'SNL': Paul Simon Celebrates 77th Birthday With Special Performances

Paul Simon celebrated his 77th birthday with another appearance on Saturday Night Live this [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Paul Simon celebrated his 77th birthday with another appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend. The legendary musician earned praise from fans at home for his performances of "Can't Run But" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

Simon performed with the group yMusic, who joined him on his final tour this summer. His first song was a re-working of a track from his solo album The Rhythm of the Saints. He later performed a funky take on his Simon & Garfunkel classic, "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

"Paul Simon always innovative. Voice sounded weak but points for creativity," one person wrote on Twitter.

"I want to get old and weird like Paul Simon," added another.

"Paul Simon is a musical genius. If you are raggin' on him, you either know nothing about him or you're jealous. Go listen to Graceland a few times," another fan wrote.

"Paul Simon is doing an amazing job," added another.

Simon stopped by Studio 8H to promote his latest album, In The Blue Light, a collection of lesser known songs from his past he re-recorded with yMusic. The album received positive reviews and includes classics like "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War," "One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor" and "Some Folks' Lives Roll Easy."

The singer-songwriter also recently announced his plans to retire from touring. Last month, he gave his "final" performance at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, near where he grew up. Simon also told NPR last month he is done writing pop songs. His most recent album of new material was 2016's Stranger To Stranger.

"Well I haven't written a new song in a couple of years, now. I think after [the 2016 album] Stranger To Stranger, a funny thing happened when I finished - I literally felt like a switch clicked and I said, 'I'm finished,'" he told NPR.

Simon also told NPR he enjoyed rearranging his songs for In The Blue Light to make their meanings clearer to the listener.

"'Darling Lorraine,' which I think is one of the best songs that I've ever written, the first time that I did it, the arrangement was so interesting and eclectic that I thought you couldn't follow the storyline, because you were distracted by the sounds," Simon said of his 2000 song. "So this time, I came and was very careful to try and allow for the storyline to go right through because if you don't follow the storyline then the ending doesn't have its power. And it's also touching for me that this was the last time that [guitarist] Vincent Nguini - who was my friend and band mate for 30 years - this is the last recording that he made. He passed away last December."

Simon has had a longer association with Saturday Night Live than any other performer. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is a close friend of SNL creator Lorne Michaels and appeared in the first season. He has hosted the show four times and has appeared as a musical guest eight times.

However, this weekend's appearance is his first time on the show since he made a cameo in a 2013 episode. Simon also famously teamed up with SNL alum Chevy Chase for his 1986 video for "You Can Call Me Al."

New episodes of Saturday Night Live air on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET on Saturdays.

Photo Credit: NBC

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