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 has written dozens of classic songs. His partnership with Garfunkel produced numerous hits like “The Sound of Silence,” “America,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” And 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 albumGraceland, and 1990’s The Rhythm of the Saints). He talks to host Alec Baldwin about how he has—and hasn’t—changed after all these years.
