Paul Simon has had to make some changes when it comes to performing live.
On Wednesday, Nov. 20, the “Mrs. Robinson” hitmaker, 83, opened up to CBS Mornings about his experience with hearing loss — and the one song he can no longer perform.
“It was incredibly frustrating. I was very angry at first that this had happened,” Simon told host Anthony Mason of losing his hearing.
The singer-songwriter revealed he was “most apprehensive” about not being able to “hear well enough to really enjoy the act of making music.”
During the interview, Simon revealed that he now has 6% hearing in his left ear. To help him with performing, he’s switched to larger speakers, placing them all around and he’s had to adjust his concerts.
“I’m going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices that I make to acoustic versions. It’s all much quieter,” Simon explained.
His 1986 track “You Can Call Me Al” is no longer a part of his set.
“That’s gone. I can’t do that one,” he said.
In September, Simon returned to the stage for a stripped-down performance at The Soho Sessions in New York.
“You know Matisse, when he was suffering at the end of his life, when he was in bed, he envisioned all these cut-outs and had a great creative period,” the “Graceland” musician said. “So I don’t think creativity stops with disability. So far, I haven’t experienced that. And I hope not to.”
Earlier this month, Art Garfunkel opened up to The Times about his recent tearful reunion with his former Simon & Garfunkel collaborator.
The eight-time Grammy winner, 83, said that he caught up with Simon “a couple of weeks back.”
“First time we’d been together in many years,” Garfunkel told the outlet. “I looked at Paul and said, ‘What happened? Why haven’t we seen each other?’ Paul mentioned an old interview where I said some stuff.”
The “Bright Eyes” artist further shared his regrets over their feud. “I cried when he told me how much I had hurt him,” Garfunkel said. “Looking back, I guess I wanted to shake up the nice guy image of Simon & Garfunkel. Y’know what? I was a fool!”
He added that the pair “made plans to meet again” and teased that they may revisit their music legacy – although that is not his priority.
“Will Paul bring his guitar? Who knows. For me, it was about wanting to make amends before it’s too late,” Garfunkel said. “It felt like we were back in a wonderful place. As I think about it now, tears are rolling down my cheeks. I can still feel his hug.”
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