For the last few years the Grammy Awards have taped a special a few nights after the big show honoring this or that legend.
So far the Beatles, the Bee Gees, Stevie Wonder, the sounds of Motown, and Aretha Franklin are among those who’ve had this special recognition.
I’m thrilled to report that the next one is Paul Simon. The great singer songwriter will get a tribute show taped at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood on April 6th. Since the Grammys are being held on April 3rd, the expectation is that a number of that show’s performers will turn up to salute Simon.
Simon’s career stretches back to the mid 60s when he and Art Garfunkel took the world by storm with “The Sound of Silence.” For five years and about half a dozen albums they influenced generations of other singers and songwriters. They broke up in 1970 after the landmark “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” but reunited in 1976 with “My Little Town.” In 1981 they appeared together in the historic Concert in Central Park.
These days, Simon and Garfunkel are not close as they near 80 years old. They’ve known each other for 65 years and are a little like the comedians in “The Sunshine Boys” who won’t speak to each other. It’s doubtful that Garfunkel will be included in this show but they’ll have to handle his part of Simon’s like properly. If it’s given short shrift, the reaction will be instant.
Since the show is being taped April 6th, that means Simon won’t be able to attend Clive Davis’s 90th birthday party in New York. I’m sure they are each disappointed. It was Davis who launched Simon & Garfunkel, and later decided that the title track of ‘BOTW” album would be the first single.
Can’t wait to see this show, though, when it airs on CBS.
