There’s one thing that constantly annoys me, a musical celebrity dies and the the Spill and all the the other blogs and music sources go into ‘grief mode’, there’s appreciative columns by the foot and playlists galore but what good does all that do for the artist? How about if we were to appreciate our musical hero’s whilst they were still with us? Let them know just how much they are appreciated?
Today it was announced that Paul Simon was retiring from touring, he’s still looking great but he’s now 76 and maybe that’s a good time to hang it up.
His fame and commercial success began as half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, which was formed in 1964 with Art Garfunkel, that’s over a half century ago. He was responsible for writing nearly all of the pair’s songs, including three that reached No. 1 on the U.S. singles charts: “The Sound of Silence”, “Mrs. Robinson”, and “Bridge over Troubled Water”.
In 1986, he released Graceland, an album inspired by South African township music, which sold 14 million copies worldwide on its release and remains his most popular solo work, to my mind one of the great albums of the century and there were many more, all of which I’ve collected over the years.
So before he departs I’d like to salute one of my musical hero’s, Paul Simon, he’s provided me with more musical joy than most over the years, here’s a playlist of some of my favorite Paul Simon songs.

Still Crazy After All These Years
The Dangling Conversation
Peace Like A River
The Sound Of Silence
Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard
A Hazy Shade Of Winter
America
Mrs. Robinson
The Boxer
Under African Skies
American Tune
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Mother And Child Reunion
Graceland
Bookends Theme