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Paul Simon: The Life [Deckle Edge], by Robert Hilburn

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Review

“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, generous and witty and so rich in detail. It’ll send you back to the music with all these soul-stirring stories still in your heart.” —Cameron Crowe “There are two great storytellers colliding here. There’s no tougher a mind, no more tender a voice than Paul Simon, and there’s no better man than Robert Hilburn to decipher the hardwiring of this hyperintellect. From the prologue I was sucked in, suckered into a sense that I too might discover the genetic code of some of the greatest songs of any century. By the epilogue, you realize the great songs can never be fully explained, but the great man on his way to find those songs surely can.” —Bono “When it comes to writing songs, no one does it better than Paul Simon. Robert Hilburn’s is a wise and winning account of our most nimble, nuanced, and numinous poet-musician.” —Paul Muldoon “A tantalizing look into the mind and writing process of the man who is arguably the finest craftsman of the American popular song since the Gershwin brothers, this book will delight any Paul Simon fan or student of popular culture.” —Linda RonstadtPRAISE FOR JOHNNY CASH: THE LIFE New York Times’ Michiko Kakutani’s 10 Favorite Books of 2013 An NPR, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year Clive Davis's Favorite Book of the Year in The Wall Street Journal’s 50 Notable People “A thorough and thoughtful portrait of the Man in Black and a deep appreciation of his artistry . . . Hilburn writes most powerfully about Cash’s trajectory as an artist. . . . His writing is as authoritative as it’s engaging when he’s discussing the singer-songwriter’s music.” —Michiko Kakutani, New York Times “An excellent biography . . . A story that’s both larger and more fascinating than the legend . . . Hilburn has created the definitive narrative of this ‘symbol of American honor, compassion and struggle.’ It’s a biography worthy of its subject.” —USA Today “The result of Hilburn’s wrestling with his subject’s life and with his own moral compass is perhaps the richest biography of a musician I have ever read, and one of the best biographies I have read, period. . . . Hilburn knows how to organize a life in print skillfully. . . . Hilburn is a first-rate stylist. His sentences often sing.” —Atlanta Journal Constitution “A comprehensive and thoughtful biography, cognizant always of how hard it is for heroes to make it in America . . . Hilburn does an artful, enviable job of reconciling all the facets [of Cash] . . . [and] writes with a remarkably steady hand. . . . Johnny Cash is measured and mindful, allowing of all the paradoxical bits that constitute a human life.” —Los Angeles Times “Hilburn’s Johnny Cash: The Life is the big biography Cash’s fans have been waiting for since the singer’s death in 2003 and Hilburn doesn’t let them down.” —Jeff Baker, The Oregonian “The ultimate Johnny Cash bio . . . Rock writer great Robert Hilburn goes deep.” —Rolling Stone “Do we really need another Johnny Cash book? Yes, we really do, as it turns out, because Johnny Cash is so very good. . . . Hilburn’s work is far and away the most insightful, entertaining, comprehensive, and well-told Cash biography to date.” —Slate “It's a rare gift to be given the opportunity to step far back from the confusing miasma of one's own childhood to see the entire soaring arc of a parent's life, and to be able to look clear-eyed at the puzzle of his character and the kaleidoscope of pain and beauty. This is the breathtaking gift Robert Hilburn has given me in a definitive biography of my father that is excruciatingly honest, rigorously researched, and has the depth and integrity that his subject demands. I had to take many breaks while reading this book to assimilate all the stories I knew, but had never put in a narrative context, being claustrophobically close to not only the events themselves but the resonance of those events. I felt dizzy from the sense of time travel and from the odd notion that Hilburn's masterful organization of the paradoxes and the fullness of who Johnny Cash was--and is--satisfies not only my father's family and fans, but himself as well. To those who fiercely cling to a one-dimensional view of my father to satisfy their own ideals--dark or light, saint or sinner, right or left--I challenge them to read this book and begin to understand a far, far more interesting and complex man: a truly great, visionary artist, a deeply flawed human being capable of experiencing inconceivable amounts of both love and pain, and a huge spirit who now belongs to the ages.” —Rosanne Cash

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About the Author

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. 

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Product details

Hardcover: 448 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Edition edition (May 8, 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1501112120

ISBN-13: 978-1501112126

Product Dimensions:

6.2 x 1.4 x 9.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.3 out of 5 stars

80 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#48,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Paul Simon: The Life, the long-anticipated Paul Simon biography by Robert Hilburn, is an extensive look at the life of the music legend. Take a look at Paul’s discography, and you might be surprised by how many hits and classics he has accumulated over the years. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t sing along with at least half of his most well-known songs, including The Sound of Silence, Homeward Bound, I Am a Rock, Red Rubber Ball, The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy), Mrs. Robinson, Cecelia, Bridge Over Troubled Water, The Boxer, Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard, Mother and Child Reunion, Kodachrome, Loves Me Like A Rock, Still Crazy After All These Years, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, Slip Slidin’ Away, Graceland and of course, You Can Call Me Al.Since it was first announced, it had been assumed that this book, written with Paul’s cooperation, would be the definitive account of his life up to now. If you’re a Paul Simon fan, you might have wondered who this Kathy was that captured Paul’s heart, or perhaps you were in Central Park for one of his history-making concerts. Maybe you listened to Graceland on repeat throughout your sophomore year of college. For fans such as these, this book should be satisfyingly complete. Hilburn examines Paul’s life with meticulous care and accuracy, offering a glimpse into what’s inspired and influenced his music through the years. If you are more than a casual fan, however, there’s a chance you’ll find the book disappointing. There are a few surprises and records set straight, but a devoted fan is likely to notice where things are omitted, glossed-over or repeated from previous books and articles.That said, Hilburn definitely did his homework and had access to the best sources possible. He interviewed Paul Simon himself for more than 100 hours (an experience which must have been fascinating) as well as Paul’s brother Eddie Simon, lifelong friend Bobby Susser, first wife Peggy Harper, second wife Carrie Fisher, record producer and engineer Roy Halee, manager Mort Lewis, close friend Lorne Michaels and a whole host of other friends, colleagues and collaborators. Hilburn even had access to Paul’s mother Belle’s unpublished reflections of her life and also spoke with people close to Paul’s first love, Kathy Chitty. There was really only one voice noticeably missing. Unfortunately it was probably one many people hoped to hear from. That voice, of course, would be that of Art Garfunkel.It’s a tricky situation. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are two names that naturally go together in the public consciousness, thanks to the enduring popularity of Simon and Garfunkel. These two childhood friends achieved musical success in the 1950s as teen rockers Tom and Jerry, but problems plagued their relationship early on. When the two eventually became one of the most famous and successful musical duos of all time, their names--for better or worse--became linked together forever. It has now been nearly fifty years since they went down their separate paths, but no matter how far apart they grow musically or how much they achieve as individual artists, they’ll likely always be compared to each other and the work they did as a duo. They’ll probably always be asked about and constantly reminded of each other. It’s almost not surprising that their relationship has appeared to have gone permanently sour. It’s not normal or healthy for any friendship to be subject to decades of public scrutiny--especially one with such intense feelings, strong personalities and as long of a history as theirs. Under this kind of scrutiny, the natural ups and downs of a private relationship through the years instead become a cycle of very public, very dramatic splits and reunions, with the press and public hanging on every word.Hilburn, to his credit, did speak with and attempt to interview Art. According to various articles and personal email correspondence I had with the author himself, Hilburn contacted Art a number of times and diplomatically promised to treat him with the same respect given Paul. Art eventually declined, saying he might have done an interview if the book focused on Simon and Garfunkel, but not if it was just about Paul Simon. This response, disappointing though it may be, is understandable. In a way, it’s gracious of Art to step aside and let Paul’s story be told without whatever grievances or differences might have come up had he done an interview. But with Art’s viewpoint absent, it’s obvious that there is a large part of the story that the reader isn’t getting. Hilburn makes the best of it. He fills in gaps with quotes by Art from previous articles and even Art’s own book, What Is It All But Luminous: Notes From An Underground Man. The result is a biography that leans somewhat toward Paul’s side of things, but not in an unfair way.Previous Paul Simon biographies by other authors were disappointing efforts, riddled with errors and inaccuracies. With this book, however, Hilburn had the advantage of working with Paul directly and there are very few things that were noticeably wrong (or at least not quite right)--obvious things like photo 17 in Insert One, which is said to be Paul and his brother Eddie in the 1970s, but is clearly from the 60s. A few details are unfortunately omitted that might have colored the story here and there and there was at least one quote that wasn’t quite accurate to what was actually said. Hilburn’s high level of professionalism keeps little things like these to a minimum, however.As far as new information goes, there wasn’t much revealed by this book that hadn’t been known before. The book leans heavily on various articles from publications such as Rolling Stone, SongTalk and an especially candid interview Paul did with Tony Schwartz for Playboy, published in February 1984. The book does do a great job of digging into Paul’s songwriting method and his thought process. Some select songs are examined in-depth, and it’s always a treat to hear Paul talk at length about what’s behind a song or lyric.Paul certainly has to be pleased with the final product. Hilburn tread carefully with his subject, and you can sense the affection and admiration he has for Paul throughout the book. Although it is stated that Paul didn’t have editorial control, you can tell that Hilburn knew Paul well enough to know exactly what subjects to press back on and which to leave out or gloss over. Are there things in there that Paul would probably rather not have people know? Sure. But it’s nothing scandalous or outrageous. The whole thing is rather complimentary, actually. Few are likely to finish this book thinking less of Paul.That said, my general feeling when I was done with the book was mild disappointment. The book was good. Paul is an OK guy. So why did I feel so down afterward? Why did I put away the Simon and Garfunkel records I had hanging on the wall? Why did I avoid his music for a while after I read it? The answer probably lies in the bittersweet nature of the story. Paul struggled, not just with others, his work or the industry, but also with himself. He suffered from depression and insecurity. There’s a lot of troubled water under the bridge. Add to that the realization that Paul and Art’s story is not likely to have a happy ending. No one expects them to ever be best friends again, but the fact that they are currently farther apart than they ever have been is rather sad. And it has to be said--Art’s role in Paul’s life is minimalized here. If you like to think of Simon and Garfunkel as two people that made music through some kind of extraordinary, magical connection, be prepared to lose that magic.That’s perhaps the most disappointing thing about the book--the lack of feeling, of emotion. It’s there, but it’s presented in stark light. It’s amazing that someone like Paul, who is able to express deep sensitivity and empathy in song, comes across as distant and guarded as he does. After a lifetime of putting up walls, he has begun to resemble the rock he wrote about so long ago. Although Hilburn does his best to show warmth where he can, the book ultimately depicts Paul’s life much like a black and white photograph would. It’s accurate, sharp and interesting, but something’s missing. It’s lacking the color. It’s lacking the sentiment and vibrancy of Paul’s life. In many ways, it’s really the opposite of Art’s autobiographical-ish book. If this book is a black and white photograph, Art’s book is paint splattered randomly on canvas. Both can be appreciated, but wouldn’t it be nice to have something somewhere in the middle?In the end I’m giving the book five stars. It achieved exactly what it set out to do. It’s accurate, well-written and satisfying. It might not have been as thorough as I would have liked, but I’m not an average Paul Simon fan. It could have benefited from a little more feeling, as I stated previously. The book itself is beautiful, with a high-quality photograph on the cover and deckled page edges. The pictures included are of somewhat disappointing quality, however, and are weirdly random. Paul Simon: The Life is definitely worth getting your hands on, especially if you have tickets for Paul’s farewell tour this summer, and you want to know more about the man behind all those great songs.

I previously had panned the similarly named but grossly inferior "Paul Simon: A Life" by Marc Eliot, which earned one star for being sloppy, poorly researched, and for having included laughably poor analyses of songs and lyrics. Robert Hilburn's effort is vastly better. Cleanly written, and compiled with the participation not only of Simon but also third parties of quality and credible stature, "Paul Simon: The Life" is an easy and enjoyable read. It comes across as open and fair, without undue deference paid to the subject. Simon has taken abuse from a few detractors over the years and to his credit has generally avoided getting into the mud himself, so it's good to have an objective eye like Hilburn giving proper perspective. In other words, if you're looking for tabloid trash this isn't really the place.If I can fault the book and take away a star, it is for being perhaps too short, and for not making any significant attempt at providing background and context for each (or at least the major) songs in the Simon canon. To be fair that would be an enormous task in its own right that could perhaps be undertaken only by Simon himself. Perhaps once he completes his farewell tour he might put that on his to-do list. If so, we would all be the richer for it.I would have enjoyed a contribution from Garfunkel but evidently he was not willing to participate in this project. Based on what Garfunkel wrote in his own book and in an interview, Art has been holding a grudge for well over a half century based on an incident that happened when they were teens. Frankly, that's sad and pathetic. Garfunkel states that he "never forgets, and never forgives", not exactly the state of mind of one who considers himself "luminous". Simon's transgression was that he took the advice of his father and his then manager to try some solo recordings (prior to the S&G phenomenon that would come a few years later), because "Tom and Jerry" were dead in the water as an act. They had no traction following their one and only modest regional hit. Nothing wrong with Paul trying some solo songs, although it probably would have been better form to let Garfunkel know it was happening. That's fair enough, but come on Artie, he was a 15 year old kid taking advice from his dad. Time to get over this slight from over 60 years ago!As hurtful as that might have been at the time to Garfunkel's teen sensitivities, certainly over the decades it should have been eclipsed by the enormous fame, success, and wealth he has enjoyed through his long life, thanks to his partnership with Simon. Let's face it: great singers are a dime a dozen, and Garfunkel likely never would have been anything but maybe a math teacher or struggling architect if he hadn't hooked on with the relentless meteor that was Simon's talents, expertise, and ambition. Maybe Art would have gotten gigs as a lounge singer or on a cruise ship, but in the age of rock and roll you need more than just a voice to have success. You need to be able to write, or play instruments, or have some other impactful hook.In any case, while unfortunate, Garfunkel's lack of participation in this book is not the fault of the author, and does not detract from his work. I give Hilburn a solid four stars.

When you think about rock star, you don't think Simon. Some may dismiss it as not looking the part. If fact, he transcended labels.Hilburn writes: "If you consider only the songs he wrote in the 60s Simon would be on the list of great american songwriters. If you considered only the songs he wrote in the 70s, he would also be on that list. If you considered the 80s or 90s, he would still be viewed as one of the greats. When you put all these periods together, Simon isn't just on the short list, he's high on it."Indeed, if you've missed the last 3 albums, you've missed the best of his career.After the five years of Simon and garfunkel, he just kept going where the music led, and those of us who were lucky to stay caught up, were enriched.An LA Times critic wrote: "Paul Simon really is the godfather of world music. Dylan had the prophet's vision, yet it was Simon who looked beyond the music of his own country and found a way to utilize styles from all over the world in a way that made them palatable to rock audiences.More than any other musician of his age or stature - more than Dylan or Aretha Franklin, or Jagger,more than McCartney or Joni Mitchell - he seems unburdened by the years, and by his own reputation. He has managed to become neither a wizened oracle nor an oldies act, and his best songs convey the appealing sensation of listening to a guy who is still trying to figure out what he's doing.Hilburn choses his topics based on the music that will endure. Simon from Sounds of Silence to Stranger to Stranger, will endure.

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