Paul Simon was Paul Simon’s first post-Simon and Garfunkel solo album, and it and Here Comes Rhymin’ Simon are not only his two best (sorry, Graceland lovers) but also two of the overall best albums of the 1970s, period. The album was released in January of 1972 and immediately found a place on my GE portable turntable. It got very good reviews at the time, rose to #4 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart, and was named a Record of the Year by Stereo Review magazine, which I read religiously back then.
The album contained a number of songs that made it onto AM and FM radio, including “Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard,” “Duncan” (my personal favorite), and today’s classic song of the day, “Mother and Child Reunion.” This was the first song written and recorded for the album and its lead single; it hit #4 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts—and on Cash Box’s Hot 100, too. (The song also hit #1 in South Africa, interestingly.)
Mr. Simon and legendary producer Roy Hallee traveled to Dynamic Sounds Studio in Jamaica and used Jimmy Cliff’s backing group to give “Mother and Child Reunion” its unique reggae-like feel. Wrecking Crew member Larry Knechtel overdubbed the piano tracks back in the states and Cissy Houston provided backing vocals.
The song got its name from a chicken-and-egg dish at one of Mr. Simon’s favorite Chinese restaurants, Chinatown’s 456 Restaurant, called Mother and Child Reunion. (The chicken’s the mother and the egg’s the child—get it?) Mr. Simon says the lyrics were inspired by a pet dog of his that was run over and killed. And, yes, the aforementioned mother and child reunion is both a motion and a moment away, depending on where you are in the lyrics.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, Paul Simon performing “Mother and Child Reunion,” with guest Jimmy Cliff, at the 2012 Hard Rock Calling Festival in London’s Hyde Park. It’s only a moment away…
