Paul Simon quote on Elvis's Bridge Over Troubled Water [Archive]

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KPM

11-08-2010, 08:15 PM

I read an interesting quote in a book about singer/songwriter Paul Simon which Simon made after seeing Elvis sing BOTW in Vegas in 1970......
During the 1970 summer season in Vegas, Paul Simon attended one of the shows, and, after seeing Elvis perform the song, he was reported to have said,
"That's it, we might as well all give up now."

Pretty high praise from Mr. Simon the author of the song.

Tommy

11-09-2010, 02:19 AM

Thank you my friend, yes, he is right about this, and great praise to Elvis. But we know Elvis as the saying goes, could make any song his! Thanks for posting. (y)

SleepyJack

11-09-2010, 07:57 AM

Great to hear a comment like that from a talented guy like Paul Simon.(y)(y)(y)

Ematt

11-09-2010, 08:48 AM

Simon has also had some negative comments to say about Elvis covering this track.

KPM

11-09-2010, 04:20 PM

Simon has also had some negative comments to say about Elvis covering this track.
Since Simon has been a lifelong fan of Elvis back to the 50s-they surely can not be too bad-can you post them and provide the source?
I'd be interested to see how reliable the source is-the book I read on Simon did not mention any negative feelings on Simons part towards Elvis.

Erhan

11-20-2010, 09:19 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfy9oFM6DeI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVQtDryYCc0

Joe Car

11-20-2010, 12:08 PM

Both versions give me goosebumps, but August 70 is impossible to beat!

Raised on Rock

11-20-2010, 06:19 PM

Some other Elvis related quotes by Paul Simon:

-Once I went all over N.Y. looking for a lavender shirt like the one he wore on one of his albums.

-I had picked up the guitar because I wanted to be like Elvis Presley.

-I felt wonderfur when he sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water", even though it was a touch on the dramatic side, but so was the song.

The quotes are from the book: Elvis. The Last Word! by Sandra Choron & Bob Oskam. Citadel Press.

Lisarose

11-24-2010, 07:43 PM

This is one incredible piece of writing, and Elvis sang it like no other.
I'm reminded of how Jerry Scheff describes Elvis "the music goes thru his brain, then thru his heart
and finally the words come out of his mouth." [paraphrased]