The Late Great Johnny Ace
Paul Simon
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I was reading a magazine And thinking of a rock and roll song The year was 1954 And I hadn't been playing that long When a man came on the radio And this is what he said He said I hate to break it to his fans But Johnny Ace is dead, yeah, yeah, yeah Well, I really wasn't Such a Johnny Ace fan But I felt bad all the same So I sent away for his photograph And I waited till it came It came all the way from Texas With a sad and simple face And they signed it on the bottom From the Late Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah It was the year of The Beatles It was the year of The Stones It was nineteen 1964 I was living in London With the girl from the summer before It was the year of The Beatles It was the year of The Stones A year after J.F.K. We were staying up all night And giving the days away And the music was flowing amazing And blowing my way On a cold December evening I was walking through the Christmas tide When a stranger came up and asked me If I'd heard John Lennon had died And the two of us went to this bar And we stayed to close the place And every song we played Was for The Late Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah
Become A Better Singer In Only 30 Days, With Easy Video Lessons!
Written by: PAUL SIMON
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
10 facts about this song
Release Date"The Late Great Johnny Ace" was first released on Paul Simon's fifth solo studio album, "Hearts and Bones", which came out in November 1983.
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Song InspirationSimon wrote the song in tribute to three individuals named Johnny Ace, all of whom tragically died. These include the R&B singer Johnny Ace, JFK (whose middle name was Fitzgerald, a likely reference to the song’s phrase "Johnny Ace, Johnny Ace"), and John Lennon. It serves as a tribute to the passing of different eras of American music history.
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Lyrics ContentThe first part of the song recounts the story of R&B singer Johnny Ace who supposedly shot himself in a game of Russian Roulette in 1954. The second part deals with the death of JFK in 1963. The third part refers to John Lennon’s murder in 1980, which was a traumatic event for Paul Simon as they were contemporaries and friends.
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Song PerformancePaul Simon first performed the song live at "The Concert in Central Park" with Art Garfunkel in 1981, two years before it was recorded for the "Hearts and Bones" album.
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Controversial ReceptionWhen Simon performed "The Late Great Johnny Ace" for the first time in 1981, it was a controversial moment as the audience thought he was exploiting John Lennon's death for his own popularity. A man even ran on stage during performance shouting about the disrespect he felt Simon was showing towards Lennon.
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Emotional CompositionSimon noted that the creation of the song was a very emotionally charged experience for him. As he grappled with the sudden death of John Lennon, he used the song as a way to process his feelings.
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Music StyleThe song is characterized by its slow, mournful pace and its focus on the melodic elements, which are typical of Simon’s music during the period when "Hearts and Bones" was produced.
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Music VideoThe song also has a music video directed by Simon and cinematographer Edward Lachman, providing a stylized, surreal visual interpretation of the song.
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Pop Culture Impact"The Late Great Johnny Ace" continues to influence pop culture, with references being made in other music works and literature.
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Unusual Song StructureUnlike traditional songs that follow the verse-chorus-bridge structure, "The Late Great Johnny Ace" is composed of three distinct parts, which are separated by instrumental interludes. Each part pays tribute to a deceased figure named Johnny Ace.
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Citation
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"The Late Great Johnny Ace Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/31681100/Paul+Simon/The+Late+Great+Johnny+Ace>.
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