328: Ashley Kahn
Forty years ago this month, Paul Simon released Graceland, an album that became one of the defining records of his career, and one of the most celebrated and debated albums of its era.
The story famously begins with a cassette of South African township music that Simon couldn't stop listening to. He followed that sound to Johannesburg, where he began recording with local musicians, eventually building an album that also incorporated zydeco, Norteño music, gospel and the sounds of New York session players.
The record would go on to sell millions of copies and win the Grammy for Album of the Year. It would also generate enormous controversy over Simon’s decision to record in apartheid South Africa during a cultural boycott.
Zooming with Ben, August 2026
Music historian Ashley Kahn tells the whole complicated story in his new book, Days of Miracle and Wonder: Paul Simon and the Trials and Triumphs of Graceland.
Here Ashley talks about his career, the making of Graceland, Paul Simon’s unusual creative process, and the complicated cultural and political questions that have followed the album for forty years.