Charlotte Foster
Music

Paul Simon celebrates 80th birthday with new project

On his 80th birthday, Paul Simon has announced his latest project, which comes in the form of an audiobook. 

Variety reports that the five-hour audiobook titled Miracle and Wonder: Conversations With Paul Simon, will be available on November 16th. 

The audiobook is named after a line in his track The Boy in the Bubble, and features a new song called Seven Psalms: his first release since 2018. 

It also features unreleased live versions of his classic songs including The Boxer and The Sound of Silence

Collaborating with Bruce Headlam and Malcolm Gladwell for Miracle and Wonder, Paul recorded over 30 hours of interviews over nine sessions for the audiobook. 

The autobiographical project documents Paul Simon’s upbringing in New York, the genesis of Simon and Garfunkel and the start of his solo career. 

The audiobook also features several cameos, including Sting, Jeff Tweedy, Herbie Hancock, Rosanne Cash, and more to chat about their experiences in the music industry together. 

“Over my career, I must have given hundreds of interviews on various projects, but speaking and collaborating with Malcolm on this was especially enjoyable,” Simon said in a statement. 

Malcolm Gladwell added, “He’s the most un-rock-star rock star. Paul is surprisingly down to earth and approachable. Even if he wasn’t the most successful musician of his generation he’d be the same person.”

Image credit: Getty Images

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music, Paul Simon, audiobooks, new release