It was in the early 80s when I was about 3 or 4 years old that I was first introduced to the music of Chuck Berry. Dad brought home the cassette tape of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Concert In Central Park and amidst all the P. Simon writers credits was one for a certain C. Berry. This…
Category: Paul Simon
Carrie Fisher: ‘If you can get Paul Simon to write a song about you, do it’
The next sentence to that quote from her memoir Wishful Drinking (as used in the headline) had Carrie Fisher adding, “Because he is so brilliant at it.” Indeed he was and none better than the title track from Hearts And Bones – the underbought 1983 precursor to the mega-selling Graceland in 1986. If 2016 was…
Paul Simon’s Graceland Turns 30 – The Album’s Key Moments & Where It Still Always Takes Me
Ladysmith Black Mambazo & Paul Simon South African rhythms, Americana lyrics and an album that always takes me back to Malaysia, last week marks 30 years since the release of Paul Simon’s Graceland. 30-years-old and 30 years of being a mainstay of virtually every “top 100 albums of all time” list published since. And the…
Robbed Of Her Singing Voice, 2 Of Linda Ronstadt’s Greatest, Uncredited Performances
Linda Ronstadt, 1970s. Linda Ronstadt is 70 years old today and it seems a good time to reflect on just how massive her popularity once was, particularly in the 1970s. Her birthday is also a sad reminder that it’s three years since Ronstadt announced to the music world that she can no longer sing a…
So Long Frank Lloyd Pam! – Pam Corkery Leaves Newstalk ZB’s ‘The Two’
Not the finest headline, but it has a decent ring to it. On a flight to LA a couple of weeks ago I was in a bit of daze thinking about the sudden departure of my dear friend and co-host Pam Corkery from radio for a return to politics. I’d found out midday Friday that…
Linda Ronstadt Diagnosed With Parkinson’s – Beautiful Uncredited Duets With Art Garfunkel & Paul Simon
Linda Ronstadt, 1970s. A couple of weeks ago Linda Ronstadt (67) announced to the music world she can no longer sing a single note as result of Parkinson’s disease. Diagnosed late last year, the sad news has only just been made public. In thinking about it all, I realised there is a case to be…
The Genius Of Nile Rodgers – Collaborations With Daft Punk & Paul Simon
The biggest international hit of 2013, Get Lucky, is credited to “Daft Punk feat. Pharrell”, but it’s the rhythm guitarist with the dreads you see in the music video who really makes the song. If those scratchy rhythmic leads sound familiar it’s not just because they’re derivative of classic 70s disco and 80s dance music,…
Paul Simon Concert Review, Auckland 2013 – The Michael Jackson Song He May’ve Inspired
Paul Simon. Dare I say it, last night’s Paul Simon Vector Arena concert in Auckland was even better than Simon and Garfunkel’s show at the same venue in 2009. That concert was more rooted in glorious nostalgia, never more emblematic than when the lights silhouetted the two “old friends” and despite it being 40 years…
Paul Simon Live In Auckland Tonight – His Farewell Song To Art Garfunkel
My all-time favourite lyricist is in town tonight and I can’t wait. About 10 years ago I saw Art Garfunkel solo, in 2009 I saw Simon and Garfunkel together but tonight will be the first time I’ve ever seen a solo Paul Simon show. I say favourite lyricist because I don’t know of any other…
The Timeless Genius Of Paul Simon’s American Tune
Over the last couple of weeks, Pam Corkery and I (Newstalk ZB’s The Two) have been doing ZB’s weekday evening show and have loved bringing what we do (which is normally once a week on Sundays between 9pm-midnight) to an even wider audience. For us a hugely important part of our shows is the music, even…
Barry Gibb’s First Solo Tour – The Time The Bee Gees Did Simon & Garfunkel Better Than Simon & Garfunkel
With advance tickets to Barry Gibb’s first solo concert tour (Australia, February next year) having just gone on sale, I couldn’t not draw attention (yet again) to one of the lesser known treasures in the Gibb catalogue. The Mythology tour will be tinged with sadness with Barry coming to terms with the fact he is…
Paul Simon’s 70th Birthday – His 10 Greatest Songs
I’ve been listening to Paul Simon pretty much from day one, so being that he turned 70, I thought I’d compile a list of my 10 favourite songs from one of America’s greatest songwriters and in particular, lyricists. As a kid I remember the family driving around Kuala Lumpur in our big yellow Datsun van listening…