Paul Simon - Robert Hilburn

Paul Simon

By Robert Hilburn

  • Release Date: 2018-05-08
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Score: 4
4
From 69 Ratings

Description

Acclaimed music writer Robert Hilburn’s “epic” and “definitive” (Rolling Stone) biography of music icon Paul Simon, written with Simon’s full participation—but without his editorial control—that “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 Hilburn—for more than one hundred hours of interviews—in 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 others—including ex-wives Carrie Fisher and Peggy Harper, who spoke for the first time—and 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 distractions—fame, marriage, divorce, drugs, record company interference, rejection, and insecurity—that have derailed so many great pop figures.

“As engaging as a lively American tune” (People), Paul Simon is a “straight-shooting tour de force…that 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).

Reviews

  • Enjoyable

    4
    By tinbucktwo
    Nice bio. Nifty anecdotal tales to boot.
  • Paul Simon drek

    1
    By Silverporsche
    This was the most boring biography ever. The writer had no idea how to leave out the useless information surrounding his life. It’s a swampland of turgid writing one had to wade through to mercifully get to the end.
  • Homage to A Genius

    5
    By Therealmemory
    It is a rare gift the world has been given in PAUL Simon. This loving tribute allows us to get as close to the man behind the awards, adulation, and arrogance—as he would allow. Simon’s contributions to our culture will continue to be discussed and analyzed forever, but it is enough, in this well-written compilation of his life and times, to have listened to Simon’s songs in the most private and intimate times of our own lives.

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