Paul Simon, You Can Call Me Al | Throwback Vibez

In the 167^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “You Can Call Me Al” by Paul Simon.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez! Throwback Vibez is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 167^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “You Can Call Me Al” performed by Paul Simon.

What more can be said but WORD.  Well, actually, plenty more can be said when it comes to the prolific, profound songwriting of the iconic Paul Simon (b. 1941). “You Can Call Me Al” is the sixth track from his important, critically acclaimed, controversial, Grammy-winning 1986 album, Graceland. “Al” is a prime example of the 16-time Grammy winner at his finest. It reached its respectable peak of number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1987. This marked Simon’s highest charting hit on the pop charts since 1980. He penned and produced the track, considered to be among the best of his career.  

Simply put, “You Can Call Me Al” has a lot going on.  It features South African music and black South African musicians. The music, which fuses Simon’s musical genius and the traditional music of South Africa, is breathtaking; delightful. Simon’s vocal performance is marvelous, bringing tuneful melodies and his gift of lyricism to life. However, Simon’s union with South Africa was controversial for several reasons.  His trip to South Africa, collaborating with black South African musicians, broke the cultural boycott on South Africa – Apartheid.  Also, while Simon brought attention to South Africa and their music, he earned criticism for cultural appropriation and was involved in, quote, “the eye of a political storm that would result in violence and assassination threats”. Musically speaking, the risk was worth the reward, hence the masterpiece that is Graceland and the unforgettable “You Can Call Me Al.”

Beyond the top-notch musicianship exhibited by the instrumental (the arrangement and production are a chef’s kiss), the lyrics are ear-catching. Beginning with the centerpiece, the chorus, Simon sings, “I can call you Betty / And Betty, when you call me, you can call me Al.” Where did the names Al and Betty come from? French composer extraordinaire, Pierre Boulez (1925 – 2016), misunderstood Paul and his then-wife, Peggy Harper’s names. Each of the song’s three verses and pre-choruses is intriguing, too.  In the first verse and pre-chorus, excerpted earlier, he seems to reflect on middle age and worries about irrelevance.  In the second verse, one of Simon’s role models has become entrenched in scandal (“Who’ll be my role model now that my role model is gone, gone?”).  He adds in the second pre-chorus, “All along, along, there were incidents and accidents / There were hints and allegations.” The third verse may be my favorite, and most relevant to Simon’s inspirational trip to South Africa:

“A man walks down the street

It’s a street in a strange world

Maybe it’s the third world

Maybe it’s his first time around

Doesn’t speak the language

He holds no currency

He is a foreign man

He is surrounded by the sound, the sound.”

“You Can Call Me Al” is a crowd-pleasing song. But, it is also so much more than that. This is a pop success that goes deeper. This rock/pop classic is jam-packed with social, political, and musical connections.  Risky, Paul Simon truly delivered a surefire masterpiece.

---

Paul Simon » Graceland » Paul Simon » 1986

Paul Simon, You Can Call Me Al: Throwback Vibez No. 167 (2025) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Paul Simon; AcatXlo, OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]

---