The 190,000,000-selling artist who Patti Smith and Joni Mitchell agreed was overrated: “I could be extremely negative”
Patti Smith and Joni Mitchell both criticised Paul Simon’s songwriting, despite their shared roots in the New York folk scene. Their objections highlight how artists working in the same musical world can have sharply different ideas about what makes a song work.
Smith said she disliked Simon and Garfunkel’s songs and could be strongly negative about Simon’s work. Mitchell objected to his crowded lyrics, saying he piled up more words than the musical bar could accommodate; she joked that she would need to change her own writing if it sounded like his. Simon’s reported 190 million record sales provide a contrast with the two songwriters’ views.
- Patti Smith said she disliked Simon and Garfunkel’s songs.
- Joni Mitchell criticised the density of Simon’s lyrics.
- Simon’s sales reportedly reached 190 million records.
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Paul Simon is an American singer-songwriter who first became widely known as one half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, alongside Art Garfunkel. Their folk-rock songs became popular in the 1960s, and Simon later had a successful solo career.
Patti Smith and Joni Mitchell are influential songwriters who also emerged from the folk and music scenes of the time. Their reported criticisms of Simon’s writing reflect different views about lyrics and how they fit with music; they do not change his commercial success or establish a single standard for songwriting.