Inspiration can and does often come from the unlikeliest places, which explains why one of Paul Simon’s biggest musical influences performed music in an entirely different genre than Simon. Despite these stylistic differences, Simon considered this soul singer to be the best in the business.
So, when the time came for Simon to shape his own distinct vocal timbre, he turned to the one man who stood out among the rest.
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Who Paul Simon Considers the Best Singer in the Industry
Paul Simon, whether solo or in tandem with his former musical partner, Art Garfunkel, is arguably one of the biggest names in the folk music genre. With iconic solo cuts like “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” or hidden gems like “Duncan,” Simon’s voice is as distinct a part of the modern American musical canon as anyone else. But in the earliest days of his career, Simon wasn’t looking to the folkies who came before him to help shape his recognizable sound.
That responsibility fell to a soul singer by the name of Sam Cooke. Simon called the singer “a big influence” in a 1987 interview with SPIN. “First, I think Sam Cooke was the best voice,” Simon said. “I don’t think anybody was in Sam Cooke’s league. He also tended to be more of a soft singer and phraser, so there was more for me to learn because that’s what my voice is naturally.”
“Although he could belt too, essentially, for me, it was the smoothness of his voice,” Simon continued. “I was a big Sam Cooke fan, still am, even more for his work with the Soul Stirrers than for his pop stuff.”
Sam Cooke Was A Social Influence, Too
Decades after Paul Simon’s interview with SPIN—and even longer after Sam Cooke’s premature death—the soul singer’s influence on Simon’s career is still evident. In 2020, Simon revisited his love of Cooke in a collaboration with fellow musician Dion. Their duet, “Song for Sam Cooke (Here in America),” is a testament to both Dion and Simon’s admiration for Cooke and the social influence the iconic singer had on both men cutting their teeth in the 1960s.
Dion’s song, which he featured on his 2020 release Blues With Friends, started only as “Here in America.” He wrote the song while thinking about a time when Sam Cooke defended Dion from racist remarks when the two traveled together in the South in the early 1960s. “Sam was a very refined guy,” Dion later said. “His father was a preacher. He was living out the gospel. That’s what the song is about.”
Although Dion set the song aside for years, he revisited it after watching the film Green Book. He shared the song with Paul Simon, a fellow Sam Cooke fan, who immediately asked to collaborate. “We both have a warm feeling for Sam Cooke,” Dion said. When I first played it for Paul, he saw it like I saw it. He didn’t see it as a song which is purely about racism in America.”
“He saw it as a song of brotherhood and understanding,” Dion continued. “I was telling him that Sam Cooke took care of me in the South. Paul said he wanted to record what he was hearing on the tune.”
Photo by George Rose/Getty Images
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