"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" is a song by the American singer-songwriter

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

. It was the fourth

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from his seventh studio album, ''

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

'' (1986), released on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. The song features guest vocals from the South African male choral group

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...

Background

"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" was written when Simon went to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. While he was there, he gathered various music from locals. Upon returning to New York, Simon finished the album with the artists he brought back from South Africa, according to Simon's account in the ''Classic Albums'' documentary on the making of ''Graceland''. Simon recalled that "Diamonds" wasn't originally planned for inclusion on ''Graceland''. When Simon, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and several of the South African studio musicians arrived in New York to perform on the May 10th episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', which Simon was set to host, his label, Warner Bros., decided to release the album in the fall instead of the originally planned release that July. Simon and engineer

Roy Halee Roy Decker Halee (born 1934) is an American record producer and engineer, best known for working with Simon & Garfunkel, both as a group and for their solo projects. Early life He grew up on Long Island, New York. His father, also named Roy ...

then decided, with most of the major players involved in the recordings in town, to record "Diamonds", and to include it on the album. Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo performed the song live during their second appearance on ''

'' on November 22, 1986. During the performance, Simon sang live to the backing instrumental track featured on the album while Ladysmith mimed their parts.

sing in Zulu on the studio track. Their refrain roughly translates to: "It's not usual but in our days we see those things happen. They are women, they can take care of themselves." "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" and "Homeless" were both rerecorded by Ladysmith Black Mambazo for the 2006 album ''

Long Walk to Freedom ''Long Walk to Freedom'' is an autobiography credited to South African President Nelson Mandela. It was ghostwritten by Richard Stengel and first published in 1994 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education ...

''. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" a "sweet, ethnic and graceful tune" and said that "Simon’s loaded lyrical political blast is laced, unsuspectingly, across the song by its placid melody."

Personnel

—lead vocals, guitar *

Ray Phiri Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri (23 March 1947 – 12 July 2017) was a South African jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician born in Mpumalanga to Thabethe Phiri, a Malawian immigrant worker, and South African guitarist nicknamed "Just Now" Phiri. He wa ...

—guitar *

Bakithi Kumalo Bakithi Kumalo (; born 10 May 1956) is a South African bassist, composer, and vocalist. Kumalo is most known for his fretless bass playing on Paul Simon's 1986 album ''Graceland'', in particular the bass run on "You Can Call Me Al". Biography and ...

—bass *Isaac Mtshali—drums *

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

, Babacar Faye, Assane Thaim, James Guyatt— percussion *

Lenny Pickett Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band. From 1973 to 1981 he was a member of Tower of Power. He is known for his skill in the altissimo register (executed by using ...

—tenor saxophone * Earl Gardner—trumpet * Alex Foster—alto saxophone *

—vocals

Covers

The song has been covered by the

Soweto String Quartet The Soweto String Quartet is a string quartet from Soweto in South Africa composed of Reuben Khemese, Makhosini Mnguni, Sandile Khemese and Thami Khemese. Their music is a fusion of the "dance rhythms of Kwela, the syncopated guitars of Mbaqanga, th ...

and features on their greatest hits collection. English singer

MIKA Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footbal ...

performed a live piano cover of the song on his

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

show ''The Art of Song'' in March 2016.

Charts

Certifications

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{authority control Songs written by Paul Simon Paul Simon songs Song recordings produced by Paul Simon 1986 songs 1987 singles Ladysmith Black Mambazo Warner Records singles