WEBVTT - Deep Background Presents Miracle And Wonder: Conversations With Paul Simon

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin. Hello, Hello podcast listeners. Malcolm Glabble here. As you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm the president of Pushkin Industries. What you might not

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<v Speaker 1>know is that I've been a fan of Paul Simon

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<v Speaker 1>since i was a wee little Malcolm, and recently I

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<v Speaker 1>sat down with Paul Simon and my oldest friend and

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<v Speaker 1>the co host the Broken Record podcast, Bruce Hedlam to

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<v Speaker 1>create a new audiobook, Miracle and Wonder Conversations with Paul Simon.

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<v Speaker 1>Miracle and Wonder is the product of thirty hours of

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<v Speaker 1>sessions with one of the greatest songwriters in music history.

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<v Speaker 1>We talked about his life growing up in Queens, his influences,

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<v Speaker 1>and the sources of his extraordinary creativity. This isn't a biography.

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<v Speaker 1>There are two perfectly good biographies out there already. Miracle

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<v Speaker 1>and Wonder is an audio biography at Shed's new light

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<v Speaker 1>on all Simon's life in his own words and through

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<v Speaker 1>his own music. You can go to Miracle audiobook dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>enter your email and payment. You'll then receive an email

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<v Speaker 1>and follow the easy instructions and Miracle and Wonder will

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<v Speaker 1>be added to your favorite podcast app. Now, I'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to play you a chapter a Miracle and wonder. I

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<v Speaker 1>think you'll hear and understand why I and so many

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<v Speaker 1>others consider him to be one of the greatest musicians

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<v Speaker 1>and songwriters of all time. You know, listen to this story.

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<v Speaker 1>This is quite amazing. I took a trip on the

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<v Speaker 1>Amazon and we stopped in this village. It didn't even

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<v Speaker 1>have any roads, and there's a girl who's sitting in

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<v Speaker 1>there and she's practicing a nylon string guitar. So I

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<v Speaker 1>listened for a while, and then we say to her

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<v Speaker 1>and I said, I know a South American song, and

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<v Speaker 1>I play Dud Daddy dudd but and she says, I

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<v Speaker 1>know an American song. I say, really yeah. He goes,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Malcolm Gladwell. That's Paul Simon talking to me

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<v Speaker 1>and my friend and colleague Bruce Headlam. A moment I

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<v Speaker 1>never believed could happen. I've been a fan of my life.

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<v Speaker 1>The very first pop music I ever remember hearing was

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<v Speaker 1>Simon and Garfuncle. It was nineteen seventy I was seven,

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<v Speaker 1>and now fifty years later, here he was having lunch

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<v Speaker 1>with me. I asked him, what do you think of

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<v Speaker 1>sitting down and having an extended conversation about your career?

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<v Speaker 1>You know what I'm gonna stand I'm gonna stand up.

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<v Speaker 1>He liked the idea. I think this is going to

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<v Speaker 1>be a contest. Let's just check to retort. I enlisted

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<v Speaker 1>my oldest friend, Bruce had them to help with the interviewing,

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<v Speaker 1>because Bruce knows a lot more about music than I do.

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<v Speaker 1>But what do I think? I think the second one

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<v Speaker 1>is the Martin and the first one is your favorite guitarist, Gurian.

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<v Speaker 1>We met nine times. We'd listen to music and Paul

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<v Speaker 1>would play and tell stories. Each conversation lasted four, sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>five hours. Missus Robinson was a little snatch of blues

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<v Speaker 1>singing talking. That's a lick. That's not too different from

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<v Speaker 1>arguing teaching to either girl with the damn on ring.

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<v Speaker 1>So we took all these conversations and wove them into

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<v Speaker 1>something entirely new. It's part memoir, part biography, part investigation

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<v Speaker 1>into the heart of creativity. I have no anxiety about

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<v Speaker 1>running out of ideas. You don't have that at all. No,

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<v Speaker 1>I think another idea, you want another idea, Okay, here's another,

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<v Speaker 1>here's another idea. In our time with him, Paul talked

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<v Speaker 1>about doo wop and queens and his dad, and a

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<v Speaker 1>million other things. I thought that the idea of Earth

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<v Speaker 1>Angel was so lyrically spectacular. I can remember trying to

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<v Speaker 1>explain it to my father, do you get it? And

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<v Speaker 1>Earth Angel? What he thinks of all the different cover

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<v Speaker 1>versions of his songs about the countless people he's collaborated

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<v Speaker 1>with over the years. I learned early on that you

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<v Speaker 1>can ask musicians to write in somebody else's handwriting. And

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<v Speaker 1>about the day he hung it all up after I

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<v Speaker 1>finished the album Stranger to Stranger and was like literally

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<v Speaker 1>a click that said I'm done, But you weren't done. No,

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<v Speaker 1>I wasn't. This is Paul Simon as you've never heard

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<v Speaker 1>him before, the stories and songs behind an unbelievable life

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<v Speaker 1>in music. Pull up your chair and listen. In lip

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<v Speaker 1>Sliding Away, there's still the big mystery of why this happens,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's just a great mystery. I love it. I

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<v Speaker 1>love that mystery. Shong memorial Slip Sliding Away. You can

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<v Speaker 1>buy Miracle and Wonder at Miracle audiobook dot Com, Audible

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<v Speaker 1>and everywhere audiobooks are sold. Hometown. You wore his passion

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<v Speaker 1>for