1986

1987

1988

1989

Albert Mazibuko, Paul Simon and Joseph Shabalala at a news conference announcing the release of Simon's 'Graceland'

album in New York City on August 25, 1986. Mazibuko and Shabalala are members of the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who back Simon on the recording.

Paul Simon and LL Cool J at the Queens

Me and Julio Paul Simon with Mickey Mantle (1988)

OPRAH WINFREY, PAUL SIMON ET QUINCY JONES. MICHAEL FERGUSON

Interview NY 1986

Paul Simon & Lady Smith Black Mambazo and Harper

Interview BBC

BBC Breakfast Time

In this interview, Paul Simon discusses the background and meaning of his newly released album Graceland, focusing on its musical origins, political controversy, and personal motivation.

Simon explains that Graceland began as a search for new musical inspiration after a period of creative stagnation. He describes being drawn to South African music because of its rhythmic complexity and emotional openness. Rather than approaching the project with a political agenda, he says his primary goal was artistic collaboration.

A central topic of the interview is the controversy surrounding the cultural boycott of South Africa during apartheid. Simon acknowledges that some critics accused him of breaking the boycott by recording with South African musicians. He responds by stating that the musicians he worked with were independent artists, not representatives of the apartheid government, and that they were paid fairly and fully credited. He emphasizes that the music was recorded in a way that respected and highlighted the musicians’ contributions, rather than exploiting them.

Simon stresses that he did not intend to undermine the boycott or support the apartheid regime. On the contrary, he argues that cultural exchange can sometimes build understanding rather than reinforce oppression. He also notes that he consulted with anti-apartheid figures and believed the project would ultimately benefit the artists involved by giving them international exposure.

Musically, Simon describes Graceland as a fusion of American songwriting and African musical traditions, blending Zulu vocal harmonies, township rhythms, and Western pop structures. He talks about how the collaboration changed his own songwriting, pushing him toward simpler, more rhythm-driven lyrics.

Toward the end of the interview, Simon reflects on the role of artists in political debates, suggesting that musicians should not be forced into rigid ideological positions. He maintains that his responsibility is to make honest work and to treat collaborators ethically.

Overall, the interview presents Paul Simon as thoughtful, defensive but calm, carefully explaining his choices while reaffirming his belief in music as a unifying force rather than a political weapon.

NBC Coca Cola Presents :

Live The Hard Rock

Paul Simon & John Mellencamp

singing : Dirty Old Town / Written On The Wind / The Boxer

BBC One

Omnibus

This episode of the BBC documentary series Omnibus (broadcast on 11 November 1988) is built as a moving portrait rather than a static studio sit-down. Mark Steyn interviews Paul Simon through a mix of conversation, returns to places from Simon’s youth, and musical illustrations (song excerpts and comments on writing and craft).

1) New York childhood: the “music switch” flips on

A large part of the program’s charm comes from Simon revisiting his teenage years in New York (Queens). He drives Steyn around his old neighborhood, pointing out his school and family home, and reconnecting those locations to the moment his musical taste began to take shape (doo-wop, early rock’n’roll, gospel).

Memorable anecdote: hearing Elvis for the first time

Simon tells a very specific story about a formative first encounter with Elvis, locating it near a supermarket—a vivid “origin moment” that Steyn uses as a springboard into a broader discussion of what that music opened up for Simon.

2) Family influence and a “gospel ear”

Simon also talks about his father (presented as a band leader) and makes an evocative point about how he would sometimes stumble into rock/gospel on Sundays simply because that’s what would be on the radio. He links those early sounds to his own songwriting sensibility (the program connects this thread to songs like Love Me Like a Rock).

3) Meeting Art Garfunkel and the logic of the duo

The documentary returns to the early Simon & Garfunkel story: Simon recounts meeting Art Garfunkel in childhood, the formation of the duo identity, and how that partnership eventually fed into what came after the split.

4) After the split: solo work and the burden of being a “spokesman”

The portrait spans decades and frames Simon’s evolution from being treated—willingly or not—as a kind of voice for a young, alienated America, to a songwriter who becomes freer and more stylistically wide-ranging, drawing on different grooves, narratives, and musical traditions.

5) “Graceland,” Elvis, and turning a symbol into poetry

The Elvis thread returns as the program moves into “Graceland.” From an adolescent Elvis memory, it shifts into craft: Steyn highlights how Simon takes a place that can be viewed as flashy or kitschy and turns it into something melancholic and lyrical in the song Graceland—less monument, more elegy.

6) Music moments and workshop-style confidences

Alongside highlights from the catalogue (the episode is commonly associated with songs such as Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, Still Crazy After All These Years, Graceland, and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes), the format includes moments where Simon demonstrates what he’s talking about rather than only describing it.

Extra “workshop” anecdotes (from Steyn’s related archival clips about this portrait/interview):

• Simon plays what he calls the first song he ever wrote, in an unusually intimate moment.

• He picks up a guitar and demonstrates an original ska-leaning version of Mother and Child Reunion—a glimpse of the idea before the final arrangement.

• He mentions (with amusement) that Truman Capote once suggested a gay subtext in Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, a neat example of how songs take on lives of their own through interpretation.

14 jan

New York

SNL

Edie Brickel singing "Green"