''There Goes Rhymin' Simon'' is the third solo studio album by American musician

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

released in May 1973. It contains songs spanning several styles and genres, such as

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

(" Loves Me Like a Rock") and

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

(" Take Me to the Mardi Gras"). It received two nominations at the Grammy Awards of 1974, which were for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male and Album of the Year. As foreshadowed by the lead single "

Kodachrome Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years, Kodachrome was widely used ...

" (which reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts, behind

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...

's " Will It Go Round in Circles"), ''There Goes Rhymin' Simon'' was a bigger hit than its predecessor, reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart (behind

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

's ''

Living in the Material World ''Living in the Material World'' is the fourth studio album by the English musician George Harrison, released in 1973 on Apple Records. As the follow-up to 1970's critically acclaimed ''All Things Must Pass'' and his pioneering charity project, ...

''), and No. 1 on ''Cashbox'' for one week from June 30, 1973. In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at No. 4. Subsequent singles were also the No. 2 single "Loves Me Like a Rock" (kept out of the top spot by

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

's " Half-Breed", but reaching No. 1 on Cashbox on September 29, 1973), and the Top 40 hit "American Tune". Also, "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" was released in the UK reaching the Top 10. The song "Kodachrome" is named after the

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

photographic film Photographic film is a strip or sheet of transparent film base coated on one side with a gelatin photographic emulsion, emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of the ...

of the same name. Kodak required the album to note that

is a trademark. The song was not released as a single in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, where it could not be played on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

radio due to its trademarked name.

Reception

Critics praised the album. The ''

Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in the Denver metropolitan area. it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 mil ...

''s Jared Johnson called it "a brilliantly executed masterpiece, and surely the finest album in three years," citing such 1970 releases as ''

Bridge Over Troubled Water ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'' is the fifth and final studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 26, 1970, by Columbia Records. Following the duo's soundtrack for ''The Graduate'', Art Garfunkel took an acting ...

'' and ''

After the Gold Rush ''After the Gold Rush'' is the third studio album by the Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in September 1970 on Reprise Records. It is one of four high-profile solo albums released by the members of folk rock group Crosby, Still ...

''.

Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As music critic and editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays, and profiles have appeared in publications worldwide ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said, "Combining a variety of musical textures (from a touch of gospel to an infectious trace of Jamaican rhythm to a hint of the old Simon and Garfunkel grandeur), Simon's new album firmly establishes him as one of our most valuable and accessible artists."

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' praised the album as "a rich and moving song cycle, one in which each cut reflects on every other to create an ever-widening series of refractions." However, ''

Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...

''s Noel Coppage, while giving the album an "excellent" rating, nonetheless felt that it was "deficient in spontaneity, excitement, strain", calling its arrangements "clean and sensible" but "oddly predictable". In 2003, the album was ranked number 267 on ''

'' magazine's list of

the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...

. In 2000 it was voted number 421 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

''.

Track listing

All tracks written by

Personnel

* Paul Simon – vocals, acoustic guitar (1, 3, 4, 6–10) *

Barry Beckett Barry Edward Beckett (February 4, 1943 – June 10, 2009) was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in the ...

– keyboards (1, 3, 9), acoustic piano (5),

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

(9) * Paul Griffin – acoustic piano (2) * Bob James – keyboards (4, 6) * Bobby Scott – acoustic piano (4) * Carson Whitsett –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

(8) *

Pete Carr Jesse Willard "Pete" Carr (April 22, 1950 – June 27, 2020) was an American guitarist. Carr contributed session work to recordings by Joan Baez, Luther Ingram, Bob Seger, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, Percy Sledge, The Sta ...

– acoustic guitar (1), electric guitar (3, 5, 9) * Jimmy Johnson – electric guitar (1, 3) *

Cornell Dupree Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz fusion and Rhythm and blues, R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis, and Steve Gadd, appeared on ''L ...

– electric guitar (2) * Al Gafa – guitar (4) *

David Spinozza David Spinozza (born August 8, 1949) is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing T ...

– guitar (4) *Jerry Puckett – electric guitar (8) *

David Hood David Hood (born September 21, 1943) is an American musician, hailing from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, He is known for playing the bass guitar and trombone, and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Early life and education Hood was b ...

– bass guitar (1, 3, 5, 9, 10) * Gordon Edwards – bass guitar (2) *

Bob Cranshaw Melbourne Robert Cranshaw (December 3, 1932 – November 2, 2016) was an American jazz bassist. His career spanned the heyday of Blue Note Records as a house bassist to his later involvement with the Musicians Union. He is perhaps best known f ...

– bass guitar (4, 6, 7) * Richard Davis – double bass (4) * Verne Robbins – bass guitar (8) * Roger Hawkins – drums (1, 3, 5, 10), percussion (9) *

Rick Marotta Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Ste ...

– drums (2) *

James Stroud James Stroud is an American musician and record producer who works in Pop music, pop, Rock music, rock, R&B, soul, disco, and country music. He played with the Malaco Rhythm Section for Malaco Records. In the 1990s, he was the president of Giant ...

– drums (8) *

Grady Tate Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated ''Schoolhou ...

– drums (4, 6) * Don Elliott – vibraphone (4) *

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer, composer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a membe ...

– percussion (7) * Uncredited – horns (1, 8), Hammond organ (2), strings (3), flute (4), shaker (4), choir (5) * Onward Brass Band – horns (3) *

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

– horn arrangements (2) *

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

– string arrangements (4) * Del Newman – string arrangements (6) *

The Dixie Hummingbirds The Dixie Hummingbirds (formerly known as The Sterling High School Quartet) are an influential United States, American gospel music group, spanning more than 80 years from the Jubilee quartets, jubilee quartet style of the 1920s, through the "h ...

– group vocals (2, 10) * Claude Jeter – falsetto vocals (3) * Maggie and Terre Roche – backing vocals (7)

Production

* Paul Simon – producer, arrangements * The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section – co-producers (1, 3, 5, 9, 10) *

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 Halee grew up on Long Island, New York. His father, also named Roy ...

– co-producer (2, 7), engineer (2, 7) *

Paul Samwell-Smith Paul Granville Samwell-Smith (born Paul G. Smith, 8 May 1943, in Brentford, West London, England) is an English musician and record producer. He was a founding member and the bassist of the 1960s English rock band the Yardbirds, which launched ...

– co-producer (6) * Jerry Masters – supervising engineer, engineer (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10) *

Phil Ramone Philip Rabinowitz (January 5, 1934March 30, 2013), better known as Phil Ramone, was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, and co-founder of A & R recording studio. Its success led to expansion ...

– supervising engineer, engineer (2, 4–7, 10), co-producer (4, 7, 8, 10) * Roger Quested – engineer (6) * Gerald Stephenson – engineer (8) * Richard Blakin – assistant engineer *

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer, recognized for his designs, including the I Love New York logo; a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan; the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University, Brooklyn Brewery; and his ...

– cover design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1973 albums Paul Simon albums Albums arranged by Quincy Jones Albums produced by Roy Halee Albums produced by Phil Ramone Albums produced by Paul Samwell-Smith Albums produced by Paul Simon Columbia Records albums Warner Records albums Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios Albums recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio Albums with cover art by Milton Glaser