When Simon & Garfunkel split in 1970, Simon quickly began his solo career with the release of the self-titled album, Paul Simon. This was followed by There Goes Rhymin' Simon and Still Crazy After All These Years, both of which featured chart-topping hits such as Loves Me Like A Rock and Kodachrome.

In 1986 Simon released the immensely popular Graceland, which featured the groundbreaking use of African rhythms and performers Ladysmith Black Mambazo. In 1990, he followed up Graceland with the successor album The Rhythm of the Saints which featured Brazilian and Cajun musical themes. These albums helped to popularize world music as a genre.

He co-wrote the unsuccessful, but critically acclaimed musical The Capeman with Nobel-winning poet Derek Walcott in 1997. His most recent album, Surprise, was produced by Brian Eno.

Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, known for his success beginning in 1965 as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles charts, "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". In 1970, at the height of their popularity, the duo split, and Simon began a successful solo career, recording three highly-acclaimed albums over the next five years. In 1986, he released Graceland, an album inspired by South African township music that helped fuel the anti-apartheid movement. Besides music, Simon wrote and starred in the film One Trick Pony in 1980 and co-wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman in 1998.

Through his solo and collaborative work, Simon has earned 13 Grammys, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2006 was selected as one of the "100 People Who Shaped the World" by Time magazine. Among many other honors, Simon was named the first recipient of the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007.