Paul Simon: Top 100 Songs

Paul Simon Top 100 Songs

Pop/folk-rock singer/songwriter and guitarist Paul Simon was born 10/13/1941 in Newark, NJ. He was raised in Queens, NY. In the early part of his career, he recorded as Jerry Landis and Tico & the Triumphs and under his own name. In 1964, he paired with Art Garfunkel, with whom he'd recorded as Tom and Jerry in 1957. They recorded as the duo Simon & Garfunkel from 1964 to 1970, releasing five studio albums which all reached at least platinum status. 1968’s Bookends and 1970’s Bridge Over Troubled Water both reached #1. The latter also won the Grammy for Album of the Year. They reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 eight times. They reached #1 with the songs “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The latter two won Grammys for Record of the Year. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” also won the Grammy for Song of the Year. In 1972, Simon resumed his solo career again. Seven of his albums reached the top 10, including 1975’s Still Crazy After All These Years, which reached #1 and won the Grammy for Album of the Year. He took home the prize again in 1986 with Graceland. He reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 six times as a solo artist, including the #1 hit “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” He took home another Grammy for Record of the Year for “Graceland.” For a complete list of this act’s DMDB honors, check out the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry. Click here to see other acts’ best-of lists. Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcasts The Best of Simon & Garfunkel and The Best of Paul Simon (1972-2016) based on this list.

Awards (Simon & Garfunkel): Awards (Paul Simon solo):

Top 100 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists, appearances on compilations and live albums by the featured act, and songs’ chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs with Art Garfunkel are marked as “S&G.” DMDB Top 1%: 1. Bridge Over Troubled Water (S&G, 1970) 2. The Sound of Silence (S&G, 1965) 3. Mrs. Robinson (S&G, 1968) DMDB Top 2%: 4. The Boxer (S&G, 1969) 5. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (1975) 6. Scarborough Fair/Canticle (S&G, 1966) DMDB Top 5%: 7. Graceland (1986) 8. You Can Call Me Al (1986) 9. Homeward Bound (S&G, 1966) 10. Kodachrome (1973) 11. Cecilia (S&G, 1970) 12. Late in the Evening (1980) 13. I Am a Rock (S&G, 1966) 14. Mother and Child Reunion (1972) 15. What a Wonderful World (S&G with James Taylor, 1977) 16. Slip Slidin’ Away (1977) 17. Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) 18. Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (1972) 19. Loves Me Like a Rock (with Dixie Hummingbirds, 1973) 20. America (S&G, 1968) DMDB Top 10%: 21. El Condor Pasa (If I Could) (S&G, 1970) 22. The Boy in the Bubble (1986) 23. My Little Town (S&G, 1975) 24. A Hazy Shade of Winter (S&G, 1966) DMDB Top 20%: 25. The Obvious Child (1990) 26. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (1986) 27. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) (S&G, 1966) 28. Wake Up Little Susie (S&G, 1982) 29. American Tune (1973) 30. The Dangling Conversation (S&G, 1966) 31. Gone at Last (with Phoebe Snow, 1975) 32. Wristband (2016) 33. Duncan (1972) 34. Bye Bye Love (S&G, 1970) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 35. Father and Daughter (2002) 36. At the Zoo (S&G, 1967) 37. For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her (S&G, 1966) 38. Fakin’ It (S&G, 1967) 39. Allergies (1983) 40. One-Trick Pony (1980) 41. The Only Living Boy in New York (S&G, 1970) 42. Homeward Bound (live with George Harrison, 1990) 43. Homeless (1986) 44. 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night (S&G, 1966) 45. Hey Schoolgirl (S&G as Tom & Jerry, 1957) 46. Under African Skies (with Linda Ronstadt, 1986) 47. The Blues (with Randy Newman, 1982) 48. Rewrite (2011) 49. The Lone Teen Ranger (Paul Simon as Jerry Landis, 1963) 50. Motorcycle (Paul Simon as Tico & the Triumphs, 1962) 51. Take Me to the Mardi Gras (1973) 52. Something So Right (1973) 53. Stranded in a Limousine (1977) 54. Old (2000) 55. Getting Ready for Christmas Day (2010) 56. Think Too Much (1983) 57. The Afterlife (2011) 58. Outrageous (2006) 59. Go Tell It on the Mountain (S&G, 1964) 60. Hearts and Bones (1983) 61. Born in Puerto Rico (1997) 62. Crazy Love Part II (1986) 63. Graceland (Willie Nelson with Paul Simon, 1993) 64. Kathy’s Song (S&G, 1966) 65. Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War (1983) 66. Bookends Theme (S&G, 1968) 67. Born at the Right Time (1990) 68. Baby Driver (S&G, 1970) 69. I Know What I Know (1986) 70. Have a Good Time (1975) 71. The Boxer (Jerry Douglas with Mumford & Sons and Paul Simon, 2012) 72. Leaves That Are Green (S&G, 1966) 73. Bernadette (1997) 74. You’re the One (2000) 75. April Come She Will (S&G, 1966) 76. So Beautiful Or So What (2011) 77. Thelma (1993) 78. Keep the Customer Satisfied (S&G, 1970) 79. That’s Me (2006) 80. Proof (1990) 81. Late Great Johnny Ace (1983) 82. Oh Marion (1980) 83. New York Is My Home (with Dion, 2015) 84. Old Friends (S&G, 1968) 85. Song for the Asking (S&G, 1970) 86. Gumboots (1986) 87. Stranger to Stranger (2016) 88. You Don’t Know Where Your Interest Lies (S&G, 1967) 89. All Around the World OR The Myth of Fingerprints (with Los Lobos, 1986) 90. When Numbers Get Serious (1983) 91. One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor (1973) 92. That Was Your Mother (1986) 93. St. Judy’s Comet (1973) 94. Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (S&G, 1964) 95. Train in the Distance (1983) 96. The Cool, Cool River (1990) 97. Tenderness (1973) 98. Peace Like a River (1972) 99. Congratulations (1972) 100. Trailways Bus (1997) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Paul Simon DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Simon & Garfunkel Dave’s Music Database: “Acts’ Profile Pages and Best-of Lists” First posted 10/8/2023; last updated 10/13/2023.

Today in Music (1968): Simon & Garfunkel hit #1 with “Mrs. Robinson”

Mrs. Robinson Simon & Garfunkel

Writer(s): Paul Simon (see lyrics here) Released: April 5, 1968 First Charted: April 27, 1968 Peak: 13 US, 14 CB, 11 GR, 13 HR, 4 AC, 1 CL, 4 UK, 12 CN, 8 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 7.0 radio, 103.2 video, 515.93 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Mrs. Robinson” and its resulting soundtrack kickstarted an industry. Previously, getting kids to plop down cash for the mood-setting music of a movie “was considered absurd.” TB Ironically, though, that song was the only new cut amongst a collection of previously released Simon & Garfunkel songs. Even then, the version of “Mrs. Robinson” which is best known is not the one from the movie, but the more-fleshed out radio version available on S&G’s Bookends album. TB Director Mike Nichols tapped the famed folk duo to do music for his film The Graduate. The iconic film starred Dustin Hoffman as a young man seduced by his girlfriend’s mother (Mrs. Robinson – played by Anne Bancroft). However, while Paul Simon was working up new material, Nichols was temporarily filling those spots with the duo’s older songs. In the end, Nichols grew fond of the older material and only one new song made it into the film – “Mrs. Robinson.” FB The song began life as an instrumental and, at one time, was being written as “Mrs. Roosevelt”, seemingly about Eleanor Roosevelt. SF It was Art Garfunkel who suggested naming the song after Bancroft’s character. Simon then fleshed the song out to become an even broader commentary on American culture in the ‘60s, famously using baseball player Joe DiMaggio as a symbol of people searching for heroes. In a 1990 interview with SongTalk magazine, Simon said “it’s one of the most well-known lines that I’ve ever written.” SF Interestingly, the song would seem to have been a perfect candidate to win an Oscar for Best Song from a Movie, but S&G never filled out the forms necessary to have the song considered. SF Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 241. SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 102. Related Links: First posted 4/27/2012; updated 10/111/2023.