Paul Simon is an American singer-songwriter, known for his success beginning in 1965 as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair’s songs, including “The Sound of Silence”, “The Boxer”, “Mrs. Robinson”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. In 1970, at the height of their popularity, the duo split and Simon began a successful solo career, highlighted by his 1986 experiment with African music on the album Graceland, which was decisive in the introduction of world music into the mainstream. Simon’s work has been generally praised by critics and the public, and has enjoyed notable commercial success for over four decades of production. In 2006, Time magazine called him one of the 100 “people who shape our world.”
Around 1985, while he was driving his car, Simon listened to a cassette of the Boyoyo Boys’ instrumental “Gumboots”. Inspired by the unusual sound, he wrote lyrics to sing over a re-recording of the song, which became the first song of his next musical project, Graceland, an eclectic mixture of musical styles including pop, a cappella, isicathamiya, rock, and mbaqanga. Much of the album was recorded in South Africa and featured many South African musicians and groups, particularly Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Warner Bros. Records had serious doubts about releasing an album of this category, but when it did, in August of 1986, Graceland was praised by critics and the public and became Simon’s most successful album. It reached No. 1 in many countries, including Australia and the UK, and peaked at No. 3 in the U.S. It was the second-best-selling album of 1987 there, and eventually reached a 5x Platinum certification, recognizing five million copies sold only in America. Another seven million copies were sold internationally, becoming his best-selling album. The singles “You Can Call Me Al” (a British Top 5 hit), “Graceland”, “The Boy in the Bubble” and “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” became standards and were highly praised. Simon, at age 45, back in the forefront of introducing popular music, received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Graceland, and embarked on the successful “Graceland Tour”.
Loves Me Like A Rock
“Loves Me Like a Rock” features background vocals from The Dixie Hummingbirds, a Southern gospel group. These vocals add a different texture to the song as compared to many of Simon’s previous solo recordings (“Mother and Child Reunion”, “Kodachrome”) as well as those performed with his frequent collaborator, Art Garfunkel, as the pop duo Simon & Garfunkel (“The Sounds of Silence”, “Mrs. Robinson”). Although the lyrics aren’t typical of those commonly associated with gospel music, The Dixie Hummingbirds were eager to record the song with Simon, and the gospel group recorded their own version of the song soon after.
http://djallyn.org/media/paul-simon-loves-me-like-a-rock.flv(Ooohh..)
When I was a little boy (when I was just a boy)
And the Devil would call my name (when I was just a boy)
I’d say “Now who do, (who-oo)
Who do you think you’re fooling?” (when I was just a boy)
I’m a consecrated boy (when I was just a bo-o-o-y)
I’m a singer in a Sunday choir (oooh)Oh my mama loves me, she loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me (ahh a-a-ah)
(oh)She loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And loves me
She love me, love me, love me, love meWhen I was grown to be a man (grown to be a man)
And the Devil would call my name (grown to be a man)
I’d say “Now who do, (whooo)
Who do you think you’re fooling?” (grown to be a man)
I’m a consummated man (grown to be a ma-a-a-n)
I can snatch a little purity (oooh)My mama loves me, she loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me (ahh a-a-ah)
(oh)She loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And loves me
She love me, love me, love me, love meAnd if I was the President (was the President)
The minute that Congress called my name (was the President)
I’d say “Now who do, (whooo)
Who do you think you’re fooling? (who do you think you’re fooling)
I’ve got the Presidential Seal (was the president)
I’m up on the Presidential Po-o-dium (oooh)My mama loves me, she loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me
(oh)She loves me like a rock
She rocks me like the rock of ages
And loves meFade out:
She love me, love me, love me, love me
(loves me like a rock)
- Audio from the 1973 album, There Goes Rhymin Simon:
{ 0 comments }


Break