Classic Rock
Paul Simon talks about hearing loss and says he still plays guitar
The legendary singer, guitarist and songwriter Paul Simon (81) talked during a recent Q&A session at the Toronto International Film Festival (Transcribed by The Hollywood Reporter) about his hearing loss and revealed that he still plays the guitar everyday. The musician had recently said that he wanted to go back on the road but he couldn’t because of the hearing problems.
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The musician made his farewell tour in 2018 but said that he could still do a few concerts over the years and he performed last year at the Newport Folk Festival.
He released his fifteenth solo studio album “Seven Psalms” last May and that record is conceived as a seven-part piece to be listened in its entirety.
Paul Simon talks about hearing loss and says he still plays guitar
“I haven’t accepted it entirely (The hearing loss), but I’m beginning to. I play the guitar every day. It’s the instrument that allows me to express myself creatively. But it’s also where I go for solace. If I’m feeling … ‘whatever.'”
“So it’s a very crucial thing to me. You know, something happens to you when you have some sort of disability that changes your awareness or changes how you interact with life.” Usually, when I finished an album I went out and toured with it, and then I have the opportunity to really investigate the piece. And then it evolves to another standard, and goes further.”
“Although a week from now I’m going to try and work with two guitarists who will play the parts that I played on the record, and see if I can sing the piece. I’m not sure how I can integrate my voice with the guitars,” Paul Simon said.
Simon is one of the best-selling artists of all time and have sold million of records from his solo career and also from his work with Art Garfunkel as Simon & Garfunkel.
He is one of the few musicians who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame both as a part of a band and as a solo act.
