3 Songwriters Paul Simon Thinks Are His Equals

There are few songwriters who could truly rival Paul Simon. His sound is unique. No one says things in quite the same fashion. Even today, decades into his career, Simon’s singular songwriting voice looms large. So, if we were to pick someone to be his equal, we’d have to take notes from the man himself. Anything else seems far too presumptuous. Find three of Simon’s favorite songwriters below. These artists are once-in-a-generation talents, much like we view Simon.

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Paul McCartney

Exploding onto the music scene at around the same time, Paul McCartney and Simon had similar vantage points. Their individual songwriting styles are distinct, but they also share similarities. Mostly, in the idea that they soundtracked a generation, delivering truths that still resound today.

Simon once gave props to McCartney, as many songwriters have done before. Simon once put McCartney into the top tier of songwriters, alongside composers like George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and country heavyweight Hank Williams. We can’t argue with the folk legend there. All of those names and these two Pauls operate in an untouchable league.

Bob Dylan

You can’t be a folk artist and not admire Bob Dylan. The forefather of the modern song obviously inspired Simon in his pursuit of truth-telling. Though Simon has spoken about how “coming in second” to Dylan has always been a matter of contention for him, he has conceded that the Bard possesses a mystique that he doesn’t.

“I usually come in second to [Dylan], and I don’t like coming in second,” Simon once said. “One of my deficiencies is that my voice sounds sincere. I’ve tried to sound ironic. I don’t. I can’t. Dylan, everything he sings has two meanings. He’s telling you the truth and making fun of you at the same time. I sound sincere every time.”

John Lennon

Simon and John Lennon famously had a complex relationship. They butted heads occasionally, but there was a respect there that was inevitable. Lennon penned just as many seminal Beatles records as McCartney, so Simon’s affinity for the band had to earn the late, great musician a little credit.

Simon has paid his respects to Lennon’s talents plenty of times. Namely, in the 1980s track “The Late Great Johnny Ace”. “When a stranger came up and asked me / If I’d heard John Lennon had died / And the two of us / Went to this bar / And we stayed to close the place,” he sings, mourning the loss of a peer and a music legend.

(Photo by Chris Walter/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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