Paul Simon is a musician.
Paul Simon . The duo split up in 1970 at the height of their popularity and Simon began a successful solo career as a guitarist and singer-songwriter , recording three highly acclaimed albums over the next five years . In 1986 , he released Graceland , an album inspired by South African township music , which sold 14 million copies worldwide on its release and remains his most popular solo work . In 2001 , he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2006 was selected as one of the `` 100 People Who Shaped the World '' by Time magazine . In 2011 , Rolling Stone magazine named Simon as one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists . Among many other honors , Simon was the first recipient of the Library of Congress 's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007 .