Robert Hilburn - Paul Simon: The Life

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Christopher Morris

Robert Hilburn was the chief pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times for more than three decades, during which he reported extensively on many of pop musics most significant figures, including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, and U2. He is also the author of two bestselling books: Corn Flakes with John Lennon: And Other Tales from a Rock n Roll Life (a memoir) and Johnny Cash: The Life. He lives in Los Angeles.

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Before I started writing books, I felt writers could save readers a lot of time and a few trees by thanking people important to the book with flowers, a box of chocolates, or a good bottle of wine rather than in an acknowledgment. But I now understand the need for authors to publicly express appreciation to those who aided and accompanied them during the years they spent on a book.

First, I want to thank Paul Simon. After decades of not speaking to any potential biographer, he not only agreed to talk to me about his life and music but also encouraged those close to him to do so. The plan was to meet for five hours a day on one day a month for a year, which would have given us sixty hours of tape, but the talks ended up stretching over three years and easily totaled more than one hundred hours.

Despite this unprecedented access, Simon agreed that I would have full editorial control over the books contents. We met numerous times in his recording studio/cottage in Connecticut and in his office in Manhattan, as well as in hotel rooms when he was on tour. He was patient, gracious, and unrelentingly thoughtful. The empathy in his songs is no accident. I liked him. But there were difficult moments.

Interviewing Simon over the years for the Los Angeles Times , I found him to be one of the most articulate people I met in pop music. But we were focusing in those days on his new music, a subject that he is always interested in. With the book, he wasnt as eager early on to talk about his private life and sometimes bristled when a touchy subject came up, leading occasionally to heated discussions.

There were even times when I feared the project was close to breaking down. In the end, however, Simon was a man of his word. He never challenged my final control. When he saw we were at an impasse over something, he would simply shrug, wave his hand, and say, Its your book, and wed move on. Gradually, he began speaking about his personal life with the same eloquence and detail he exhibited when talking about music. The bottom line was that he, too, wanted a complete and objective account.

Im also grateful to those around Simon, from his brother, Eddie (who comanages him and guards his back with the tenacity of one of my English bulldogs), to Bobby Susser, his pal since childhood (who was quick to answer more than seventy-five emails I sent asking about moments in Simons life). Thanks as well to Simons band members for their generous assistance, and to his office staffJuanita DeSilva, C. Vaughn Hazell, Cristina Miranda, Selwyn Rogers, and Martia Gordon. The glue in the project was Jeff Kramer, who believed in the book from the start and offered valuable counsel.

Thanks to everyone listed under the Interviews headings in the Notes section, but especially to a group of people that reaches back to grade-school classmate Helene Schwartz Kenvin and the 1960s English crowd that includes Ken Harrison and Jonty and Lynne McCausland, and that ultimately includes Roy Halee, Mort Lewis, Peggy Harper, Carrie Fisher, Lorne Michaels, Dan Klores, Clive J. Davis, Mo Ostin (whose reflections were especially appreciated because he has done so few interviews over the years), Lenny Waronker, Quincy Jones, Allen Toussaint, Michael Tannen, Wynton Marsalis, Chuck Close, Philip Glass, Ruben Blades, Oscar Hernandez, Joe Rascoff, Derek Walcott, Paul Zollo, and Thomas Friedman.

In my professional world, my thanks begin with Luke Janklow, a visionary agent who is forever insightful and supportive. Also, Claire Dippel. At Simon & Schuster, the views of president and publisher Jonathan Karp and executive editor Jofie Ferrari-Adler were wise and helpful. Ferarri-Adler, my editor, has a warmth that makes him feel like a friend youve known for years and a calmness that is helpful in moments of uncertainty or doubt. The S&S team also includes Jessica Breen, Rachel DeCesario, Paul Dippolito, Lisa Erwin, Sabrina Evans, Cary Goldstein, Julianna Haubner, Benjamin Holmes, Kristen Lemire, Jennifer Lopes, Anne Tate Pearce, and Richard Rhorer. Also, thanks to Mona Houck and Philip Bashe.

As always, I want to express my gratitude to a series of editors at the Los Angeles Times who gave me unending encouragement and freedom over the years: Charles Champlin, Irv Letofsky, Shelby Coffey, John Lindsay, John Carroll, and Dean Baquet.

Then theres my family, whose love is the foundation of it all: Alice Marie and John through my first wife, Ruthann Snijders, and our children, Kathy Morris and Rob Hilburn, on to my son-in-law, Ronald Morris, and daughter-in-law, Sarah Coley-Hilburn, and my wife Kathis children, Keith and Kate Bondand the wonderful grandchildren, Chris and Lindsey Morris and Genevieve and Grant Hilburn. Extra thanks to Rob, Kathy, and Chris, who assisted me in various ways over the last three years.

Finally, it is a blessing for a writer to have friends that he can bounce ideas off and even share parts of the manuscript with, and no one served that role better for me than Bret Israel, who was another of my editors at the Los Angeles Times and remains a smart and trusted friend. And my wife, Kathi, who read the book at every stage and was quick to point out when I ventured off the track and to praise when things suddenly came alive. The flowers, the chocolate, and the wine will follow.

ALSO BY ROBERT HILBURN

Johnny Cash: The Life

Corn Flakes with John Lennon: And Other Tales from a Rock n Roll Life

Springsteen

Except for the quotes cited after each chapter below, all quotes in the book are from interviews I conducted with Paul Simon between late 2014 and late 2017. The same is true for the remarks of the more than a hundred others that were interviewed for the book.