Paul’s Art and soul laid bare
PAUL SIMON: The Life HHHH by Robert Hilburn Simon & Schuster, £20
HELLO darkness, my old friend/I’ve come to talk with you again. This is the lyric that began it all. Simon & Garfunkel’s first hit song The Sound Of Silence was written by Paul Simon in 1964.
It followed a false start. Simon and Art Garfunkel formed a duo called Tom & Jerry and in 1957 their first single Hey Schoolgirl made a modest entry into the US charts, peaking at 49. But the pair were already trading off each other’s insecurities and jostling for pole position.
Garfunkel had the voice, Simon had the songwriting gift. And Garfunkel felt he had something else over his partner as he pointed out during an early photo session: “No matter what happens I’ll always be taller than you.”
Simon’s 5ft 3in height is just one source of early insecurity, according to biographer Robert Hilburn and Simon himself. Hilburn was given unprecedented access to the star after Simon read his Johnny Cash biography and he has delivered an extraordinary, thorough and revealing portrait of one of America’s greatest songwriters.
The songs tell their own story. The Sound Of Silence, The Boxer, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Cecilia, Graceland, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover: these are not just a collection of timeless tracks but the enduring results of an artistic journey that encompasses folk, rock, pop and world music.
The journey began in 1941 in Kew Garden Hills, Queens, New York, where Simon grew up with the competing passions of music and baseball. He met Arthur Garfunkel at the age of 13 when the pair took part in a school musical production of Alice In Wonderland. Simon played the White Rabbit while Garfunkel took the non-singing role of the Cheshire Cat.
Shortly afterwards they began singing together and the aforementioned Hey Schoolgirl was hugely influenced by the Everly Brothers.
Tom & Jerry split up in 1958. Five years later they got back together and the Simon & Garfunkel journey began. But constant squabbling meant the partnership lasted just six years.
The biography follows the chronological path of the music with each record reflecting Simon’s state of mind when he wrote the songs. Hilburn also wisely uses the songs to unpack Simon’s character as he is more fluent when speaking about his music than when talking about his personal life.
MOST of the observations about Simon the man come from others, including the late Carrie Fisher, Peggy Harper and his current wife Edie Brickell. Three marriages, a succession of girlfriends, various addictions, depression and a general air of restless melancholy contribute to a character who has used music to alleviate suffering and exorcise his demons as well as provide comfort and inspiration for himself and his audience.
Fascinating anecdotes and unexpected revelations abound. I loved the descriptions of Simon’s early days in London where he was embraced by
Brentwood Folk Club as well as the White Swan in Romford.
Hilburn captures the balance between his subject’s straight-talking, sometimes abrasive personality and his generosity to fellow artists. For example, the Reverend Claude Jeter, lead singer of the Swan Silvertones, came up with the line “I’ll be a bridge over deep water” and when Simon finally met him years later he “didn’t just thank him for his inspiration”, says a producer who was present. “He wrote him a cheque to show his appreciation – and I can tell you Jeter needed the money. After Paul left, Claude was so grateful he cried.”
HILBURN devotes several chapters to the recording of Simon’s ground-breaking album Graceland, recorded in South Africa in 1985 amid much controversy. There was a sharp division between vociferous anti-apartheid groups and South African musicians who saw it as a chance to become part of the mainstream music industry.
He also takes us through rare failures such as the 1980 movie One-Trick Pony and The Capeman, the Broadway musical he wrote with poet Derek Walcott in 1998.
But the overwhelming trajectory of the book is onwards and upwards, out of darkness and confusion into the light.
As an artist Simon has never looked back, never been content to rest on his laurels. He is an explorer and an adventurer because, to paraphrase a line from The Sound Of Silence, “talent like a flower grows”.