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HERE'S THE THING - 8. PAUL SIMON (320kbs-m4a/111mb/49mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 12th April 2021
Alec Baldwin delves into the life of the singer-songwriter, Paul Simon, from middle-class Jewish roots to global megastardom.
Paul Simon is one of the great American entertainers, a mantle he's worn since he started singing harmony with grade-school friend Art Garfunkel in a duo called Tom & Jerry. In the following six decades, Simon wrote dozens of classic songs. His partnership produced numerous hits like "The Sound of Silence," "America," and "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
Simon's solo career has been equally fruitful, as an engine of eclectic pop music (the gospel of "Loves Me Like a Rock," or the imported reggae of "Mother and Child Reunion"), and also as an ambassador of global sounds (the 1986 album Graceland, and 1990's The Rhythm of the Saints). He talks to Alec about how he has and hasn't changed after all these years.
Here's the Thing has its roots in public radio. In 2009, Alec joined with producers Lu Olkowski, Trey Kay, Kathie Russo, and Emily Botein to find fresh ways to engage in conversation on the radio. The group developed the idea of a new show that at its heart would look at what makes interesting people tick and create a platform for new and emerging ideas to be presented.
From WNYC Studios, New York. First heard in the USA in 2015.
THE FIRST TIME WITH... PAUL SIMON (320kbs-m4a/129mb/56mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 22nd February 2018
Paul Simon shares his musical milestones with Matt Everitt in a programme first broadcast in 2016.
Paul Simon remains one of the most acclaimed and popular songwriters of all time. His first recording was released in 1958, but these days he rarely puts his craft under the spotlight and often avoids discussing his extraordinary back catalogue. However, in this special edition of The First Time, recorded in the lead-up to the release of his acclaimed album Stranger to Stranger, Paul discusses the songs (both his own and those by his heroes) that changed his life.
Paul remembers a childhood obsessed with "baseball, girls and rock 'n' roll", first meeting with Art Garfunkel, his time in the UK as part of the burgeoning and inspiring ealy '60s folk scene and the stories behind the writing and recording of some of Simon & Garfunkel's biggest songs.
He also discusses his approach to songwriting, the impact the phenomenal global and cultural success of his album Graceland had, and the making of the Stranger to Stranger album.
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson
Paul Simon - Late in the Evening (Warner Bros)
The Crows - Gee
Nat King Cole - Too Young
Johnny Ace - Pledging My Love
Tom & Jerry - True Or False
Julius La Rosa - Anywhere I Wander
Anne Briggs - My Bonny Boy
Paul Simon - I Am A Rock
Little Walter - My Babe
The Swan Silvertones - Oh Mary Don't You Weep
The Everly Brothers - Long Time Gone
Aretha Franklin - Bridge Over Troubled Water
Paul Simon - Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard (Warner Bros)
Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer (Columbia)
Simon & Garfunkel - So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright (Columbia)
Simon & Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy In New York (Columbia)
Simon & Garfunkel - Cecilia (Columbia)
Paul Simon - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (Warner Bros)
Paul Simon - The Boy In The Bubble (Warner Bros)
Paul Simon - The Werewolf
Ensemble Of The Bulgarian Republic - Polegnala E Todora (Theodora Is Dozing)
Elvis Presley - Mystery Train (RCA)
YOU CAN CALL ME PAUL: JOHNNIE WALKER MEETS PAUL SIMON (320kbs-m4a/137mb/60mins)
BBC Radio 6 Music broadcast: 26th December 2017
Beth Ditto continues her Wise Women curation with a programme first broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2011 in which Paul Simon talks to Johnnie Walker about his long career in music.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel first troubled the charts in 1957 with their pop hit Hey Schoolgirl, released under the moniker Tom & Jerry. Johnnie finds out how, at nearly 16 years old, Paul Simon found himself performing for Dick Clark on the hit TV show American Bandstand. The singer-songwriter went on to pen pop standards such as Bridge Over Troubled Water, Mrs Robinson and You Can Call Me Al. He was selected by Time Magazine as one of the "100 People Who Shaped The World".
Simon talks openly about his relationship with his father, his time in the UK during the 60s, his work with Art Garfunkel, his immense solo success, and the writing of his album So Beautiful Or So What.
The pair bond over the importance of family and Paul's long-lasting love affair with rhythm and song-writing, during an interview which was recorded in Norwalk, Connecticut during rehearsals for Paul's 2011 tour.
Paul Simon - Getting Ready For Christmas Day [Hear Music]
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
Elvis Presley - Mystery Train
The Mystics - All Through The Night
Tom & Jerry - Hey School Girl
Tico & The Triumphs - The Lone Teen Ranger
The Cosines - Just To Be With You
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound Of Silence [Columbia]
Paul Simon - A Most Peculiar Man
Paul Simon - The Afterlife
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson [Columbia]
Paul Simon - Dazzling Blue
Paul Simon - Love And Hard Times
Paul Simon - St. Judy's Comet
Paul Simon - Father and Daughter
Paul Simon - Love And Blessings
Paul Simon - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover [Warner Bros]
Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What
Paul Simon - Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes [Warner Bros]
Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al
Paul Simon - Rewrite
Paul Simon - The Sound Of Silence
Paul Simon - Questions For The Angels
Paul Simon - American Tune [Warner Bros]
Paul Simon - Born At The Right Time [Warner Bros]