Paul Simon's Life in Photos

Paul Simon's Early Years

Born on Oct. 13, 1941 in Newark, New Jersey, Paul Simon began creating music from a remarkably young age. Meeting his on-again, off-again music partner, Art Garfunkel, as young kids in Queens, New York, set the stage for a decades-long career — both together and apart.

Paul Simon in Tom & Jerry

Simon and Garfunkel — as they would later become known — got the attention of Sid Prosen at a record label called Big Records as teens. They released the song "Hey, Schoolgirl" as a single under the stage name Tom and Jerry. They two appeared on American Bandstand and the song went on to sell more than 100,000 copies, Rolling Stone reported.

"You can't imagine what it was like having a hit record at 16," Simon said, per the outlet. "It made me a neighborhood hero."

Paul Simon Working with Carole King

Carole King, lyricist Gerry Goffin and Simon (above) all met at Queens College. While they never wrote together, NPR said, King and Simon would help record demos for other bands. Goffin and King would later marry.

Paul Simon in Simon & Garfunkel

The duo would drift apart multiple times, first in the late '50s after Simon did some work on his own — quietly. "He made a record without telling me," Garfunkel told The Guardian in 2015. "That was 1956, maybe 1957. He was my best friend and I thought friendship involves candor and telling a friend what's up, so the fact that he had a hidden surprise shocked and hurt me."

They reunited in the 1960s, signed to Columbia records and were renamed Simon & Garfunkel. They released their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. in 1964 followed by Sounds of Silence (1966), Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), Bookends (1968) and Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970).

Simon & Garfunkel's Grammy Awards

At the 13th annual Grammy Awards in 1970, Simon & Garfunkel took home five awards including record of the year for "Bridge Over Troubled Water," album of the year for Bridge Over Troubled Water and song of the year for the same track. Two years prior, the duo won two Grammys for the song "Mrs. Robinson," famously featured in the film The Graduate. Simon also took home the award that year for best original score written for a motion picture or a television special for the film's score. As a duo, the men have won a total of seven Grammys and have been nominated for 11.

Paul Simon Becomes a Father

Simon and his first wife, Peggy Harper, welcomed their first child, Harper, in 1972. Simon is now the father of four, welcoming Adrian, Lulu and Gabriel with wife Edie Brickell.

Paul Simon at the Grammy Awards

Simon poses with David Bowie, Garfunkel, Yoko Ono, John Lennon and Roberta Flack backstage at the 17th annual Grammy Awards in New York City.

Paul Simon's PEOPLE Cover

On Nov. 3, 1980, Simon was front and center on the cover of PEOPLE.

Paul Simon's Friendship with Lorne Michaels

Simon is a longtime friend of Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels, meeting him in 1975 just a few months before the show premiered, Simon wrote in Vanity Fair. Simon has appeared on the show numerous times, including in 1976, alongside George Harrison (above).

Paul Simon in 'One Trick Pony'

In 1980, Simon wrote and starred in a feature film called One Trick Pony about a folk-rock musician whose popularity is waning as he works to create his next album. Simon's album of the same name was released that year.

Simon & Garfunkel Reunite in Central Park

In 1981, 11 years after parting ways as a duo, Simon and Garfunkel performed in front of hundreds of thousands of fans in Central Park for a reunion show.

Paul Simon's Marriage to Carrie Fisher

Following his marriage to Peggy Harper, Simon tied the knot with Carrie Fisher in 1983. Though the pair divorced shortly after, they would date off and on for about a decade after.

Paul Simon's 'Graceland'

Between 1965 and 1983 Simon released six solo studio albums and in 1986 he released his seventh, the widely successful Graceland. To record the album, Simon traveled to South Africa to work with local musicians — ignoring an international boycott in place by the United Nations Anti-Apartheid Committee, Rolling Stone reported. It won album of the year at the 1987 Grammy Awards.

Paul Simon in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

In 1990, Simon and Garfunkel performed side by side at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York City. That year, the two were inducted alongside Queens College alumni Carole King and Gerry Coffin.

Paul Simon's Marriage to Edie Brickell

Simon married singer-songwriter Edie Brickell in 1992 and they have three children together. On June 6, 2022, Simon shared a photo of the couple across his social media platforms with the caption, "A Happy Anniversary."

Paul Simon's 'Capeman'

Another one of his ventures, Simon wrote the music for the Broadway musical Capeman, which premiered in 1998 and starred Marc Anthony, Ednita Nazario and Ruben Blades. Based on the true story of Salvador Agron, a man convicted of the murder of two teenagers in the late 1950s, the show was generally not well received, with protestors standing outside of the theater on opening night. It ultimately closed after just 68 performances, according to Playbill.

Paul Simon on Tour with Bob Dylan

In 1999, Simon hit the road and went on tour with Bob Dylan.

Paul Simon's 9/11 Tribute

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Simon joined a roster of performers including Bruce Springsteen, Faith Hill, Alicia Keys and Mariah Carey to perform in the "America: A Tribute To Heroes" benefit concert. Simon sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

Paul Simon at the Kennedy Center Honors

In 2002, Simon was a recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor alongside Elizabeth Taylor, James Earl Jones, Chita Rivera and James Levine.

Paul Simon's Old Friends Tour

In 2003, Simon and Garfunkel embarked on a nine-month tour called the Old Friends Tour. Their final show was in Rome, where the duo played outside the Colosseum to a crowd of more than 500,000, Rolling Stone reported.

Paul Simon and The Yankees

In 1999, the Native New Yorker and Yankees fan sang "Mrs. Robinson" at Yankee Stadium in a memorial ceremony for Yankees' legend Joe DiMaggio.

Paul Simon's Final Tour

In 2018, Simon finished his farewell tour with a hometown show at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, marking his retirement from touring.

Paul Simon in 2022 and 2023

Last summer, Simon made a surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. He showed up on stage at the end of a tribute to his music performed by the band Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats. Rolling Stone reported that Simon performed a four-song set to the delightfully stunned crowd.

In May of 2023, Simon revealed that he'd recently lost hearing in his left ear.

"Nobody has an explanation for it," he told The Times. "So everything became more difficult. My reaction to that was frustration and annoyance."