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| Headline | New Biography |
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| Author | Comment |
mog
Oct-17-2016, 15:07 GMT
Canada
 | Well, we have discussed this many times in the past.
Los Lobos complains that Simon arrived there in the Amigo Studios with *no* music idea. He just wanted them to jam. After a first day of no results, they wanted to give up. They came back the 2nd day, after being pressured to do so by Warner Bros. Wanting to get over the experience as soon as possible, they began to play a song that they had been working on (so in preparation, never recorded). Paul stopped them and said 'what's this?.
Then, the rest is history. It became 'Words and Music by Paul Simon'. I don't think anyone ever disputes that the words were not his. But the music was another issue.
LL were pissed, but I think they went back into the ranks when Warner Bros. asked them not speak ill of Paul, that it was bad for the WB family.
The fact that the two american songs on Graceland do not include shared credits as he did for the SA ones (when it was built on existing tracks) remains a mystery ! |
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Joey
Oct-17-2016, 18:51 GMT
Canada
 | So the song was recorded in the summer and the lyrics were finished in the fall. When did they record the vocals? If Los Lobos was so mad, why did David Hidalgo sing backup after Paul had "stolen" their song?
My guess: they didn't enjoy working Paul, they figured the album would be a dud, they went along with it because of record company pressure, the album came out, it became a hit, they got mad. |
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mog
Oct-17-2016, 21:38 GMT
Canada
| Possible theory indeed Joey.
I have always wondered why, if Hidalgo did indeed his vocals with Paul months after, why he never asked Paul about sharing credits. At that point, the music track was finished. Shy or intimidated by the man ?
We will never know. A thing for sure, the track has never been played live and the film 'Under African Skies' completely ignores the two american songs on Graceland.
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Brenda
Oct-17-2016, 22:42 GMT
Australia
  | The film was documenting Paul going to Africa to record the African musicians and the various reactions to the boycott and his return there for the anniversary. Really had nothing to do with the American songs on the album There are quite a few PS songs never performed live. Myth is the weakest song on the album imo. Could be why Paul has never played it live.
Always thought it strange Steve said they never jam so why did they go into a studio to act as session musicians ? Then later on a You Tube interview discussing how they make albums they said they go into the studio to record with nothing ,no rehearsals and just sit and look at each other until something comes. Exactly what he said about Paul ! |
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Håkan
Oct-19-2016, 08:32 GMT
USA - United Staates America
 | I think Los Lobos would have been content if they just gotten the co-writing credits. I suppose they just assumed that would get that and at the point the vocals were recorded later, the question of co-writing never came up because they took for granted that that would be the case.
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Marieno
Oct-27-2016, 09:13 GMT
France
 | Paul would have been very stupid to steal the music of a very well known american band and not the one of Forere Motlhoheloa, a poor South African musician, ex miner, who didn't speak English and who was living in the middle of nowhere... |
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Bodo
Oct-27-2016, 14:27 GMT
USA - United Staates America
 | Well, I think the african Songs already existed on tape, so stealing them would be too obvious.
I think that los lobos did not mention direct to Paul that it is 'their' Song they are working on, they never said ok, lets do that as a duet. It is all a little bit strange. Steve Berlin said they never jam in the studio, but why do they play a Song then from which no Written Note or Demo exists? |
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Simon D.
Oct-28-2016, 14:51 GMT
United Kingdom
  | But they did mention the melody was a tune they were working on for a forthcoming album.
Significantly Paul had halted proceedings of the impromptu jam, to ask what they were playing , and could "we" use it?
Crucially it had not yet been recorded, and it was this rough melody that Paul went ahead and improvised lyrics upon.
As no other groundrules were enshrined for the session , other than the standard arrangements brokered beforehand between session musicians, the track went on to recorded with sole credit for words and music to Paul Simon.
If songwriting is indeed both words and melody, then to the layman it seems clear that Los Lobos made the melodic breakthrough for this track. |
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Simon D.
Oct-28-2016, 15:04 GMT
United Kingdom
| Paul Simon must be very confident of his side of events, as when the remastered , reissue of the Graceland appeared , "The Myth of Fingerprints" figured not just once but twice. An early version without the Rosas/Hidalgo vocals. However for reasons best known to himself Simon has always refrained from doing this very good song live in concert.
I wonder if having a number 1 record in both the US and UK with "La Bamba" assuaged the feelings of Los Lobos somewhat.
How do we know there was no out of court private settlement of the issue?
If Steve Berlin and his cohorts still feel as angry as they once did about the matter, maybe they can look to the case of Matthew Fisher, the organist with Procul Harum, who recently won a credit for the song "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", 42 years after it was a massive hit. |
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Bodo
Oct-28-2016, 16:41 GMT
USA - United Staates America
| I think Paul would win. No Demo, no written notes, just that contract that they will jam with him, and I guess that is a contract that will Give all rights to Paul.
He sure said sue me.. Nothing happened, although they already had a lawyer hired before.
It is similar to scarborough fair, Carthy was angry but in fact He only showed Paul how to play a special arrangement for an old song. Or El condor pasa, in that time everybody Thought it is a traditional old song. Paul was always very sure what He can take and what not. So I would say myth of fingerprints was a failure of communication. But I also think los lobos wrote that main guitar Part and rough melody. |
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Håkan
Oct-31-2016, 12:27 GMT
USA - United Staates America
| That's "Procol Harum"! |
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Han
Nov-01-2016, 13:57 GMT
Netherlands
 | About Scarborough Fair, Martin Carthy and Paul Simon buried the hatchet about this. They together performed the song in London in 2000 during Paul's concert in Hammersmith. |
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Erwin
Nov-02-2016, 12:50 GMT
Netherlands
| http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/music/paul-simon
s-biography-is-both-rich-in-struggle-and-ambition-
and-doesnt-shy-from-the-lows-of-his-career
Just wanted to share the info............
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