The great Paul Simon turns 71 years old today.

Ten Notes On Paul Simon

1. Paul Simon is only 5’3″ inches tall. He was born in Newark, New Jersey but grew up in New York City. He met his partner in Simon and Garfunkel -Art Garfunkel when they were 11 years old. They started singing together at age 13. When they were in their mid-teens they recorded a song called “Hey Schoolgirl” under the name Tom and Jerry. It hit #49 on the pop charts.

2. Paul Simon grew up a huge New York Yankees fan. He would later in his song “Mrs. Robinson” mention the great Joe DiMaggio. DiMaggio didn’t get the “where have you gone Joe DiMaggio” part. He would sing “Mrs. Robinson” at Yankee Stadium in the tribute they had to DiMaggio after his death. He also sang in “The Obvious Child” -“The cross is in the ballpark” He proposed to his second wife Carrie Fisher at a New York Yankee game.

3.Paul Simon has won 12 Grammy Awards. He is a two time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, with Simon and Garfunkel and as a solo artist. In 2006 Time Magazine named his as one of the “100 People Who Shaped The World” As of 2005 his songs have been  75,000,000 times.

4. Paul is not the most prolific recording artist. In the 40 years since he started his solo career he has only released ten albums. His last album was released in the spring of 2011 “So Beautiful or So What” which was his best album in the past twenty years in my opinion.

5. I think Paul’s most underapprecited album is 1983’s “Hearts and Bones” a very personal album. It got so-so reviews but it has some great songs on it in my opinion including one of my favourite Simon tunes “The Late Great Johnny Ace” Originally this was going to be a Simon and Garfunkel album but Paul decided against it and erased Artie’s vocals from it. They were tour at the time. I saw them at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. A great show.

6. Simon and Garfunkel recorded only 5ive albums together. Their recording career went from 1964-1970. The last two “Bookends” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” hit #1. There of their songs hit #1. “The Sound Of Silence” “Mrs. Robinson” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” As a solo artist he has had 1 #1 hit “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”

7. Paul has always regretted the decision he made to let Art Garfunkel sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water” He wishes the version of his singing it had been released.

8. Paul has been married three times, the third time to singer Edie Brickell has lasted 20 years. He is 24 years her senior. They have 3 children together.

9. Paul Simon has appeared on Saturday Night Live either as a host or musical guest 13 times.

10. Paul Simon’s biggest failure was when he wrote and produced a Broadway Musical “Capetown” which lost $11 million dollars during its 1998 run.