The Late Great Johnny Ace

"The Late Great Johnny Ace" is a song by Paul Simon, which appears on his 1983 Hearts and Bones album. The song initially sings of the rhythm and blues singer Johnny Ace, who is said to have shot himself in a game of Russian roulette in 1954 (eyewitness accounts say otherwise). Simon goes on to reference Ex-Beatle John Lennon, who was shot dead in 1980 by Mark David Chapman, as well as referencing John F. Kennedy who was assassinated in 1963, the year Beatlemania started.

The album version features a one-minute coda composed by Phillip Glass, performed with strings, clarinet, and flute; the aria resembles Glass' own Pruit Igoe from Koyaanisqatsi.

The song was first performed live by Paul Simon during the Simon & Garfunkel reunion concert in Central Park in 1981. Near the end of the performance (possibly in response to Simon mentioning John Lennon's death), an audience member rushed the stage, causing Simon to pull away from the microphone. The man was quickly pulled away by security and was heard yelling "I gotta talk to you, I gotta talk to you." While clearly shaken - especially as the lyrics deal with assassinations - Simon continued the song without missing a beat. The performance was included in the subsequent video release of the concert but was omitted from the live album.

In an interview on Late Night with David Letterman on May 20, 1982, Simon discussed the Central Park experience with Letterman. Asked to sing the song and using a spontaneously loaned guitar, Simon performed from his chair instead of taking the stage. The director cut to a commercial before the end of the song because one of the strings on the guitar broke, and Simon commented he "will never do that one again." On the 2000 "You're The One" tour he did perform the song, preceding it with part of the Johnny Ace hit "Pledging My Love". This features on the DVD recorded in Paris.

The 2004 reissue of Hearts and Bones also contains a solo acoustic demo of the song.