After hearing Elvis Presley’s “Mystery Train” in the mid-1950s, teenager Paul Simon knew he wanted to be just like the ‘King of Rock and Roll’. But after seeing Elvis perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, Simon realized that there could only be one ‘King’. So, he decided to embark on his own musical course – and quite a good one. Simon rose to immense fame as the driving force behind Simon & Garfunkel and launched a successful solo career after the duo broke up.
In a conversation with biographer Robert Hilburn (writer of Paul Simon: The Life), Paul Simon revealed the self-written songs that hold a special place in his heart. He mentioned more than 50 songs and eventually chose 10 songs as his personal favorites.
From Simon & Garfunkel’s repertoire, Simon picked “The Sound of Silence”, “The Boxer”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. The 3 songs are logical picks, as they rank among the duo’s most celebrated songs. “The Sound of Silence” was Simon & Garfunkel’s first hit and propelled the duo to sudden fame, while “The Boxer” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” were the most acclaimed songs on the duo’s final studio album.
Simon’s 7 other favorite songs all stem from his solo career. From his self-titled 1972 studio album – the first album Paul Simon released after Simon & Garfunkel parted ways – Simon picked “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”. From his 1975 studio album Still Crazy After All These Years, Simon picked the album’s title track.
Of course, Paul Simon also picked songs from his 1986 masterpiece Graceland. From the album, he selected “Graceland” and “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” as part of his personal favorites. Simon also mentioned “The Boy in the Bubble” and “You Can Call Me Al” as favorites, although those songs didn’t make his final list of 10 songs.
From Graceland’s follow-up album, The Rhythm of the Saints, Simon picked “The Cool, Cool River”. The final two songs Simon picked were “Darling Lorraine” (2000 album You’re the One), and “Questions for the Angels” (2011 album So Beautiful or So What).
Notable Left-Outs
Of course, Paul Simon’s list is personal. Still, he left out songs one could easily expect on the list. Out of Simon & Garfunkel’s repertoire, Simon left out popular songs like “Mrs. Robinson”, “Homeward Bound”, and “Cecilia”. He also didn’t select a song from the highly acclaimed Bookends as part of his 10 favorites, most notably “America”.
Simon’s list also didn’t include songs from his debut solo album The Paul Simon Songbook (1965). The album includes popular songs like “I Am a Rock”, “April Come She Will”, and “Kathy’s Song”. Other notable left-outs from Simon’s solo career are “Kodachrome”, “Mother and Child Reunion”, “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”, “Slip Slidin’ Away”, “The Obvious Child”, and the earlier discussed “You Can Call Me Al”.
Paul Simon’s Picks
- “The Sound of Silence”
- “The Boxer”
- “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
- “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”
- “Still Crazy After All These Years”
- “Graceland”
- “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”
- “The Cool, Cool River”
- “Darling Lorraine”
- “Questions for the Angels”
