Paul Simon

Widely regarded one of America's finest poets and songwriters, Paul Simon continues to make inspired music for a vast audience of fans and critics, in an acclaimed career that began in the 1950s. Now on tour, Simon recently performed at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia. Hear the full show.

Simon is one of music's most venerated icons: His career started 50 years ago, when he and Art Garfunkel and began writing pop songs tinged with folk, rock and world music. As a solo act, Simon has found critical and commercial success with the likes of Graceland and the recent Surprise.

Last inning. Bases loaded. Down by two. For songwriter Maia Sharp, Paul Simon's jaunty tune instantly recalls one childhood summer when she stepped to the plate in a baseball game — as the only girl on the team — and came through in the clutch.

Singer-songwriter Paul Simon, recipient of the first Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, began his career in 1964 as half of the '60s folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, delivering classics like "The Sound of Silence" and "Mrs. Robinson." He went on to a successful solo career, wrote film soundtracks and Broadway shows, and has even done some acting. This interview first aired on Dec. 11, 2000.

For Paul Simon, the songwriting process often proceeds "backward." The singer-songwriter explains what that means — and how it affects his new Surprise, a collaboration with electronic-music pioneer Brian Eno.

Simon and Garfunkel made some of the most memorable music of the 1960s and '70s. They are back together on tour, performing old favorites and a new song. On Weekend Edition Saturday, NPR's Scott Simon conducts a rare interview with the musical duo.

Last inning. Bases loaded. Down by two. For songwriter Maia Sharp, Paul Simon's jaunty tune instantly recalls one childhood summer when she stepped to the plate in a baseball game — as the only girl on the team — and came through in the clutch.

With each beautiful and jarring chord change, Paul Simon and unlikely collaborator Brian Eno evoke raging rivers metaphorical and literal. It's easy to imagine this song — one of his best — carrying on for hours, an index of torments natural and manmade.

Paul Simon's landmark 1986 album Graceland represents a fusion of Simon's American songcraft and South African music. When the album first came out, it was praised as groundbreaking and criticized as colonialist. Today, the former opinion prevails. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports.

With each beautiful and jarring chord change, Paul Simon and unlikely collaborator Brian Eno evoke raging rivers metaphorical and literal. It's easy to imagine this song — one of his best — carrying on for hours, an index of torments natural and manmade.