Paul Simon, born 1941 in Newark, New Jersey, went from half of Simon & Garfunkel to one of the great American solo songwriters. Graceland (1986), made with South African musicians including Ladysmith Black Mambazo, won Album of the Year and still opens ears; 16 Grammys tell the rest. Browse Paul Simon vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Paul Frederic Simon was born in Newark, New Jersey on October 13, 1941. He launched his career as half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel (with Art Garfunkel) - the duo met in elementary school and recorded together intermittently from 1957 (initially as Tom & Jerry). Simon & Garfunkel released landmark albums Sounds of Silence (1966), Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), Bookends (1968), and Bridge over Troubled Water (1970) before dissolving in 1970 amid creative tensions. Simon's solo career launched with Paul Simon (1972) and his subsequent work has been varied - incorporating gospel (Still Crazy After All These Years 1975), reggae, Latin American (The Rhythm of the Saints 1990), and most South African musical traditions (Graceland 1986). Graceland was controversial for being recorded during the apartheid-era cultural boycott of South Africa, but Simon's collaboration with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tao Ea Matsekha, the Boyoyo Boys, and other South African musicians has been credited with introducing world music to international mainstream audiences. He has won 16 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (1990 Simon & Garfunkel; 2001 solo). His foundational influence on contemporary singer-songwriter, folk rock, and broader popular music is widely cited.
Paul Simon's sound combines folk rock, folk, singer-songwriter, pop, world music, art rock, and chamber pop with his distinctive vocal delivery, intricate acoustic guitar work, and varied compositional approaches drawing on international musical traditions across his multi-decade career.
Original Columbia Records and Warner Bros. pressings of the Paul Simon catalog are widely collected. Multiple anniversary editions (particularly the 25th anniversary edition of Graceland with Under African Skies documentary), audiophile reissues (Mobile Fidelity, Acoustic Sounds), and the comprehensive Columbia/Legacy reissue programs have been released.
Listeners new to Paul Simon typically start with Graceland (1986) or Still Crazy After All These Years (1975).
