SONG TITLE: THE LATE GREAT JOHNNY ACE
PERFORMER: PAUL SIMON
SONGWRITER: PAUL SIMON
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1983
COMMENTS:
Generally
speaking,
the
wistful
laments
of
singer/songwriters
don't
much
impress
me.
Notice
the
paucity
of
James
Taylor
and
Jackson
Browne
songs
on
the
list.
Nobody
really
needs
one
more
contemplative
musical
sigh
about
how
it's
kinda
sad
when
your
woman
leaves
you
or
you
realize
you
just
don't
fit
into
society
or
you're
getting
old.
Ah,
geez,
shut
up
already,
damn.
Broadly
speaking,
this
song
might
fit
that
general
category,
but
there
are
some
important
differences.
The
principal
points
of
distinction
are
that
this
record
is
unusually
complex
emotionally,
and
that
it
is
unusual
in
the
songwriting
structure.
Paul
Simon
has
made
records
as
good
as
anybody
in
the
modern
era,
and
he
is
well
past
making
generic
folkie
laments.
This
song
explores
Simon's
maturing
reaction
and
attitude
toward
death.
Johnny
Ace
was
a
third
string
r&b
singer
who
blew
his
brains
out
playing
Russian
roulette
when
Paul
was
about
12
years
old.
"I
really
wasn't
such
a
Johnny
Ace
fan
but
I
felt
bad
all
the
same,
so
I
sent
away
for
his
picture."
This
part
of
the
song
comes
out
as
something
of
a
wistful
ballad,
but
more
interesting
than
most.
This
singer
didn't
mean
much
to
him,
but
he's
torn
up
by
the
idea
of
death
itself.
Then
he
takes
a
different
turn.
It
turns
into
a
nice
light
r&b
shuffle
as
he
shares
a
bit
of
the
joyous
memory
of
being
a
highly
successful
young
professional
musician
during
the
heady
days
of
the
'60's.
You
can
feel
the
blissful
years
of
carefree
youth
rolling
by.
Suddenly
he's
back
to
the
more
contemplative
tone
of
the
opening.
He
has
found
himself
moving
gently
into
a
more
subdued
middle
age.
He's
walking
down
the
street
one
night
when
a
stranger
stops
him
to
share
the
news
of
John
Lennon's
assassination.
Simon
manages
to
imply
whole
whirling
masses
of
emotional
upheaval
in
but
a
few
words
and
lines
of
melody.
Lennon
was
a
colleague
and
symbolic
leader
of
their
generation.
He
suddenly
hears
the
mortality
clock
ticking.
This
ticking
comes
courtesy
of
a
concluding
instrumental
section
by
Philip
Glass.
He
ends
up,
then,
with
a
weird
but
accessible
art
song.
It
is
structurally
quite
unusual,
and
carries
lots
of
subtle
emotional
twists.
Yet
it
is
melodically
catchy,
and
the
lyrics
make
perfectly
simple
straightforward
sense.