paul simon playboy interview

paul simon – 1984 playboy interview small black beetles: the overkill
Playboy: How did you get on American Bandstand?
Simon: Well, Sid probably paid off for that too. We were
pretty big in the neighborhood after American Bandstand.
The record was top ten in New York City. So, yeah, we
were quite a big deal. We made about $2000 each. That
was nice. I was able to buy a car, put money away. By
the time I was 15, I was essentially independent. But
nobody thought anything was going to come of it, and
nothing did. We put out three or four records, and they
were all flops. Then I started working for music publishers,
making demos. I'd be paid $25 for singing a song for an
hour in the studio. And I'd get three or four demos a week.
That's really how I learned to be a recording artist: how to
stand in front of a microphone, sing background parts, learn
about control room, mike technique, how musicians
treated one another. My father always had a great
respect for musicians, and he passed that on to me. I've
always been at home with musicians. I have this attitude
of semireverence. They're all my father. Artie's father was a
traveling salesman, and he has very pleasant memories of
trips he took. And now he likes to travel.
Playboy: After Tom and Jerry flops, did you and Garfunkel
stop singing?
Simon: Well, there is a significant thing here that I
purposely refrained from mentioning, which is that
during this time we were singing together, I made a solo
record. And it made Artie very unhappy. He looked upon
it as something of a betrayal. That sense of betrayal has
remained with him. That solo record that I made at the age
of 15 permanently colored our relationship. We were
talking about it recently and I said, "Artie, for Christ's sake, I
was 15 years old! How can you carry that betrayal for 25
years? Even if I was wrong, I was just a 15-year-old kid who
wanted to be Elvis Presley for one moment instead of
being the Everly Brothers with you. Even if you were hurt,
let's drop it." But he won't.
Playboy: Why not?
Simon: He said, "You're still the same guy." And I think he
thinks I am.
page 24