Paul Simon
Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Paul Simon celebrates his birthday today!
(Photo: Hutton Archives)
From the folk harmonies of the 1960s, through the studios of Jamaica and South Africa, to his later acoustic works. Here are 63 facts about Simon, one of popular music's most influential and inquisitive songwriters.
1. He was born Paul Frederic Simon on October 13, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family of Hungarian ancestry.
2. His father, Louis Simon, was a double bass player and bandleader who performed under the stage name "Lee Sims", as well as an educator. His mother, Belle Simon, was an elementary school teacher.
3. In 1945, the family moved to Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, New York. Music and baseball became two great passions of the boy who grew up there.
4. He received a Jewish education and celebrated his bar mitzvah, but later described himself as secular. For him, Jewish identity also relates to the culture and world in which he grew up, rather than solely to faith or religious observance.
5. In 1953, he befriended Art Garfunkel, who attended the same school. They appeared in a production of "Alice in Wonderland" and began developing the harmonies that would become their trademark.
6. As teenagers, they were strongly influenced by the harmonies of "The Everly Brothers". They also sang with neighborhood friends in the doo-wop group "The Peptones".
7. In 1957, they recorded the single "Hey, Schoolgirl" as "Tom & Jerry". It reached No. 49 on the American chart. Simon was then known as "Jerry Landis", while Garfunkel used the name "Tom Graph".
8. The success of the single led to an appearance on "American Bandstand". Simon was already a teenager with experience in recording, performing, and the music business, but their subsequent singles failed to repeat that success.
9. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he also recorded under names such as "True Taylor" and "Paul Kane". He wrote songs, sang on demo recordings, and learned the workings of the studio from the inside.
10. In the early 1960s, he was a member of "Tico & the Triumphs". "Motorcycle", on which he sang lead, entered the American chart and reached No. 99.
11. In 1963, he graduated from "Queens College" with a degree in English. He also briefly studied law before choosing to pursue music.
12. In 1964, Simon and Garfunkel began working together again and signed with "Columbia". This time, they used their real surnames and began performing as "Simon & Garfunkel".
13. The duo released their debut album, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.", in October 1964. It included the original acoustic version of "The Sound of Silence", but initially failed to find an audience. Following their breakthrough, it reached No. 30 in the United States.
14. During his time in England, Simon performed in folk clubs, met guitarist Martin Carthy, and learned about the English folk tradition. He also became familiar with Carthy's arrangement of "Scarborough Fair".
15. In 1965, he released his first solo album, "The Paul Simon Songbook", presenting his songs with acoustic guitar accompaniment. That same year, he also produced singer Jackson C. Frank's debut album.
16. In 1965, producer Tom Wilson added electric guitars, bass, and drums to the recording of "The Sound of Silence", without the duo participating in the new session. The electrified version reached No. 1 in the United States in January 1966 and brought them back together.
17. In January 1966, the duo released their second album, "Sounds of Silence", which reached No. 21 in the United States. It also included "I Am a Rock", which reached No. 3 on the singles chart.
Simon, June 1966 (Photo: Joost Evers / Anefo )
18. In October 1966, they released their third album, "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme", which reached No. 4 in the United States. Its opening track combined the traditional "Scarborough Fair" with "Canticle", based on an earlier antiwar song by Simon.
19. In 1967, they performed at the "Monterey Pop" festival. That same year, their music appeared in director Mike Nichols' film "The Graduate", introducing their songs to an even wider audience.
20. In 1968, the duo released their fourth album, "Bookends", which reached No. 1 in the United States. It included "America" and "Mrs. Robinson", which also became a No. 1 hit.
"Simon & Garfunkel", 1968 (Photo: Columbia Records)
21. In January 1970, they released their fifth and final studio album, "Bridge over Troubled Water". It topped the charts in both the United States and the United Kingdom and won Album of the Year at the 1971 Grammy Awards.
22. Simon wrote "Bridge over Troubled Water" with gospel music as an inspiration, but entrusted the lead vocal to Garfunkel. The album also included "The Boxer", "Cecilia", and "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)".
23. In 1970, the duo split at the height of their success. Simon was their principal songwriter, but the combination of his voice with Garfunkel's, along with their shared work on arrangements, was fundamental to their identity.
24. In 1972, he released his second solo album, "Paul Simon", which reached No. 4 in the United States and No. 1 in the United Kingdom. It combined folk, reggae, blues, and sounds from South America.
25. He recorded "Mother and Child Reunion" in Kingston, Jamaica, with musicians who had played with Jimmy Cliff. The title came from a dish on a Chinese restaurant menu that combined chicken and eggs.
26. "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" became another of his signature songs. Alongside the acoustic guitar, the playing of Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira is particularly distinctive.
27. In 1973, he released his third album, "There Goes Rhymin' Simon", which reached No. 2 in the United States. The singles "Kodachrome" and "Loves Me Like a Rock" also reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
28. In 1975, he released his fourth album, "Still Crazy After All These Years", co-produced with Phil Ramone. It remains his only solo album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won Album of the Year at the 1976 Grammy Awards.
29. The album also included "Silent Eyes", which portrays Jerusalem as a city mourning alone, while exploring the themes of bearing witness and accountability before God. At a press conference in Israel in 1978, Simon connected its creation to feelings stirred by the Yom Kippur War.
30. On the same album, he reunited with Garfunkel for "My Little Town". The song also appeared on Garfunkel's second solo album, "Breakaway", and reached No. 9 in the United States.
31. "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" reached No. 1 in the United States in 1976. Its signature drum introduction was played by Steve Gadd, who developed the pattern from ideas he practiced in the studio.
32. In 1977, he appeared as a music producer in Woody Allen's film "Annie Hall". That same year, he released "Slip Slidin' Away", which reached No. 5 in the United States.
33. In July 1978, he visited Israel for the first time and performed in Caesarea, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv. According to a contemporary report in "Lahiton", he said the visit moved him more as a Jew than as an artist. He explained that he had initially wanted to come as a tourist, then decided to include concerts marking Israel's 30th anniversary of independence. During the visit, he also attended the opening ceremony of Liberty Bell Park in Jerusalem.
34. In 1980, he released his fifth solo album, "One-Trick Pony", which reached No. 12 in the United States. It accompanied a film of the same name that Simon wrote and starred in. The single "Late in the Evening" reached No. 6.
35. On September 19, 1981, Simon and Garfunkel reunited for a free concert in New York's Central Park. The performance was released in 1982 as the live album "The Concert in Central Park", which reached No. 6 in the United States.
36. In 1983, he released his sixth album, "Hearts and Bones", which reached No. 35 in the United States. Work on it began during a period when an album with Garfunkel was being considered, but it ultimately became a solo release.
37. In September 1983, he returned to Israel with Garfunkel for two "Simon & Garfunkel" concerts at Ramat Gan Stadium. According to a contemporary report by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, JTA, the shows drew approximately 90,000 people combined, with the proceeds supporting children through "Variety Israel".
38. That same year, he married actress Carrie Fisher, best known as Princess Leia in "Star Wars". They divorced in 1984. Their relationship provides the background to "Hearts and Bones".
39. In 1985, he participated in the recording of the charity single "We Are the World" with "USA for Africa", alongside many leading figures in American music.
40. After hearing a cassette of South African music, he traveled to Johannesburg in 1985 to record with local musicians. His work with bassist Bakithi Kumalo and guitarist Ray Phiri was central to the process that produced "Graceland".
41. In August 1986, he released his seventh album, "Graceland". It reached No. 3 in the United States and No. 1 in the United Kingdom, sold an estimated 16 million copies worldwide, and won Album of the Year at the 1987 Grammy Awards.
42. On "Graceland", he collaborated with "Ladysmith Black Mambazo", Linda Ronstadt, "The Everly Brothers", and "Los Lobos". In many cases, the songs grew out of the musicians' rhythms and recordings, to which he later added lyrics and melodies.
43. "You Can Call Me Al" received an unforgettable video featuring actor Chevy Chase. Chase does most of the lip-syncing, while Simon appears beside him almost as a supporting character.
44. Recording in South Africa during apartheid drew criticism for breaking the cultural boycott. Simon emphasized his collaboration with Black musicians and the payment they received for their work, but the album's success did not erase the controversy.
45. In 1987, he co-founded the "Children's Health Fund", an organization providing healthcare to children and families in need, including through mobile clinics.
46. In 1990, "Simon & Garfunkel" were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In October of that year, Simon released his eighth solo album, "The Rhythm of the Saints", which reached No. 4 in the United States and No. 1 in the United Kingdom.
47. On "The Rhythm of the Saints", he expanded his collaborations with musicians from Brazil and Africa. "The Obvious Child" prominently features the drums of the Brazilian ensemble "Olodum", recorded in Salvador, Bahia.
48. In 1992, he married singer-songwriter Edie Brickell. They have three children together. Simon also has a son, Harper Simon, from his first marriage to Peggy Harper. Harper also pursued a career in music.
49. In 1997, he released his ninth album, "Songs from The Capeman", which reached No. 42 in the United States. It featured his versions of songs from the musical he wrote with poet Derek Walcott.
50. The musical "The Capeman" opened on Broadway in January 1998 and closed in March after 68 regular performances. Despite its commercial failure, the score received a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score.
51. In 1999, he embarked on a joint tour with Bob Dylan. In 2000, he released his tenth album, "You're the One", which reached No. 19 in the United States and received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.
52. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. In 2002, he wrote "Father and Daughter" for "The Wild Thornberrys Movie". The song received an Oscar nomination.
53. In 2003, "Simon & Garfunkel" received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. They returned to the stage together for the "Old Friends" tour, which continued into 2004.
54. In 2006, he released his eleventh album, "Surprise", which reached No. 14 in the United States. Working with Brian Eno brought electronic and atmospheric textures to Simon's songwriting.
55. In 2007, he became the first recipient of the Library of Congress's "Gershwin Prize for Popular Song". To date, he has received 16 Grammy Awards and 36 nominations.
56. In April 2011, he released his twelfth album, "So Beautiful or So What", which reached No. 4 in the United States. On July 21 of that year, he performed at Ramat Gan Stadium before approximately 20,000 people. Near the end of the show, he offered a prayer for peace for Israel and its neighbors, closing with the greeting "Salaam alaikum".
57. At the press conference ahead of his 2011 performance in Israel, he described himself as someone of Jewish heritage who was secular, explaining that he did not always have an answer when expected to respond specifically as a Jew. He recalled his visit to the Western Wall, as well as an illness that had required him to travel between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv for treatment during an earlier visit.
58. In 2016, he released his thirteenth album, "Stranger to Stranger", which reached No. 3 in the United States and No. 1 in the United Kingdom. Working with producer Roy Halee, he also explored the sounds of instruments designed by composer Harry Partch.
59. In September 2018, he released his fourteenth album, "In the Blue Light", revisiting ten songs from his catalog with new arrangements. That same month, he completed his "Homeward Bound" farewell tour with a performance at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, the borough where he grew up.
60. In May 2023, he released his fifteenth album, "Seven Psalms": a continuous acoustic work lasting approximately 33 minutes and comprising seven movements. It reached No. 28 on the UK Albums Chart and received a Grammy nomination. Brickell and the vocal ensemble "VOCES8" participated in the recording.
61. While working on "Seven Psalms", he lost much of the hearing in his left ear. The recording process and his struggle with hearing loss were documented in Alex Gibney's film "In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon", which reached American television in 2024.
62. In 2025, he returned to touring with "A Quiet Celebration", following changes to his stage and sound setup that allowed him to perform with his hearing impairment. In 2026, the tour expanded to Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and North America.
63. On October 9, 2026, he released the live album "The Quiet Celebration Concert". It includes a complete performance of "Seven Psalms" alongside new arrangements of songs from throughout his career, showing that even after seven decades, Simon continues to reshape his music.
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