Explains The Basic Themes In His Songwriting Love Family And Social Commentary As Well As The Overarching Messages Of Religion Spirituality And God In His Lyrics . Simon Explains The Process Of How He Goes About Writing Songs In The Interview "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."
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Biography - Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon Born October 13 1941 Is An American Singer-Songwriter. One Of The Most Celebrated Artists Of The Twentieth Century Simon's Career Has Spanned Six Decades. Born In New Jersey Simon Grew Up In The Borough Of Queens In New York City And Developed An Interest In Rock Music In His Teens. He Began Performing With His Schoolfriend Art Garfunkel In 1956 Together The Two Came To Prominence In The 1960s As Simon & Garfunkel. The Duo's Blend Of Folk And Rock Music In Hits Like "The Sound Of Silence" "Mrs. Robinson" "America" And "The Boxer" Served As A Soundtrack To The Counterculture Movement. Their Career Together Peaked With Their Last Album Bridge Over Troubled Water 1970 At One Point The Best-Selling Album Of All Time. Throughout His Subsequent Solo Career Simon Has Continued To Explore An Eclectic Mixture Of Genres Including Gospel Reggae Soul And More. His Celebrated 1970s Output—comprising Paul Simon 1972 There Goes Rhymin' Simon 1973 And Still Crazy After All These Years 1975 —kept Him In The Public Spotlight And Saw Critical And Commercial Acclaim Spawning The Hits "Mother And Child Reunion" "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard" And "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover". Across His Life Simon Has Intermittently Reunited With Garfunkel For Several Tours Including The Famed Concert In Central Park. The Widely Lauded Graceland 1986 Became Simon's Biggest Album Of His Career Melding His Rock Sound With Worldbeat Flavors Its Single "You Can Call Me Al" Became One Of Simon's Top Hits. A Sequel Of Sorts The Rhythm Of The Saints 1990 Preceded His Own Successful Concert In The Park Attended By A Half-Million Fans. That Decade Simon Focused His Energies On A Broadway Musical The Capeman 1997 Which Was Poorly Received. In The First Quarter Of The Next 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 Have Introduced Him To New Generations. He Retired From Touring In 2018. His Most Recent Work Seven Psalms Will See Release In May 2023. Simon Is Among The Most Acclaimed Musicians And Songwriters In Popular Music And One Of The World's Best-Selling Music Artists Both For His Solo Work And With Garfunkel. He Is A Two-Time Inductee 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 Have Seen Induction Into National Recording Registry For Their Cultural Significance And In 2007 The Library Of Congress Crowned Him The Inaugural Winner Of The Gershwin Prize For Popular Song. He Is A Co-Founder Of The Children's Health Fund A Nonprofit That Provides Medical Care To Children. In An In-Depth Interview Reprinted In American Songwriter Simon Discusses The Craft Of Songwriting With Music Journalist Tom Moon. In The Interview Simon Explains The Basic Themes In His Songwriting Love Family And Social Commentary As Well As The Overarching Messages Of Religion Spirituality And God In His Lyrics . Simon Explains The Process Of How He Goes About Writing Songs In The Interview "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."
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Published: 11 Nov 2009, 00:36
Graceland Is An Album Released By Paul Simon In 1986. It Was A Hit In The UK Topping The Charts At #1. It Also Reached #3 In The US. The Album Won The Album Of The Year Grammy Award While The Title Song Won The Record Of The Year Grammy Award For 1986 And 1987 Respectively. In 2006 The Album Was Added To The United States National Recording Registry Along With Another 24 Significant Recordings That Year. Coming At A Time When Simon's Musical Career Was At Something Of A Low Ebb Following The Disappointing Public Response To Hearts And Bones The Project Was Originally Inspired By Simon's Listening To A Cassette Of The Boyoyo Boys Instrumental "Gumboots" Lent To Him By Heidi Berg A Singer-Songwriter With Whom Simon Was Working And Who Would Later Become An Award-Winning Jingle Singer And Writer . Simon Later Wrote Lyrics To Sing Over A Re-Recording Of The Song Which Became The Fourth Track On The Album. The Group Los Lobos Appear On The Last Track "All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints." According To Los Lobos's Saxophone Player Steve Berlin Simon Stole The Song From Los Lobos Giving Them No Songwriting Credit "It Was Not A Pleasant Deal For Us. I Mean He Quite Literally — And In No Way Do I Exaggerate When I Say — He Stole The Songs From Us... We Go Into The Studio And He Had Quite Literally Nothing. I Mean He Had No Ideas No Concepts And Said "Well Let's Just Jam." ...Paul Goes "Hey What's That?" We Start Playing What We Have Of It And It Is Exactly What You Hear On The Record. So We're Like "Oh Ok. We'll Share This Song." ...A Few Months Later The Record Comes Out And Says "Words And Music By Paul Simon." We Were Like "What The Fuck Is This?" We Tried Calling Him And We Can't Find Him. Weeks Go By And Our Managers Can't Find Him. We Finally Track Him Down And Ask Him About Our Song And He Goes "Sue Me. See What Happens." Paul Simon Answered "I Just Said At This Stage I Don't Care Whether The Album Comes Out Without Los Lobos On It. I Was Getting Really Tired Of It—I Don't Want To Get Into A Public Slanging Match Over This But This Thing Keeps Coming Up. So We Finished The Recordings. And Three Months Passed And There Was No Mention Of 'joint Writing.' The Album Came Out And We Heard Nothing. Then Six Months Passed And Graceland Had Become A Hit And The First Thing I Heard About The Problem Was When My Manager Got A Lawyer's Letter. I Was Shocked. They Sent This Thing To My Manager Not Me. If There Was A Problem They Could Have Contacted Me Direct. They've Got My Home Number We Talked A Lot. If You Ask Me It Was A Lawyer's Idea. You Know 'The Record's A Hit And There's $100 000 In It.' They Had Nine Months From The Recordings To Talk To Me About All This But I Heard Nothing. And It's Still Not Sorted Out Because They Still Keep Bringing It Up—I Heard They'd Done This Interview For You. I Don't Want To Get Into A Public Slanging Match With Them Because I Really Like Their Music." Graceland Was Paul Simon's Highest Charting Album In The U.S. In Over A Decade Reaching #3 In The National Billboard Charts Receiving A Certification Of 5× Platinum By The RIAA And Eventually Selling Over 14 Million Copies Making It The Singer's Most Commercially Successful Album. Critics Welcomed Its Eclectic Mix Of Sounds And Broad Quirky Subject Matter And It Regularly Shows Up In Critic Polls And "recommended" Lists. The Album Also Helped To Draw Worldwide Attention To The Music Of South Africa. In The Graceland Classic Albums Video Simon States That He Considers The Title Track The Best Song He Has Ever Written. A Popular Music Video Starring Simon And Chevy Chase Was Made For The Hit Song "You Can Call Me Al". Simon Toured The Album Extensively Featuring Many Of The Artists From The Album In Addition To Exiled South Africans Hugh Masekela And Miriam Makeba. Two Concerts In Harare Zimbabwe Were Filmed In 1987 For Release As "The African Concert". The Audience Was A Multi-Racial Mix With Many Travelling From South Africa. Rankings * Voted The Best Album Of The Year In The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. * In 1998 Q Magazine Readers Voted It The 56th Greatest Album Of All Time. * It Was Also Ranked #84 In A 2005 Survey Held By British Television's Channel 4 To Determine The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time. * In 1989 It Was Rated #5 On Rolling Stone Magazine's List Of The 100 Greatest Albums Of The '80s. * It Is #81 On The List Of Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. * The Song "Graceland" Was Voted #485 In The List Of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. * According To AcclaimedMusic.Net A Site Which Combines Hundreds Of Best-Of Lists From Critics And Musicians From Around The World Graceland Is Ranked At #66 On The Greatest Albums Of All Time. It Is Also Ranked #13 For Albums Released In The 1980s And It Is The Second-Highest Ranking Album Of 1986 Behind The Smiths' The Queen Is Dead . * In 2002 Pitchfork Media Named It The 85th Best Album Of The 1980s. * In 2006 Time Named It One Of The All-Time 100 Greatest Albums.