Having just finished Robert Hilburn’s Paul Simon: The Life, I thought it time to collect my top five (or six) favorite songs from Art Gurfunkel’s shorter, and more prolific half.
The songs below are all from Simon’s post-Garfunkel career, so no fair asking why The Boxer or The Sound Of Silence aren’t included.
6. Getting Ready For Christmas Day. An irresistible song written around a Gospel sermon on the advent of Christ and the meaning of Christmas. Yes, Simon is Jewish, but then again, so was Jesus.
5. You Can Call Me Al. Best video ever. Plus, it has me looking for all those angels in the architecture.
4. The Cool, Cool River. An overlooked and underrated homage to the music-making process from 1991’s The Rhythm Of The Saints.
3. Graceland. Hilburn’s description of how and where Simon came up with the opening lyric for this put a lump in my throat.
2. Kodachrome. When I was 11, this was my ALL TIME FAVORITE SONG. It would often come on the radio when my dad was driving me to tennis tournaments in the summer of 1973. I would leap to attention each time. Apparently he was paying attention because he surprised me with the There Goes Rhymin’ Simon album (first song: Kodachrome) for my 12th birthday.
1.The Obvious Child. The cross is in the ballpark, after all.