Paul Simon’s Graceland Turns 40

Paul Simon’s Graceland reaches its 40th anniversary on August 25, 2026, marking four decades since the album reshaped his career through an ambitious collaboration with South African musicians.

by Paul Cashmere

Paul Simon’s Graceland was released on August 25, 1986, at a point when the singer-songwriter’s commercial position had weakened and his previous album, Hearts and Bones, had performed poorly. The record changed that trajectory. Built from sessions with South African musicians and expanded through collaborations with American artists, Graceland became Simon’s most successful solo album, eventually selling more than 16 million copies worldwide.

The 40th anniversary provides an opportunity to reconsider an album that was both a major commercial achievement and one of the more complicated cultural projects of the 1980s. Graceland connected Simon’s songwriting with mbaqanga, isicathamiya, zydeco, rock, pop and other musical traditions, bringing musicians including Ladysmith Black Mambazo and guitarist Ray Phiri to an international audience.

Its creation, however, took place against the backdrop of apartheid and an international cultural boycott of South Africa. Simon’s decision to record in Johannesburg was criticised by anti-apartheid organisations and musicians who argued that his presence undermined the boycott. Others, including South African musicians involved in the project, viewed the collaboration differently.

The album grew from a bootleg cassette of South African township music that Simon heard in 1984. The recording had been lent to him by Norwegian musician Heidi Berg, who had been exploring the combination of African and Western music. Simon became particularly interested in mbaqanga, the Johannesburg street style also known as township jive, and decided to build a new album around the musical ideas he heard on the tape.

In February 1985, Simon and his longtime engineer Roy Halee travelled to Johannesburg and recorded with musicians assembled through producer Hilton Rosenthal. The sessions involved the Boyoyo Boys, Tao Ea Matsekha, General M.D. Shirinda, the Gaza Sisters and others. Simon subsequently brought several of the South African musicians to New York for further recording.

The sessions produced the musical foundations for songs including You Can Call Me Al and Under African Skies. Simon then wrote lyrics around the existing tracks, reversing the normal process of composing a song first and arranging it afterwards. He described the approach as improvisational, with the tracks preceding the songs.

Graceland expanded well beyond its South African foundation. Linda Ronstadt and the Everly Brothers contributed to the record, while Louisiana’s Rockin’ Dopsie and the Zydeco Twisters appeared on That Was Your Mother. Los Lobos recorded All Around the World or The Myth of Fingerprints with Simon in Los Angeles. The album’s resulting musical vocabulary crossed American roots music with African styles rather than following a single genre template.

The record also carried the tensions of its circumstances. The musicians faced apartheid restrictions, including curfews that could make late recording sessions difficult. Simon later argued that the collaboration itself demonstrated an alternative to apartheid’s racial hierarchy. The United Nations Anti-Apartheid Committee supported the project, while the African National Congress opposed Simon’s breach of the cultural boycott and he was subsequently placed on a United Nations blacklist before being removed in January 1987.

The debate did not end with the album’s success. Critics questioned whether Simon had appropriated another culture for a Western audience, while supporters pointed to the exposure the record provided to South African musicians. The issue remains part of Graceland’s history rather than something separate from it. The album’s cultural impact and the controversy surrounding its creation developed simultaneously.

Commercially, the scale of Graceland was striking. Warner Bros. released the album with relatively little promotion in August 1986, while Simon was uncertain about his commercial future. Within a year, worldwide sales had reached six million, and later estimates placed total global sales above 16 million. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1987, and Graceland was added to the US National Recording Registry in 2006.

The album also established a touring ensemble that placed its collaborators at the centre of the live presentation. The Graceland tour began in February 1987 with a 24-member group of Black South African musicians including Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Ray Phiri and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The tour concluded in Zimbabwe, where the final performances were filmed for Graceland: The African Concert.

Four decades later, Graceland remains significant because its success cannot be reduced to either its sales or its musical experimentation. It represents a moment when a major American songwriter rebuilt his career by changing his creative process and working directly with musicians from another musical tradition. The record’s continuing relevance also comes from the unresolved questions surrounding that collaboration, ensuring that its 40th anniversary is a point for historical reassessment as much as celebration.

Tracklisting
The Boy In The Bubble
Graceland
I Know What I Know
Gumboots
Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
You Can Call Me Al
Under African Skies
Homeless
Crazy Love, Vol. II
That Was Your Mother
All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints