Paul Simon

Zusatztext 76176739 Informationen zum Autor Robert Hilburn was the chief pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times for more than three decades. Author of the bestselling biography Johnny Cash: The Life , which Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times selected as one of her top ten books of 2013, Hilburn has reported extensively on most of pop music's giants, including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and U2. He lives in Los Angeles. Klappentext Acclaimed music writer Robert Hilburn's epic and definitive ( Rolling Stone ) biography of music icon Paul Simon, written with Simon's full participationbut without his editorial controlthat reminds us how titanic this musician is ( The Washington Post ). For more than fifty years, Paul Simon has spoken to us in songs about alienation, doubt, resilience, and empathy in ways that have established him as one of the most beloved artists in American pop music history. Songs like The Sound of Silence, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Still Crazy After All These Years, and Graceland have moved beyond the sales charts and into our cultural consciousness. But Simon is a deeply private person who has said he will not write an autobiography or talk to biographers. Finally, however, he has opened up for Robert Hilburnfor more than one hundred hours of interviewsin this brilliant and entertaining portrait of Simon that will likely be the definitive biography ( Publishers Weekly , starred review). Over the course of three years, Hilburn conducted in-depth interviews with scores of Paul Simon's friends, family, colleagues, and othersincluding ex-wives Carrie Fisher and Peggy Harper, who spoke for the first timeand even penetrated the inner circle of Simon's long-reclusive muse, Kathy Chitty. The result is a deeply human account of the challenges and sacrifices of a life in music at the highest level. In the process, Hilburn documents Simon's search for artistry and his constant struggle to protect that artistry against distractionsfame, marriage, divorce, drugs, record company interference, rejection, and insecuritythat have derailed so many great pop figures. As engaging as a lively American tune ( People ), Paul Simon is a straight-shooting tour de forcethat does thorough justice to this American prophet and pop star ( USA TODAY , four out of four stars). Read it if you like Simon; read it if you want to discover how talent unfolds itself (Stephen King).Paul Simon PROLOGUE Ever since his debut on Saturday Night Live in 1975, Paul Simon looked forward to walking the narrow hallway to the stage at NBC Studios in Midtown Manhattan. Whether alone, or with Art Garfunkel, or with the high-stepping, show-stopping South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, he enjoyed the well-wishes of the cast and crew as he made the walktheir smiles, shouts of encouragement, and even pats on the back. This timethe night of September 29, 2001it was different. As soon as Simon stepped into the hallway, he saw a row of New York City firefighters and police officers, their heads bowed, still mourning the deaths of more than four hundred of their comrades in the World Trade Center terrorist assault eighteen days before. It made Simon wonder whether this tribute to the victims of the 9/11 attackssome nine thousand killed or woundedwasn't premature. Many in the SNL cast of comedians asked themselves the same question. Would people really be ready for jokes? Simon had already joined nearly two dozen musiciansincluding Bruce Springsteen and U2in performing on a September 21 telethon that was broadcast around the world and ...

ldquo;Epic . . . Definitive . . . Paul Simon offers unprecedented access into the private life of the singer-songwriter.”
—Rolling Stone

“Hilburn evokes the singer-songwriter here in all his melancholy and sweet-natured splendor. Stories of Simon’s hits and flops, insecurities, three marriages, perfectionist dad, and frenemy Art Garfunkel make the book as engaging as a lively American tune.”
—People magazine

“A straight-shooting tour de force . . . Like Simon, Hilburn’s passion is music, and he makes clear that Simon’s is very much a life in and of music—a drive for aesthetic achievement, deeply serious in the studio and onstage. . . . Hilburn does thorough justice to this American prophet and pop star.”
—USA Today (four stars out of four stars)

“Every now and then—rarely!—a book casts a little light on the creative development of a gifted artist. Paul Simon: The Life is one of those few. Read it if you like Simon; read it if you want to discover how talent unfolds itself.”
—Stephen King

“Absorbing . . . . Hilburn’s biography flows smoothly along on the river of his liquid prose. He excels at telling stories because he pays attention to details and facts, never overwhelming readers with the mundane, but always making sure that the stories rest on a solid foundation. . . . A sprawling, sparkling narrative of a songwriter who has shaped the canon of popular music with his inventive, sometimes playful, and discerning poetry.”
—No Depression

“Up-to-date and scrupulously researched . . . The timing is perfect . . . . I grew more sympathetic with Paul Simon the deeper I got into this book.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“Eloquent and comprehensive . . . Not only examines the personal life and professional career of the great American singer-songwriter, but also the artistic process at work.”
—The Globe and Mail

“*Paul Simon *is not an autobiography but it might as well be. . . . The result, happy to say, is the biography an artist like Paul Simon deserves; it takes its subject as seriously as Simon takes himself. . . . It is filled with more than enough anecdotes and factoids to please any fans.”
—The New York Journal of Books

“Thorough, balanced . . . Paul Simon reminds us how titanic this musician is.”
—The Washington Post

“Fans will relish reading the stories behind some of his most iconic tunes (he wrote "The Sound of Silence" with the lights out in his bathroom, mourning the assassination of JFK) and taking a deep dive into his remarkable career.”
—AARP Magazine

“Energetic and elegant . . . Hilburn’s brilliant and entertaining portrait of Simon will likely be the definitive biography.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“With train-wreck moments and tender interludes alike, a book that delivers a sharply detailed Kodachrome of a brilliant musician.”
—Kirkus Reviews

"Engrossing . . . Simon is revealed as sensitive yet tough, spontaneous yet controlled, as well as reflective, perceptive, and empathetic, but also judgmental, insecure, and extremely competitive. As a songwriter, he has earned a spot in the canon alongside Gershwin, Lennon-McCartney, and Dylan."
—Booklist

“In this detailed recounting of the life of Paul Simon, veteran biographer Robert Hilburn delivers a lively, eye-opening tale of the evolution of a doo-wop kid from Queens into an international musical phenomenon. Best of all, Hilburn’s telling runs at just the right pace as it brings us inside Simon’s personal life, as well as inside his music—often song by song—while illuminating Simon’s ingenious adaptations of music from all over the world.”
—Billy Collins

“Master storyteller and interviewer Robert Hilburn knows how to draw the best from an artist. The intimacy of these interviews gives Paul Simon: The Life the feel of Paul Simon’s best work, genero…