Me And Paul Down By The Schoolyard

My life has been filled with Paul Simon.

As a kid, my parents played me one of two cassettes on car trips: Raffi, and Paul Simon’s Graceland. When we lived in Nebraska and my dad preached at a tiny church an hour and a half away, more often than not our return trips would feature Graceland as their soundtrack (that or “A Prairie Home Companion”).

And while my musical tastes grew and expanded over the years, I always loved Paul – especially that magnificent, beautiful, nostalgic whirlwind of African and pop music that is Graceland. I love that album. If you don’t know its story (how Paul worked with black South African musicians despite anti-apartheid sanctions from the U.S. government), you should. The album is a living history of that era that transcends the actual music.

Every song is a masterpiece, from the lyrically wonderful road-and-God-anthem “Graceland”, to the exquisite African harmonies of the a cappella “Homeless”, to the Tex-Mex, Los Lobos collaboration “All Around The World”. And who could forget the upbeat yet lonely “You Can Call Me Al”? (Click the link to see the hilarious music video featuring Chevy Chase.) There is absolutely nothing wrong with this album (except for, maybe, the slightly annoying “I Know What I Know”…), which is why it won a Grammy. And I have my parents to thank – especially my dad – for making sure I’ve loved this album, and this songwriter, ever since I was a kid.