The musician Paul Simon calls “the composer of his generation”
As one of the most respected musicians in history, Paul Simon has enjoyed a long career surrounded by the biggest names around. As Simon and Garfunkel broke out in the heyday of the 1960s and ’70s, their peers were the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Joan Baez and more. But when it came to him dubbing one performer the ultimate “composer of his generation”, there was only one answer.
But really, Simon is amongst a rich generation of history-shaping composers. He was around and making music as The Beatles were taking their pioneering steps, witnessing rock music be changed and evolved in real-time. He saw Dylan, Baez, Cohen, and Mitchell take the traditional form of folk music and modernise it, politicise it or make poetry from it. In his own right, Simon’s tracks like ‘Graceland’, ‘Bridger Over Troubled Water’ and ‘The Sound Of Silence’ were timeless classics, while ‘Mrs Robinson’ soundtracked the boom in countercultural cinema with The Graduate.
Simon’s generation is one that music fans have looked back at with nostalgia or jealousy that they weren’t there. To some people, all music since has existed in its shadow. Or perhaps more realistically, all music since has existed in its lineage, as the genre transformations and advances that were made back then still inform and inspire music today.
For Simon, there is one musician whose impact is felt strongest of all with a huge back-catalogue of timeless tracks that are still performed today, as well as a seemingly limitless influence on the way new songs are crafted and recorded. According to him, no one can hold a candle to Stevie Wonder.
“Can anyone imagine what the last 25 years of American popular music would be without Stevie Wonder?” Simon asked as he inducted Wonder to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1989. While the question might have been rhetorical, the answer is an overwhelming ‘no’. On the simplest level, imagine a world without Wonder’s ‘Happy Birthday To You’, let alone his more high-bow hits like ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours), ‘Superstition’ or ‘Isn’t She Lovely’. It’s hard to even think about which tracks he might be best known for as his greatest hits list rolls on and on.
There are very few artists who have as many well-known tracks as Wonder, but there are even fewer who have managed his level of success while maintaining his level of quality. “A melody writer of such effortless virtuosity that he is virtually incomparable. His voice is this incredible instrument with its perfect phrasing and intonation,” Simon said, attempting to pin down what makes the musician so powerful. “His keyboard playing and his synthesiser work revolutionised the way people approach the studio, and the guy plays the harmonica better than anyone else,” he continued, listing off achievements and abilities.
However, it feels impossible to put a finger on Wonder’s magic, as it appears to be simply that. Of all of his biggest hits, the songs are never overblown or overdone. They’re gripping and catchy, balancing musical technicality with anthemic energy. He manages to be just as much a musician’s musician as a well-rounded crowd pleaser, packing his works with pioneering spirit but never at the expense of their enjoyability. It’s a delicate equation, but it’s one that he seems to manage so effortlessly.
“Many people try to imitate Stevie Wonder, but there’s only one Stevie Wonder,” Simon said, summing it all up perfectly. What some people try desperately to emulate or work their entire careers to manage, Wonder managed with an easy nonchalance, allowing his music to maintain its high energy. That’s exactly why he’s, as Simon put it, “the composer of his generation”.
