08/26/2026
“Graceland is my favorite record, my favorite song that I ever wrote,” Simon said in a feature on the album. “This is it! This is the best I ever did!”
Released in August of 1986, Graceland is considered by fans and critics as one of, if not the, high-water marks of Paul Simon’s career.
The now 40-year-old album followed a couple of releases that the public somewhat ignored. One-Trick Pony in 1980 and Hearts and Bones in 1983, which came on the heels of the mega-success of 1975’s Still Crazy After All These Years, had capped off phase one of his solo years. Simon needed to find a new path.
He did just that with Graceland, an album unlike any other he had created, drawing on influences as vast as South African music, gospel and zydeco, mixed together with pop and folk stylings. The end result was a multi-platinum, Top 5 album that went on to win Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the title song. Simon enlisted the talents of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Youssou N’Dour, the Boyoyo Boys and Los Lobos, as well as more familiar folks like Adrian Belew, the Everly Brothers and Linda Ronstadt, to lend sonic color and texture to the songs.
The album was not without controversy, however, as Paul was heavily criticized by the anti-apartheid movement, including fellow musicians. At the same time, members of the militant Azanian People’s Organization had spoken of calling for Simon to be assassinated. And then there’s the lengthy story of his alleged plagiarism of a Los Lobos song used on the album.
Despite that, the album remains a big favorite among his fans and has been held in the highest regard throughout its 40 years in the public ear. Revisit this milestone as we feature it on Thursday, Aug. 27, on Summit Essentials. - Dave Swanson
