WIMBERLEY, TEXAS: Paul Simon recently revealed that he is suffering from sudden hearing loss in one of his ears, which has left him doubting if he will be touring again. The 81-year-old singer-songwriter noted that the hearing loss in his left ear struck when he was writing his latest studio album, titled ‘Seven Psalms’.
"Quite suddenly I lost most of the hearing in my left ear, and nobody has an explanation for it. So everything became more difficult,” the 'Believed' singer told the Sunday Times. Simon also claimed that doctors were unable to determine what had caused the abrupt hearing loss. “My reaction to that was frustration and annoyance; not quite anger yet, because I thought it would pass, it would repair itself," the 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' hit-maker further stated.
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'You should get off the road, go home'
However, Simon’s situation has not improved, and now he has doubts about his return to performing live once again. The qualms are also bolstered by a 2020 fight with Covid-19 and his loss of excitement for singing some of his older songs. “The songs of mine that I don’t want to sing live, I don’t sing them,” Simon said. He added, “Sometimes there are songs that I like and then at a certain point in a tour, I’ll say, ‘What the f**k are you doing, Paul?’ Quite often that would come during ‘You Can Call Me Al.’ I’d think, ‘What are you doing? You’re like a Paul Simon cover band. You should get off the road, go home.’”
Simon, who lives on a large Texas ranch with wife Edie Brickell, went on to claim that it was "spooky" to be still writing even after many of his musical peers have passed away. "It's a spooky thing to be writing something and just be thinking, 'Oh, this is what the song needs. And then it's, 'By the way, this is about you. You're actually the subject of this. It's just the age we're at. Gordon Lightfoot just passed away; Jeff Beck did too. My generation's time is up,” he continued.
Paul Simon’s glorious career and ‘Seven Psalms’
With a career spanning more than six decades, Simon rose to fame in the 1960s as part of the folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel alongside Art Garfunkel. The pair split up in 1970, though reunited on multiple occasions afterward. Following their most recent split up, Simon has been enjoying a successful solo career. Over the years, he gave a number of chart-busting songs including ‘Graceland’, ‘Peace Like a River’, ‘Was a Sunny Day’, and ‘Dazzling Blue’. At the age of 81, Simon released his 15th solo album titled, 'Seven Psalms', in March 2023. The album is presented as a single 33-minute track and features guest appearances from trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and Simon's wife, Edie Brickell.
