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You Can Call Me Al

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"You Can Call Me Al"
Song

"You Can Call Me Al" is a song by Paul Simon, the first single released from his album Graceland. The song originally charted in the U.S. at No. 44 in October 1986 but it was reissued with greater promotion in March 1987 and hit No. 23. In the UK it peaked at No. 4, while in Sweden and the Netherlands reached No. 2.

The lyrics can be interpreted as describing a man experiencing a midlife crisis[1] ("Where's my wife and family? What if I die here? Who'll be my role model?").

The song features a bass run performed by Bakithi Kumalo (whose birthday was on the day of recording the track); the solo is palindromic as only the first half was recorded, and was then played backwards for the second half.[2] The pennywhistle solo was performed by jazz musician Morris Goldberg.

The names in the song came from an incident at a party that Simon went to with his then-wife Peggy Harper. French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, who was attending the same party, mistakenly referred to Paul as "Al" and to Peggy as "Betty", inspiring Simon to write a song.[3]

Music videos

Paul Simon did not like the original music video that was made, which was a performance of the song Simon gave during the monologue when he hosted Saturday Night Live in the perspective of a video monitor.[4] A replacement video was conceived partly by Lorne Michaels and directed by Gary Weis, wherein Chevy Chase lip-synced all of Simon's vocals in an upbeat presentation, with gestures punctuating the lyrics.[5] Simon wore a bored expression throughout the piece, while also lugging instruments into view (such as a bass guitar and a conga drum) to sync them with the audio track at the appropriate moments. In the music video, after the handshake, Simon begins to sing, but stops and looks puzzled at Chase when Chase commandeers the vocal duties instead. The only time he sings was to provide the bass harmony on the phrases "If you'll be my bodyguard" and "I can call you Betty" in the chorus. During the bridge, and fade-out instrumental, Chase and Simon performed a rhythmic dance step in sync. Chase, at 6'4", towered over the much shorter (5'3") Simon.

Credits


Cover versions

  • Filipino pop and R&B band South Border covered and included the song in their 1998 album Bump!.
  • British indie folk band Noah and the Whale covered the song as a B-side in 2008.
  • Hot Club de Paris also recorded a version for a B-Side in 2007.
  • Jens Lekman, a Swedish pop artist, also plays an acoustic cover of this song, minus the chorus at his shows.
  • American jamband moe. have performed an electric version of this song at their concerts with Al Schnier singing the lyrics.
  • Inspection 12, a pop-punk band from Florida, recorded an acoustic version complete with harmony, egg shakers and hand claps on their album Get Rad.
  • German Dance-Duo DJ Akki and Danny Homes (as Think Pink) recorded the song in 2010 as "You Can Call Me Al 2010".
  • Miami Horror performed the song as their encore performance on their Melbourne show (24 November 2010) of the "Holidays Tour".
  • Dead Cat Bounce play the song in their live cover version sets.
  • American indietronica band The Limousines released a cover of the song for free download on their website in 2012.

Appearances in other media

  • The song was used in the movie trailer for the 1989 comedy film Parenthood.
  • In the 22nd episode of the 5th season of the American version of The Office entitled "Heavy Competition", Andy Bernard presents Jim and Pam a recording of his college acapella group singing "You Can Call Me Al" as a possible processional for their wedding.
  • In the video for his song "Manijaci", Bosnian singer Zdravko Čolić pays tribute to the Chevy Chase version of the video alongside fellow musician Goran Bregović.
  • In the 5th episode of Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, Max is seen fleeing from a butcher shop called You Can Call Me Halal, when he tries to sell them a pig.
  • A live performance of "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon is included in the DVD release, The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts / Time Life presents, Ravin' Films, Tenth Planet ; directed by Joel Gallen. Imprint New York : Time Life, c2010/. This videodisc features live and previously unseen performances from two New York concerts at Madison Square Garden that aired originally on HBO.
  • In the closing scene of Disney's 1992 film Aladdin, Aladdin tells Jasmine "You can call me Al." [6]
  • The song is used in the Season 10 Family Guy episode, "Grumpy Old Man". Peter and Lois engage in what Peter refers to as "Phone sax" (a play on the term phone sex), in which they both play the saxophone to each other over the telephone and Lois plays the famous trumpet ostinato from the song on her saxophone.

Use of song in live sport events, political campaigns, etc.

  • The song is used as an unofficial theme for the Florida Gators basketball and volleyball team (the school's mascot is Albert the Alligator). Traditionally, the pep band waits until the under eight minute or under four minute time out to play the song. The Pride of the Sunshine has also begun playing the song during football games as well, typically during the 4th quarter. Usually, the band and the student section cup their ears and lean toward the piccolos during their solo before counting the rest of the band back in for the last chorus.
  • The song is also traditionally played after every home football game by the Appalachian State University Marching Mountaineers.
  • The song has also recently been used in basketball again, this time the opening bars being played after three-pointers scored by New York Knicks player Al Harrington.
  • The song is commonly played by the University of Washington Husky Marching Band at home football and basketball games.
  • This song has also been played by the Cornell Big Red Marching Band on many occasions. During the segment of the song in which Paul Simon and Chevy Chase dance in the music video the Big Red Saxophones also do the same dance around the drum major's ladder.
  • During the 1992 campaign for the Presidency of the United States, politician Al Gore used the song as part of his bid for Vice President, which he campaigned for alongside running mate Bill Clinton.
  • The song is often played by the Rutgers University marching and pep bands. A unique pre-choreographed dance is performed by each instrumental section while the piccolo solo is taking place.[7]
  • The song is normally played after a big save by New York Islanders goaltender Al Montoya.
  • The song was used in campaign ads for Mario Cuomo when he ran for a 4th term as governor of New York in 1994 against George Pataki. The premise of the ads was that Pataki was a puppet of then senator Al D'Amato, so you may as well call him Al. Cuomo was defeated by Pataki in a very close election; senator D'Amato was defeated for re-election 4 years later by Chuck Shumer.

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/13/nyregion/1994-campaign-ad-campaigns-race-for-governor-cuomo-says-d-amato-pulls-strings.html

Charts

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