Paul Simon Biography Quotes 45 Report mistakes

Early Life and Family
Paul Frederic Simon was born on October 13, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in Queens, New York. His mother, Belle, was a teacher, and his father, Louis (often called Lee), was a professional musician and bandleader. Music filled the household, and the mix of jazz, popular song, and postwar radio culture shaped his ear early on. He met Art Garfunkel as a child in their Queens neighborhood; by their teenage years at Forest Hills High School, the two were harmonizing together, fascinated by doo-wop, vocal groups, and the meticulous blend of close harmony they could create.

Formative Years and Apprenticeship
While studying English at Queens College, Simon pursued music as a craft. He was an apprentice in the Brill Building milieu, writing and recording under pseudonyms such as Jerry Landis, learning how arrangement, hooks, and storytelling fit together. With Garfunkel he recorded as Tom & Jerry and scored a modest hit with "Hey Schoolgirl" in the late 1950s. After the folk revival took hold, Simon spent extended time in London in the mid-1960s, playing folk clubs, refining guitar techniques rooted in fingerpicking and syncopated rhythms, and recording The Paul Simon Songbook. He formed close ties in the British folk scene and wrote intimate songs inspired by people and places there, including "Kathy's Song" and "Homeward Bound".

Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel's first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., appeared in 1964. Initially overlooked, it contained "The Sound of Silence". Producer Tom Wilson later added electric instruments and drums to the track, transforming it into a nationwide hit and repositioning the duo at the center of a changing folk-rock era. Working closely with engineer-producer Roy Halee, Simon wrote and recorded a run of albums that became touchstones: Sounds of Silence, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Bookends, and Bridge over Troubled Water. Their work blended luminous harmonies with cinematic arrangements and literate lyrics. Mike Nichols's film The Graduate brought "Mrs. Robinson" to a mass audience, while "America", "The Boxer", and the title track "Bridge over Troubled Water" deepened their cultural imprint. The partnership, intense and productive, was also fraught; after the monumental success of Bridge over Troubled Water in 1970, they went their separate ways, though they reunited periodically, notably for a free concert in Central Park in 1981.

Solo Breakthrough in the 1970s
As a solo artist Simon expanded his palette. Paul Simon (1972) and There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973) explored New Orleans rhythms, reggae inflections, gospel choirs, and nimble pop writing. "Mother and Child Reunion", "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", and "Kodachrome" revealed an effortless ability to merge vernacular speech with melodic invention. With Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) he turned to warmer jazz colors and sophisticated song forms; drummer Steve Gadd's indelible groove on "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and producer Phil Ramone's studio sheen complemented Simon's blend of wit and melancholy. He also wrote for other artists, co-authoring "Red Rubber Ball" with Bruce Woodley, which became a hit for the Cyrkle.

Experimentation, Film, and Graceland
The end of the 1970s brought One-Trick Pony, a film and album exploring a working musician's life, and then a searching period that led to one of his defining works. Adopted sounds from South African township jive and mbaqanga became the bedrock of Graceland (1986), recorded with musicians including Joseph Shabalala's group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, guitarist Ray Phiri, and bassist Bakithi Kumalo. The album's exuberant grooves and layered poetry connected global traditions with American songwriting in fresh ways. It drew critical acclaim and major awards, even as it stirred debate over cultural boycotts during apartheid. Simon engaged South African and exiled artists such as Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela on the tour, and the project highlighted both musical cross-pollination and the ethical questions of collaboration across political divides. The video for "You Can Call Me Al", featuring Chevy Chase, showed Simon's dry humor and pop instincts.

The Rhythm of the Saints and the 1990s
Continuing outward, The Rhythm of the Saints (1990) drew on Brazilian and West African percussion, with dense polyrhythms supporting impressionistic lyrics. A massive outdoor concert in Central Park in 1991 showcased the expanded ensemble. Later in the decade, he co-wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman with poet Derek Walcott, a bold narrative project that struggled commercially but demonstrated Simon's willingness to test his songwriting in dramatic forms. Throughout this period, he remained a fixture on television and in live performance, returning often to Saturday Night Live, collaborating with producer Lorne Michaels and appearing with friends from the comedy world.

2000s to Recent Work
Simon entered the new century with a renewed acoustic clarity on You're the One (2000). Surprise (2006) introduced electronic textures created with Brian Eno, underscoring Simon's openness to sound design and studio experimentation. So Beautiful or So What (2011) and Stranger to Stranger (2016) blended spiritual reflection, nimble grooves, and unusual instruments into compact song suites. After announcing a farewell tour in 2018, he continued to write and record. Seven Psalms (2023) arrived as a meditative, long-form piece for voice and guitar, focused on mortality, gratitude, and the mysteries of faith. In interviews he spoke candidly about a sudden hearing loss in one ear, yet he kept composing, exploring stripped-down forms that highlighted his harmonic language and fingerstyle guitar.

Personal Life
Simon's personal life intersected with his art in ways both public and private. He married Peggy Harper in the 1970s, and their son, Harper Simon, later became a musician. He was married to actor and writer Carrie Fisher in the 1980s, a relationship that entered his songs with wit and tenderness. In 1992 he married singer-songwriter Edie Brickell; the couple have three children and have occasionally performed together. Longstanding friendships and creative partnerships thread through his story: the deep, complex bond with Art Garfunkel; the studio partnership with Roy Halee; the camaraderie of players like Steve Gadd; and collaborations with global artists such as Joseph Shabalala, Ray Phiri, and Bakithi Kumalo.

Artistry and Legacy
Paul Simon's songwriting blends conversational phrasing with meticulous structure, fusing internal rhyme, shifting meters, and folk-based guitar patterns into songs that feel both intimate and expansive. He has drawn from American roots, Caribbean grooves, South African and Brazilian traditions, and art-pop sonics without losing a distinctive lyrical voice. His work has garnered numerous Grammy Awards, and he is a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist. He received the Kennedy Center Honors and became the inaugural recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, acknowledgments that mirror his broad impact. For listeners across generations, his catalog maps the evolving possibilities of popular music, from subway platforms and folk clubs to concert halls and global collaborations, always grounded in curiosity, craft, and a singular melodic imagination.

Our collection contains 45 quotes who is written by Paul, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Truth - Justice - Puns & Wordplay - Music.

Other people realated to Paul: Shelley Duvall (Actress), Miriam Makeba (Musician), Marc Anthony (Musician), Dick Durbin (Politician), Tony Levin (Musician)

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