During a recent appearance on Alchemy with Anthony Mason<\/a>, Simon reflected on the artists who first shaped his musical ear and the era of music that still resonates with him decades later.<\/p>\n \u201cMy early favorites were Elvis,\u201d Simon, 84, told host Anthony Mason, noting that first on his list came anything related to rhythm and blues. \u201cThen came Elvis Presley<\/a>, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers. Those were the people I really loved.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul Simon As Simon looked back on the music that defined his formative years, he pointed to a narrow stretch of the 1950s as the period that left the deepest mark on him creatively.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first started to listen\u2026 as I look back and I do look back, for me the big years that influenced the sound that I still go for occasionally, it’s like ’54 to ’57,\u201d Simon revealed. \u201cAnd after that, I still like things, but I didn’t derive anything from them. I didn’t take any sounds from stuff\u2026as I was concerned, really by ’57, I’d lost interest in Elvis Presley.\u201d<\/p>\n Simon explained that the Elvis who fascinated him was the raw early performer recording for Sun Records before commercial pressures changed popular music.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce he went into the army, all that stuff that he recorded, the first group of songs that he made on Sun Records \u2014 ‘That’s All Right,’ \u2018Mama,\u2019 \u2018Mystery Train,\u2019 \u2018Good Rockin\u2019 Tonight,\u2019 \u2018Blue Moon of Kentucky,\u201d he listed. \u201cThey were not made for teenagers. They were made for the audience that listened at that point and bought records and they were older than teenagers.\u201d<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n Elvis Presley Simon contrasted that era with the late 1950s shift toward teen-focused pop, driven in part by television shows like American Bandstand and host Dick Clark<\/a>. Simon noted that even artists he admired were pushed toward lighter material aimed at younger audiences.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that’s why you get the Everly Brothers, who are still, in my opinion, the best vocal duo, end up having to sing, you know, \u2018Wake Up Little Susie.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n When Mason asked whether he had seen the latest Elvis concert film, Simon quickly dismissed the idea. \u201cNo, I don’t want to see that one,\u201d he admitted. His criticism ultimately returned to what he viewed as squandered potential.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I say, I liked [Elvis] up to [the year 1957],\u201d Simon emphasized. \u201cAnd after that, when, you know, the material that he picked, and the movies, and everything was just, to me, an incredible waste of a great talent.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/02b71c2c920a037f40ca4a933f975add.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Chris Walter\/Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty<\/p>\n![\"Elvis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/69a0a433d0fd32c5cef5e9d203939ece.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Sunset Boulevard\/Corbis via Getty<\/p>\n