Paul Simon Revisits 'Something So Right' on Colbert Ahead of World Tour
Paul Simon performed 'Something So Right' on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert before embarking on his world tour. He also discussed his early influences and the breakthrough success of 'The Sounds of Silence'.
Days before kicking off his world tour, Paul Simon stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to play a rare gem from There Goes Rhymin' Simon.
Paul Simon is just days away from launching his extensive world tour in Prague, a journey that will keep him on the road until mid-July. Prior to his departure for the Czech Republic, he appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for an interview and a performance of "Something So Right,” a deep cut from There Goes Rhymin’ Simon. He last played the song in 1993 during his Concert of a Lifetime residency at the Paramount Theater in New York City.
During the interview, Simon reflected on his time as a folk singer in England during the Sixties, before Simon & Garfunkel's rise to fame. “It had a tremendous effect on my music,” he said. “That culture, the English/Celtic…I love that music, fell in love with that music. Here I would have heard it in the sounds of the Everly Brothers, but there you hear the origins of it.”
Simon returned to America in 1965 as “The Sounds of Silence” began its ascent, thanks to a folk-rock reimagining by Columbia producer Tom Wilson – crafted on the same day he recorded “Like a Rolling Stone” with Bob Dylan. Simon recounted to Colbert how Art Garfunkel informed him that the song had barely entered the Cashbox singles chart. Weeks later, in Copenhagen for a show, Simon checked the latest issue of Cashbox.
“I said, ‘I just can’t bear to look at it,'” Simon recalled. “I knew if it came in anywhere between 100 and 80, you’re not going to have a hit. I quickly go, ‘Good, it’s not there. Now, 80 to 70, not there. Okay, that could be good.’ Now I go one at a time 70, 69. 68… And I go, ‘Oh my God.’ There it is at 59. I said, I’ll never forget this, ‘My Life is irrevocably changed.’”
He was right. Over 60 years later, “The Sounds of Silence” remains a cornerstone of his live performances. It served as the final encore on most nights of his 2023 A Quiet Celebration tour, his first since 2018’s Homeward Bound – The Farewell tour. If he follows last year's format, the upcoming shows will feature his 2023 LP Seven Psalms in its entirety, followed by a second set of hits and rarities, including “Homeward Bound,” “Train in the Distance,” “Graceland,” and “Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard.”
The U.S. leg of the tour commences June 4 in Palo Alto, California, and concludes July 18 in Highland Park, Illinois. Highlights include two nights at Forest Hills Stadium in New York City, near his childhood home in Kew Gardens, Queens.
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