Paul Simon is 73 years old today. Simon is an award-winning musician whose talents in composing, performing and vocal harmony placed him at the forefront of the singer-songwriters on an international scale. His fame, influence and commercial success began as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, launched in 1964 with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pairs songs, including three that reached No. 1 on the U.S. singles charts: The Sound of Silence,” Mrs. Robinson and Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The duo split up in 1970 at the height of their popularity, and Simon began a successful solo career, recording three highly acclaimed albums over the next five years. In 1986, he released Graceland, an album inspired by South African township music. Simon also wrote and starred in the film One-Trick Pony (1980) and co-wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman (1998) with the poet Derek Walcott. Simon has earned 12 Grammys for his solo and collaborative work, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2006 was selected as one of the 100 People Who Shaped the World by Time magazine. Among many other honors, Simon was the first recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007. In 1986 Simon was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees. Here, Simon and Garfunkel perform “Kodachrome” in Central Park in 1981.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 10:07:58 +0000
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