Here's The Thing - 8. Paul Simon

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.