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One-Trick Pony (1980)

Where the lyrics of One-Trick Pony take you, and where it was really made.

The title is a slang phrase for someone with only one talent, yet the album produced a US Top 40 single.

Key places

Cleveland ballroom, September 1979 (1979)

Live show Agora Theatre and Ballroom — The title song and Ace in the Hole were recorded live at this Cleveland venue in September 1979. The other tracks on the album are studio recordings. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded in New York (1980)

Recording site A&R Recording Studio — The studio tracks on this album were recorded at A&R Studios in New York. The two live tracks were recorded in Cleveland instead. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• One-Trick Pony is the fifth solo studio album by Paul Simon, released in 1980
• Released 12 August 1980 by Warner Bros. Records
• Simon's first album for Warner Bros. and his first new studio album since 1975's Still Crazy After All These Years
• Simon's back catalog from Columbia Records also moved to Warner Bros. after he signed with the label
• Released concurrently with the film of the same name, in which Simon also starred
• Album and film are musically distinct: each has different versions of the same songs, plus songs exclusive to one of them

Background

• Session musicians Eric Gale, Richard Tee, Tony Levin and Steve Gadd played as Jonah's backing band in the film
• Simon toured Europe and America in 1980 with this band in support of the album
• One Philadelphia concert was released on VHS as Paul Simon in Concert
• The title is an American colloquial expression for someone who is expert in only one field, has only one talent, or has limited ability

Recording

• The title track and "Ace in the Hole" were recorded live at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio, in September 1979
• The other tracks are studio cuts
• The studio tracks were recorded at A&R Studios in New York
• Producers were Paul Simon and Phil Ramone; Jim Boyer was the recording engineer

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · ko.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Paul Simon (born October 13, 1941, Newark, New Jersey) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• He met Art Garfunkel in elementary school in 1953 and they became known as Simon & Garfunkel in the 1960s.
• The duo's folk-rock hits such as "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "America" and "The Boxer" defined the 1960s counterculture.
• Their final album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), is among the best-selling albums of all time.

Career

• As a solo artist, Simon explored gospel, reggae, soul and world music.
• Paul Simon (1972), There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973) and Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) drew acclaim and hits such as "Mother and Child Reunion" and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover".
• Graceland (1986), incorporating South African influences, became his most successful and acclaimed album.
• He wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman (1998), which was poorly received.
• His later albums include You're the One (2000), So Beautiful or So What (2011), Stranger to Stranger (2016) and Seven Psalms (2023).
• He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice and won 16 Grammy Awards.

Honors

• He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2001 and the first Library of Congress Gershwin Prize in 2007.
• He co-founded the Children's Health Fund, a nonprofit providing medical care to children.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard praised the mellow jazz flavored arrangement of the title track, its superb guitar, keyboard and percussion support, and Simon's convincing vocal performance
• Record World said Eric Gale's lyrical guitar added emphasis to the superb title cut and praised its hook
• Record World called "Oh, Marion" a masterpiece and a pretty ballad filled with memorable lyrical passages and instrumental subtleties

Records

• "Late in the Evening" peaked at No. 6 in the US and No. 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and was a Grammy-nominated track
• The title track reached No. 40 in the US and No. 17 on the Adult Contemporary chart
• Both songs were Top 20 hits on the US Adult Contemporary chart
• "Oh, Marion" did not chart
• The album yielded two hit singles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Douglas Adams mentioned the album on the thank-you page of his novel The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
• Victoria, B.C. band Immaculate Machine took its name from lyrics of "One-Trick Pony"
• The String Cheese Incident have covered "Late In the Evening" on numerous occasions, with drummer Michael Travis on vocals

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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