Bridge Over Troubled Water

It is far and away the best-selling album of Paul Simon's solo career, now certified five times platinum in America alone.

Even among Simon & Garfunkel's studio albums, only the eight-times-platinum Bridge Over Troubled Water outsells Graceland.

So, what made Graceland so improbable? For one thing, Paul Simon did it at age 44.

And it came at an odd career juncture for Simon.

But Graceland was hardly the first time Paul Simon had made hit music out of cultural borrowings.

Yes, I.

This is El Cándor Pasa, parentheses, If I Could, by Simon & Garfunkel, the last single taken from their last studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, in 1970.

It was a number 18 hit on the Hot 100 in the fall of 1970, and it's based on a Peruvian ballad that dated to 1913, A piece of Andean folk music that had been covered by numerous artists, the English lyrics in the Simon & Garfunkel version were written by Paul Simon.

It is far and away the best-selling album of Paul Simon's solo career, now certified five times platinum in America alone.

Even among Simon & Garfunkel's studio albums, only the eight-times-platinum Bridge Over Troubled Water outsells Graceland.

So, what made Graceland so improbable? For one thing, Paul Simon did it at age 44.

And it came at an odd career juncture for Simon.

But Graceland was hardly the first time Paul Simon had made hit music out of cultural borrowings.

I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail Yes, I would

This is El Cándor Pasa, parentheses, If I Could, by Simon & Garfunkel, the last single taken from their last studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, in 1970.

It was a number 18 hit on the Hot 100 in the fall of 1970, and it's based on a Peruvian ballad that dated to 1913, A piece of Andean folk music that had been covered by numerous artists, the English lyrics in the Simon & Garfunkel version were written by Paul Simon.

But this sounds great on the phone.

We have got Simon Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon Kidd.

Trouble over troubled water.

Last one.

And, uh, how many parents just love it? They're like, "Great, I can use this to calm my kids down." Like one of those bark collars, you know, or, or something that sends out a sonar and your dog's barking, you push a button, the dog stops barking, right? It's all about mind control.

Um, it's been streamed 470 million times during the last 10 years, which is more than Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On and Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Waters.

Um, [laughs] on YouTube, a continuous 10-hour loop of the song was uploaded by some kind soul, and that video has garnered 14 million clicks.

Can you imagine listening to the same song for 10 hours? Wow.

Oh, okay.

So these are like all old, like we've got Bridge Over Troubled Water sitting

right here on top.

These are kind of all old records she has.