Thank You Paul Simon

Paul Simon is so meaningful to me and so magnificent musically, that thanking Paul Simon for his music is like trying to thank Michael Jordan for playing basketball. It's impossible to ever thank Paul enough for his impact on the world. Don't get me wrong, Paul. I'm thanking you. I'm just too clumsy and in awe of you to do so in proportion to your artistic impact on me and the rest of the world.

I've listened to Paul Simon's songs my entire life. At one point, before anyone thought of me as being significant for anything on this planet, I wanted to be a songwriter. I took on the task of performing on keyboards and singing original songs I wrote in the coffee houses and bars of New York City. Let me tell you something. It's really hard to play original music in places where people go to get drunk or coordinate intimate relations. Didn't matter to me. I was 15 years old and did it until I was 23 years old. I just did it. I loved it. I never cared if I made a single record. Sometimes, I'd play at comedy clubs like Catch A Rising Star, The Improvisation, The Comedy Cellar, The Comic Strip, Pips and some other places you've never heard of. Some of the owners, taking pity on me, let me play my songs during the breaks between comics. The audience wanted a comic, not a singer-songwriter. Didn't matter. I loved every second of it. Once in a while, I'd do some comedy. Imitations. Everyone loved my impression of Ed Sullivan. Call it a barter situation.

Some who know me now might say "Wow, Lonnie, I never thought of you as a singer-songwriter". Precisely. Why would you think of a 6 feet 9 inch white guy who ended up in law school as a singer-songwriter? Why indeed. Was I good? Well, I was good enough to be paid to do it eventually in New York City, Toronto, Ontario and in the Catskills. Danny Leroy and his Orchestra approached me to do my "act" for them on their tours. Turned it down. 3 bands asked me to join them on the road. Turned it down. I was a working singer-songwriter throughout high school and college, in between classes and homework. If you read the words of "Piano Man", essentially, that was me.

So what does this have to do with Paul Simon? Well, Paul Simon went to law school also. Other than obvious musical talent, the major difference between me and Paul Simon is that he left law school to devote himself to singing and writing original songs. I did not. I stayed in law school. Paul was courageous and devoted. I was not. I've had songs bought by music publishers. I've played to live audiences who love my music and singing. As a young singer-songwriter, I've had dates with women who dated me because I wrote beautiful songs. But unlike Paul, I did not continue. No more dates. No more live audiences. No more music. I became a lawyer because I lacked the courage to wait for a break. That was the day the music died for me.

So what did Paul Simon do after he and Artie failed in the release of their first album? He went to England and became one of the greatest songwriters of all time. He did not give up. He did not become a lawyer. He did what he loved. He honed his craft. He wrote from his heart over and over again in England, with no future musical prospects. Thank you, Paul. Thank you so much.

When you listen to the songs Paul wrote in England, after 6 seconds, you know it's a beautiful song. It only takes me 6 seconds. Then the rest of the song flows like a delicious meal, perfectly served and performed. I encourage all of you to listen to "Kathy's Song". She was his UK girlfriend. Wouldn't it be great to have a Paul Simon song written about you? Of course it would. Kathy left Paul because he wanted a career in music that took him on the road in front of large audiences and Paul left Kathy with a magnificent song. What a deal.

Paul Simon was always a great songwriter. From the age of 16 on, everything was just the presentation of songwriting greatness. "Sounds of Silence" was his first hit but certainly not his last. Great songs just flowed from Paul. Like a breathing exercise, he wrote from his heart.

What role did Artie play in all of this? Well, Artie was a vocalist and an inspiration to Paul. Paul wrote all the music and lyrics. Artie added vocal flavor with one of the finest voices in music history. Artie would have had no career without Paul. None. What broke them up? Mike Nichols convinced Artie that he was a great actor. He was not a great actor. Artie was a great vocalist and a great math professor. So Paul lost his greatest vocalist, but still continued to write great songs.

Each song that Paul writes feels like a personal testament to his life, his experiences, his loves, his losses, his successes and his failures. He has written great songs during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s at a minimum. That's 5 decades of great songwriting. Only Stevie Wonder is in his league as a singer-songwriter. Paul's songs are poetry mixed with incredible chord progressions. He writes like Einstein wrote about physics. I'd call it "natural genius". No one else writes like Paul Simon. No one sings like him. Paul is to music, what air is to life on earth. We breath his music and it enriches our lives. Every one of us feels the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in our lives. Paul Simon's music makes life a lot more bearable than it would be without this music.

Thank you for the music, Paul. I'm not particularly special. Your music is. Your music makes me and the world believe that great artistry can allow us to share in things that are very special in this world.