The “problem” with prolific, long-lasting careers is that music fans find it hard to listen to the artists' whole discographies. If you like Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis and Paul Simon’s music, like I do, then you’d need several years to go thoroughly through their music legacy. OK, that was enough for starters, all I wanted to say is that I felt kind of embarrassed that I first heard "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon, only a few days ago. Embarrassed because it isn’t some obscure B-side or a bootleg track, but a song that became Simon's sole number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and was his highest position in France, where it peaked at number two. Released in December 1975, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" was the second single from his fourth studio album, “Still Crazy After All These Years” from 1975, released on Columbia Records. The song features a recognizable repeated drum riff performed by drummer Steve Gadd, and it was actually my research of Gadd’s biography that led me to the song. Other musicians on the track include John Tropea on electric guitar, Ralph MacDonald on percussion, Tony Levin on bass, Kenny Ascher on the organ, Phoebe Snow, Valerie Simpson and Patti Austin as background vocals.
Written after Simon's divorce from first wife Peggy Harper, the song is a mistress's humorous advice to a husband on ways to end a relationship. Hence the contrast between the verses, which are sentimental, almost sad, and the chorus which is in a country blues style, filled with joy and relief. It;s practically a song for all those who feel trapped in bad relationships. Explaining how it was created, Paul Simon said: “I woke up one morning in my apartment on Central Park and the opening words just popped into my mind: 'The problem is all inside your head, she said to me...' That was the first thing I thought of. So I just started building on that line. It was the last song I wrote for the album, and I wrote it with a Rhythm Ace, one of those electronic drum machines so maybe that's how it got that sing-song 'make a new plan Stan, don't need to be coy Roy' quality. It's basically a nonsense song."
For me, it quickly became one of my favorite Paul Simon songs that got stuck in my head for days now. I even made plans to cover it for my next album. Of course, the song has already been covered many times, from as early as 1976, one year after the original release, until today. One of the more inventive versions is the one by Bugge Wesseltoft & Sidsel Endresen from 1998, and surprisingly enough, Miley Cyrus has an excellent version of this contagiously memorable song, released on her “Happy Hippie Foundation” album from 2014.
