A funny story about him: We were living in Virginia in 1992 and Ray Charles was going to perform at Wolf Trap. So we bought tickets and went to see him. There was a warmup band that went on for some time and everyone was getting restless. Charles was in his 60s at that point and nobody knew what to expect.
He finally shuffled out onto the stage, looking somewhat confused, and wandered over to the piano. He sat slumped there for a few moments and I’m sure everyone was thinking “Oh shit.” He hit a few tentative chords and then launched into a killer rendition of “What’d I Say”. The dude fooled us all.
I saw his performance with Colbert, and he did struggle a bit with the high notes (as you would expect a man of his age to do) but I wasn’t especially bothered. He hit most of the notes. His sit-down with Colbert was witty and engaging.
Simon has always struck me as a man of integrity, and I don’t think he would launch a tour if he didn’t feel he could give his fans a good performance. And I think his fans will go in with realistic expectations. No one should expect a performer at 84 will sound like he did 60 years ago.
I think he said his tour is starting in Prague. A world tour is grueling for a younger performer, but I wish him well if he feels he’s up to it. It will undoubtedly be his last. I wish I could see him, but as a retiree on a limited income, my concert going days are behind me.
Eh, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos disagrees. Simon has always had a reputation of occasionally being an arrogant jerk, which is one thing. Lots of artists, like his buddy Chevy Chase, can be touchy. But the stuff around the making of Graceland is a step further into the bit hinky.
A few years ago I read an online message board where some young putz was complaining about a Brian Wilson concert. (His voice is shot, half of the vocals are covered by backup singers, etc); I was one of the people who pointed out that we were there to see and hear a living legend and to honor who he was.
I’m sure this is true for many people going to see Paul Simon.
Well yeah, that’s true. And I’ve heard some unsavory stories about Graceland. Perhaps “integrity” was a poor word choice. “Professional pride” might have been closer. At this point in his life, I don’t think he would want to risk his music, his legacy, being sullied by poor, cash-grab performances that leave audiences feeling ripped-off. But then, who am I to know what the man is thinking?
I saw the Rolling Stones play a couple years ago in Chicago and I can say Mick Jagger must’ve made a deal with the Devil. At 78/79(?) he was bouncing around and doing his thing. Maybe not the Mick of the 70s but still amazing. Keith Richards was jamming as good as ever but he looked like a walking corpse.
And speaking of “bouncing around and doing his thing”, Mick Jagger got engaged to his current girlfriend at 81. They haven’t gotten married yet. He has eight children, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. His youngest child is nine.
Alice Cooper is 78. I haven’t seen him in the last couple years, but the last time I attended one of his concerts (I think he would have been around 75 at the time) he amazed me with his vitality. He was jumping around the stage like a guy half his age. He doesn’t do drugs and I don’t think he even drinks anymore, so he’s either mainlining energy drinks or it’s all him. Either way, it’s impressive.
Alice Cooper as a person is not the person you saw on stage. Amazingly chill guy. Golfer. Great, great friends with Glen Campbell and considered Campbell one of the best guitarists in the world (I agree).
Not what you would expect from the Alice Cooper on stage. Pretty cool.
I met him once, when we did a VIP backstage thing. He was very nice and gracious, and as you said, surprisingly chill. It was kinda funny, because the VIP thing was my birthday present, but my spouse, who’s a Christian, ended up spending more time discussing Christian stuff with Alice than I did discussing rock music. It was fun to watch, the way they connected.
What I find interesting about Simon touring again is that I saw him perform in 2018, on what he billed as the Farewell Tour. At the announcement of that tour, he publicly stated that he was going to retire from touring, with not enjoying being away from home and family, and the death of his longtime guitarist, as factors making him want to stop touring (though he was not ruling out occasional live performances after the tour).
Clearly, he’s changed his mind about that. He sounded very good (if older) in 2018, though that was eight years ago now.
What I see as an outstanding part of Simon’s influence is that all of his progeny are musicians. They could have chosen other careers that have other benefits yet each decided to become a musician.
He was about 75 then, and when he entered the stage, he was noticeably bent forward as he walked, as if his saxophone was too heavy for him and he was about to trip and fall.
But the second he put the mouthpiece between his lips, he blew us all away.
It was one of the most amazing concerts I’ve been to.
I will always love his albums up to Graceland although his subsequent output leaves me cold. That said, the Graceland “allegations” of plagiarism apply throughout his earlier years as well. And his biography doesn’t paint a flattering picture of his treatment of other people, most notably Art Garfunkel.
He’s in his 90s now and retired. We got to see him play with Wynton Marsalis in a tent arena on the National Mall when Clinton was first elected. They did a New Orleans 2nd line piece in honor of Dizzy Gillespie.
Everything I’ve read about both of them over the years indicates that they are both extremely difficult and egotistical (if highly talented) people, who have harbored tremendous resentment and envy towards each other since they were “Tom & Jerry” in the 1950s. They made exceptional music together, at the times when they could set aside (or work past) their antagonistic relationship. They’re kind of the textbook definition of “frenemies.”
Sigh. Even when I came of age in the 1970s, and my peers were all enthralled by The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, CSN&Y, etc. etc., I was indifferent to most popular music (in fact I have something of an active dislike for The Stones and Bob Dylan - please don’t kill me).
But Paul Simon - well, that was a different story. I couldn’t get enough of his music.
I’d long heard he was an asshole, and chalked it up to him being just another temperamental artist, kind of an arrogant jerk perhaps but within normal bounds of jerkitude. So that Steve Berlin story is depressing.
(I don’t listen to much music from that era now, mostly just James Taylor. Please don’t tell me he’s an asshole too.)