Paul Simon Reveals The Songs He Dislikes In His Own Career

Legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon is revisiting his vast musical treasure trove. After a successful career that began with Art Garfunkel in the iconic Simon & Garfunkel duo, Simon has offered a surprising glimpse into his songwriting preferences.

In a recent interview, he not only disclosed his seven all-time favorite songs from his impressive catalog, but also shed light on a lesser-known track that fails to resonate with him as much as the others. 

Paul Simon reflects on his career on The Late Show

Simon is reminiscing about his illustrious music career in anticipation of the upcoming documentary series, In Restless Dreams, which premieres on MGM+ on March 17th. To promote the documentary’s release, Simon made an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on March 14th.

During the interview, Simon offered insightful reflections on his musical journey. Colbert also dedicated a good portion of the show to celebrating Simon’s achievements. The conversation lasted for a full half hour, giving fans a chance to hear from the music icon himself.

To conclude the show, Simon performed “Your Forgiveness,” a song from his latest album, Seven Psalms.

His song selection surprises

In the said interview, Simon revealed his favorite songs from his extensive catalog. While discussing his career with Simon & Garfunkel, he chose two classics: “The Sound of Silence” and “The Boxer”. However, the majority of his picks leaned toward his solo work.

Songs like the upbeat “Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard”, the global sounds of “Graceland”, the catchy “Mother and Child Reunion”, the smooth “Late In The Evening”, and the enduring love song “Still Crazy After All These Years” all made the cut.

Interestingly, Simon also discussed a song he strongly dislikes. When the conversation turned to Simon & Garfunkel’s “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)”, his feelings were far from warm.

He expressed his disdain for the track, even revealing a past punishment tactic: “I loathe that song. Sometimes in shows, if I made an error in some other song, I would sing that song as punishment”. His aversion seems particularly strong towards the line “Life, I love you, all is groovy.”

Paul’s hearing recovery news at documentary premiere

On March 13th, Colbert also joined Paul Simon for a conversation at the DGA New York Theater to celebrate the premiere of In Restless Dreams. During the event, Simon addressed his recent struggles with hearing loss, offering some positive news.

He revealed that he’s made significant progress in managing the condition. According to People magazine, Simon stated, “I can hear my voice the way I want it in the context of the music.”

This improvement allows him to feel “comfortable singing and playing guitar and playing a few other instruments” again.

However,  the road to recovery hasn’t been entirely smooth. He described the initial stages of hearing loss as disorienting, explaining, “Everything was coming from this side.”

Hearing struggles and performance hiatus

Last year, Simon’s world was shaken by a sudden and unexplained hearing loss. In an interview with The Sunday Times, he revealed, “Quite suddenly I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it.” This unexpected development threw a wrench into his plans, as he described, “So everything became more difficult.”

Understandably, his initial reaction was one of frustration and annoyance, holding onto a sliver of hope that the issue would be temporary.

Thankfully, recent news suggests some improvement. His appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is a testament to that. However, despite this progress, touring remains out of the picture for now. 

Simon has chosen to step back from the road,  leaving fans to enjoy his music through recordings and documentaries like the upcoming In Restless Dreams.