Simon Awarded Gershwin Prize

from Bonnie , 2007-03-01
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Singer-songwriter honored by Library of Congress.
Paul Simon is going Gershwin.

The Library of Congress is awarding its first ever Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to Simon for the singer-songwriter´s lifetime contributions to music. The award, named in honor of George and Ira Gershwin, will be given on an annual basis as part of the library´s collection.

´Few songwriters have had a broader influence or contributed more to song genres than Paul Simon. Because of the depth, range and sheer beauty of his music, as well as his ability to bridge people of cultures, he is the perfect first recipient of this prestigious award,´ said librarian of Congress James Billington.

Added Simon: ´I am grateful to be the recipient of the Gershwin Prize and doubly honored to be the first.´

Simon is a 12-time Grammy winner and two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- as both a solo artist and as a member of the iconic duo Simon and Garfunkel.

Simon will perform in concert on May 23 in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the event. Other artists, not yet announced, will also perform.

Garfunkel is begging again

from MrBeerbelly , 2007-03-02
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Art says that he and Paul Simon may record together again in the futureArt Garfunkel has revealed that there is a possibility that he and former partner Paul Simon may record more music together in the future.

The duo are famous for their tumultuous working partnership, and have reunited numerous times since their split in 1970, only to publicly and acrimoniously fall out on nearly every occasion, vowing never to perform together again.


(picture: Art Garfunkel begging for a hitchhike on Simons next album)

Art says: ´We played the game. When Paul and I were buddies in junior high school at age 13, we purposely had a mock splitting up - just to create gossip at our school. I think that´s very telling.´

Their last reunion tour happened over two years ago, in 2004, and for the moment, Art admits they won´t work together any time soon.

´Do I have a plan to work with Mr Simon again? No. Is there a possibility of more recorded music with Simon and Garfunkel? Yes, I suppose there is a possibility.

´We are friends. I had lunch with him the other day. We hang out more comfortably than we used to, so the availability of working together seems there. But we have no plans. I wonder what he would say?´ he smiles.

S&G guitar raises funds for kids

from MrBeerbelly , 2007-03-05
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A guitar signed by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel raised more than 10-thousand US dollars for East Timor´s street children when its owner, Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, auctioned it on the Internet.

The Nobel laureate sold the Squier Bullet electric guitar on e-Bay, and gave the proceeds to the Street Children´s Association of Dili.

Mr Ramos-Horta bought the guitar in Memphis.

It now belongs to Estelah Ferreira in Australia, who posted the winning bid.

Geniuses, icons flock to Monterey

from MrBeerbelly , 2007-03-05
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A convention of geniuses, icons and mavericks is expected to converge in Monterey this week.

The 2007 TED conference -- TED is the acronym for Technology Entertainment Design -- will feature 50 speakers ranging from President Clinton to NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to musician Paul Simon during its run in Monterey beginning Wednesday.

´Instead of a subject-matter theme, we are simply going to put on stage 50 remarkable people... and let them share whatever it is they are passionate about,´ according to promotional material circulated by TED.

The annual TED conference has been held in Monterey since its re-conception in 1990. The 1984 TED featured the unveiling of the Macintosh computer and the Sony compact disc, but the event lost money.

The event now sells out well in advance. Registration for the 2008 conference is already closed. Passes to this year´s conference cost $4,400, but not just anyone with $4,400 can attend.

TED is an invitation-only event, people can apply to be invited and, according to TED officials, ´a wide variety of leading thinkers and doers from all fields of endeavor´ are welcomed.

The lineup this year includes an eclectic array of politicians, authors, artists, venture capitalists, poets, nanotechnologists, musicians and scientists.

They include Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin, musicians Tracy Chapman and They Might Be Giants, famed cave explorer Bill Stone, and author Isabel Allende.

The conference ends on Saturday.

Added to Sound Archive

from MrBeerbelly , 2007-03-07
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Recordings by the The Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground and Paul Simon are among those that have been selected by the US Librarian of Congress to be preserved in the National Recordings Registry this year.

The Rolling Stones´ ´(I Can´t Get No) Satisfaction´, Velvet Underground´s ´Velvet Underground and Nico´ and Simon´s ´Graceland´ were selected, along with ´Blue Suede Shoes´ by Carl Perkins, ´Be My Baby´ by The Ronettes, and ´We Shall Overcome´ by Pete Seeger.

Each year, members of the public and a panel of music, sound and preservation experts nominate several recordings to be deemed ´culturally important´ and added to the National Recording Registry.

The selected recordings are preserved for future generations in a special sound archive, created by Congress in 2000. It now contains 225 recordings.

I´ve Got Some Real Estate

from MrBeerbelly , 2007-03-09
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Musician Paul Simon is a neighbour, and for just under $25 million you can enjoy your own sounds of silence on this very private 6-acre spread next to a preserve and overlooking the ocean in Montauk. ´The person that´s going to want this property is looking for seclusion,´ says listing agent Bonny Aarons of the Corcoran Group.

The newly constructed 4,700-square-foot traditional home has five bedrooms, 7– baths and ´Old World charm,´ Aarons says. Amenities include stone fireplaces, a library, a home theatre, a wine cellar, staff rooms and a heated Gunite pool.
Developer Tom Gessler says, ´I put a lot of love into this house.” The main house will be completed in early May and is wired with ´smart technology´ throughout, a guest house will take another year to complete. The property sits atop a 90-foot bluff, which Gessler says protects the home from tidal surges during hurricanes.

Gessler, who has been building on the East End for 15 years, says, ´Montauk is low-key ... You don´t have the stuffiness that East Hampton sometimes has.´

Besides Paul Simon, other neighbours include Bruce Ratner, owner of the New Jersey Nets, photographer Peter Beard, and J. Crew chief executive Mickey Drexler, who recently bought the estate Andy Warhol once co-owned.

Rock and roll feuds of fame

from MrBeerbelly , 2007-03-12
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Some of the greatest teamings also created great friction
By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS CRITIC-AT-LARGE
Monday, March 12th 2007, 4:00 AM

When Simon and Garfunkel were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, Paul Simon drolly suggested the Hall might consider a special wing for all the inducted groups whose members didn´t get along with each other.
Besides the obvious reference to his own ups and downs with one time partner Art Garfunkel, Simon noted the Everly Brothers, who didn´t speak for a decade after Phil smashed his guitar and stormed off the stage at Knotts Berry Farm in 1973.

Simon also mentioned the fractious Eagles, several of whose members were around that time doing separate tours. (Drummer/singer Don Henley would finish his version of ´Desperado´ by saying, ´Accept no imitations.´)

Simon´s point, in any case, was that creating memorable music has never guaranteed creating internal harmony.

Full story at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/200
7/03/12/2007-03-12_rock_and_roll_feuds_of_fame_.ht
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