Remembering When Paul Simon Paid Touching Tribute to a Rock Icon Gone Too Soon in 1983

Paul Simon’s 1983 song “The Late Great Johnny Ace” reflects on the deaths of three men named John, including John Lennon, who was murdered in 1980. Though Simon and Lennon had a complicated relationship, the song shows how Lennon’s death affected Simon and connects it to earlier losses in American cultural history.

The song’s title refers to R&B singer Johnny Ace, who accidentally shot himself in 1954; it also recalls President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination and the Beatles’ arrival in the United States the following year. It closes Simon’s album *Hearts and Bones*, with a sombre orchestral arrangement by Philip Glass. The album fell short of expectations, but the song remains a memorable tribute.