Is Paul Simon About To Retire?
By Robyn Collins
(CBS NEWS) – Music legend Paul Simon is seriously considering going out on top. With his 13th solo album Stranger To Stranger earning him his first No. 1 on Billboard's album chart and Americana/Folk Albums chart, and his first No. 1 studio album in the UK in 26 years, Simon is thinking about cutting the cord and just reflecting on the past.
"It's an act of courage to let go," he told the New York Times. "I am going to see what happens if I let go. Then I'm going to see, who am I? Or am I just this person that was defined by what I did? And if that's gone, if you have to make yourself, who are you?"
Over the decades Simon has enjoyed great success, but he claims fame has also caused much turmoil. "I've seen fame turn into absolute poison when I was a kid in the '60s," he told The Times. "It killed Presley. It killed Lennon. It killed Michael Jackson. I've never known anyone to have gotten an enormous amount of fame who wasn't, at a minimum, confused by it and had a very hard time making decisions."
Simon's latest U.S. tour is currently wrapping up. He performed at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley in early June. The final concert will be Thursday (June 30) night at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens, where Simon was raised, and where he met the other half of the Hall of Fame inducted duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Simon will start a tour of Europe at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic on Oct. 17. Then he plans to spend some time traveling and meandering with his wife, singer-songwrite Edie Brickell.
© 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
