Paul Simon has shared some heartbreaking news with fans, announcing that he is no longer able to perform one of his most well-known and most loved singles due to his battle with hearing loss.
The star, 83, who shot to fame in the 1960s as part of the iconic duo Simon & Garfunkel, with pal Art Garfunkel, has many beloved hits, including The Sound of Silence, Bridge Over Troubled Water and Mrs Robinson. However, there is one that stands out more than the rest.
Released in 1986 as the lead single of his seventh studio album, Graceland, You Can Call Me Al was inspired by Paul’s trip to South Africa, with the lyrics following the life of a man who is experiencing a midlife crisis.
While the song was received poorly upon its release in September of that year, reaching just 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, by 1987 when Graceland won album of the year at the Grammys, You Can Call Me Al had its moment and became Paul’s biggest solo hit, going on to be certified triple platinum in the UK.
However, the star devastatingly revealed this week while appearing on CBS Mornings that due to his hearing loss, he is now unable to play certain songs from his catalogue, including his 1986 tune.
‘I’m going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices that I make to acoustic versions,’ he said on the show. ‘It’s all much quieter. It’s not You Can Call Me Al, that’s gone. I can’t do that one.’
Paul wasn’t shy about discussing his battle with hearing loss, which he is trying to prevent others from having to endure by working with the Stanford Initiative and 100 scientists skilled in hearing loss prevention and repair, all of who are working to cure hearing loss.
The star first noticed he was losing his hearing in 2023 when recording his most recent album, Seven Psalms. ‘It was incredibly frustrating. I was very angry at first, y’know, that this had happened,’ he said.
Paul continued to explain: ‘I guess what I’m most apprehensive about would be if I can’t hear well enough to really enjoy the act of making music.’
Currently, Paul says he has lost 94% of hearing in his left ear and has been told by doctors that there is no cure for the problem, which can affect people of any age and up to 11 million people in the UK alone.
Despite Paul’s upsetting news, the star is staying positive and is ‘optimistic’ that he will one day return to the stage for a full-length concert.
Speaking to The Guardian in October, he said: ‘I’m hoping to eventually be able to do a full-length concert. I’m optimistic. Six months ago I was pessimistic.’
Paul and Art reunited last year for the first time in many years. According to Art, their estrangement was caused by him saying some things that ‘hurt’ Paul in a past interview.
‘I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him’, Art told The Sunday Times. ‘Looking back, I guess I wanted to shake up the nice guy image of Simon & Garfunkel. Y’know what? I was a fool!’
Paul Simon announces devastating news he’ll never perform iconic hit live again