(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Paul Simon - "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"
Hit Number 1: February 7, 1976
Stay at Number 1: 3 Weeks
Just before Simon & Garfunkel split up, one of Paul Simon's biggest life regrets happened. He'd let Art Garfunkel sing lead on "Bridge Over Troubled Water," the song that would hit #1 in 1970, becoming the top-selling song of the year. That's not even to mention the fact that that song still has an outstanding legacy that continues to hold up today. Simon pretty much put the whole song together himself, lyrics and instrumentation and all, but felt that the song was way out of his voice range, so he thought Garfunkel should sing it instead. (There's more on that backstory in the review of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," of course) Truthfully, as good as Paul Simon is, he doesn't have that outstanding a voice range. The guy's a good singer, but Garfunkel is the one that can reach those absurdly high notes, not glass-breaking high, but the actually impressive high notes. (Looking at you Mariah Carey, who will eventually appear in this blog way too many times) Nonetheless, Simon was a little pissed he let a song like that get away from him, especially with all the hard work he put into creating it.
This is actually the last time we heard from Paul Simon in this blog, which is hard to believe. It's not like the dude quit writing and recording new music, even after he and Garfunkel called it quits for the duo. In fact, Simon was writing bangers since the split of him and Garfunkel. I'm talking about songs like "Loves Me Like a Rock" and "Kodachrome," which are both fun sing-alongs with irresistible hooks. (Both of them stalled at #2, and both of them are 8s) The guy did just fine without Garfunkel, but for some reason, his solo music just couldn't get to the summit on the pop charts. That was until "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," which Simon says just came to him one day. (Yes, that old familiar story of songs just "coming to people") Apparently he just woke up one morning with the opening line in his head, and he built off of that. The year the song came out, Simon and his brother, Eddie, were interviewed and somehow the song came up. Eddie said that Paul made up the song as a way to teach his son how to rhyme. Whatever works I guess.
The song's lyrics don't make much sense, at least they don't to me. It appears like Simon plays the part of a guy who is in an unhealthy relationship, and he's talking to a girl who hates to "see him in such pain," and explains that there must be "50 ways to leave your lover." This girl seems to take a liking to Simon's character, as she even kisses him at one point in the song. But we never really know who this girl is, how Simon's character knows her or what exactly is going on, and why Simon's character would want to leave his current relationship. I get the gist of the song, but there's a lot of missing details here that leaves the song somewhat mysterious. As always, if any of you want to tell me your theories on what the song's about, let me know.
Simon himself was just coming out of what I assume was a bad relationship, having just got a divorce with his first wife. One thing Simon clearly knew how to do, especially in the post-Simon & Garfunkel era, was how to come up with a hook. I don't know the details on Simon's divorce, and I probably don't want to either, but that could have been a factor in how easy the song was to write for Simon. The hooks are undeniable, with the "Just slip out the back Jack/Make a little plan Stan" etc. being the highlight of the song. That chorus is yet another addicting hook that Simon came up with. But I like the general mood of the song too. There's a drum riff by drummer Steve Gadd that also sticks with you, and it gives the song one of those intros to where you know exactly what song is coming on. The verses promote that mysterious mood I was talking about earlier, before the song explodes into its hooks. The hooks aren't those maddening hooks that drill themselves into your brain, either. They're more gentle hooks that ease their way inside your mind, yet you can't get them out of your head. In this case, why would you want to?
Maybe Simon thought he'd have other #1 hits after "50 Ways," but he wouldn't. He continued to stick around the music business, releasing albums like One Trick Pony with more bangers on them. (Specifically, I'm talking about "Late in the Evening," which is a truly awesome song. It peaked at #6. It's a 9) He even took part in the USA for Africa's "We Are the World," which would hit #1 in 1985, so I guess if you count that, Simon will appear in this blog again. But even after "We Are the World," Simon would release maybe his best album ever in Graceland. (Graceland brought us the perfectly nonsensical masterpiece in "You Can Call Me Al," which peaked at an absurdly low #23 in 1986. Despite that, the song is still a 10) I could go on and on about Paul Simon's solo work, but eventually his popularity did dwindle, just like everyone else that does music. He still sings and performs live today, even sometimes performing live with his old friend Garfunkel again. That's a good thing to see.
GRADE: 9/10
JUST MISSED:
Donna Summer's sex-rock, pre-disco number "Love to Love You Baby" peaked at #2 behind "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." It's a 6.
IN POP CULTURE:
Kid Cudi sampled "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" on his song "50 Ways to Make a Record." Here's that:
(Kid Cudi will eventually appear in this blog as a guest artist)
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