You Can Call Me Al

Recorded at The Hit Factory in New York in April 1986 for Graceland, with Paul Simon joined by Ray Phiri, Bakithi Kumalo, Isaac Mtshali, Ralph MacDonald, Morris Goldberg, and a Rob Mounsey-arranged horn section. Simon produced the recording, and Roy Halee engineered and mixed it. Released by Warner Bros. in 1986, You Can Call Me Al became the lead single from Graceland and helped introduce Simon's South African-influenced album to a mainstream pop audience. Its Chevy Chase video and later Hot 100 resurgence made it Simon's biggest solo single of the 1980s. The track remains one of Paul Simon's signature solo recordings, especially for Bakithi Kumalo's reversed bass break and Morris Goldberg's penny-whistle hook. It continues to stand as the most widely recognized single from Graceland.