Lulu Simon

His mother, Belle (1910–2007), was an elementary-school teacher.

His father, Louis (1916–1995), a college professor of education at the City College of New York, was a double-bass player and dance bandleader who performed under the name Lee Sims.

In the 21st century, Simon continued to record and tour.

Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known both for his solo work and his collaboration with Art Garfunkel.

Simon was born on October 13, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey, to Hungarian-Jewish parents.

In 1945, his family moved to the Kew Gardens Hills section of Flushing, Queens, in New York City.

The musician Donald Fagen described Simon's childhood as that of "a certain kind of New York Jew, almost a stereotype really, to whom music and baseball are very important. I think it has to do with the parents. The parents are either immigrants or first-generation Americans who felt like outsiders, and assimilation was the key thought—they gravitated to black music and baseball, looking for an alternative culture."

Simon said Fagen's description was not far from the truth.

Simon played baseball and stickball as a child.

He described his father as funny and smart, but said he worked late and did not see his children much.

Simon met Art Garfunkel when they were both aged 10.

They performed in a production of Alice in Wonderland for their sixth-grade graduation, and began singing together when they were 13, occasionally performing at school dances.

At the age of 12 or 13 Simon wrote his first song, "The Girl for Me", for him and Art Garfunkel to perform.

According to Simon, it became the "neighborhood hit".

His father wrote the words and Chords on paper for the boys to use, and that paper became the first officially copyrighted Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel song.

It is now in the Library of Congress.

He and his school friend Garfunkel, whom he met in 1956, came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel.

Their blend of folk and rock, including hits such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "America" and "The Boxer", served as a soundtrack to the counterculture movement.

In 1957, in their mid-teens, they recorded the song "Hey, Schoolgirl" under the name "Tom & Jerry", a name that was given to them by their label, Big Records.

The single reached number 49 on the pop charts.

Between 1957 and 1964, Simon wrote, recorded and released more than 30 songs.

He and Garfunkel occasionally reunited as Tom & Jerry to record singles, including "Our Song" and "That's My Story".

After graduating from Forest Hills High School, Simon majored in English at Queens College and graduated in 1963.

Garfunkel studied mathematics education at Columbia University in Manhattan.

Simon was a brother in the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, and attended Brooklyn Law School for one semester in 1963.

Their final album, Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), is among the bestselling of all time.

As a solo artist, Simon has explored genres including gospel, reggae and soul.

His albums Paul Simon (1972), There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973), and Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) kept him in the public eye and drew acclaim, producing the hits "Mother and Child Reunion", "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover".

Simon reunited with Garfunkel for several tours and the 1981 Concert in Central Park.

In 1986, Simon released his most successful and acclaimed album, Graceland, incorporating South African influences.

"You Can Call Me Al" became one of Simon's most successful singles.

In 1988, Simon wrote a Broadway musical, The Capeman, which was poorly received.

Graceland was followed by The Rhythm of the Saints (1990), and a second Concert in the Park in 1991, without Garfunkel, which was attended by half a million people.

His later albums, such as You're the One (2000), So Beautiful or So What (2011) and Stranger to Stranger (2016), introduced him to new generations.

Two of his works, Sounds of Silence and Graceland, were inducted into the National Recording Registry for their cultural significance, and in 2007, the Library of Congress voted him the inaugural winner of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

He is a co-founder of the Children's Health Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides medical care to children.

Simon retired from touring in 2018, but continued to record music.

An album, Seven Psalms, was released in May 2023.

Simon is among the world's best-selling music artists.

He has twice been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has been the recipient of sixteen Grammy Awards, including three for Album of the Year.