After Simon and Garfunkel split in 1971, Simon began to write and record solo material.Paul enjoyed a string of top-10 hits throughout the 1970's and his follow-up albums continued to experiment with new sounds.

He toured extensively, and managed to forge a solid and well-respected solo career as one of music's premier singer-songwriters. During his distinguished career Paul Simon has been the recipient of many honors and awards including 12 Grammy Awards, three of which ("Bridge Over Troubled Water", "Still Crazy After All These Years" and "Graceland") were albums of the year.

In 2003 he was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as half of the duo Simon and Garfunkel. He is an inductee of The Songwriters Hall of Fame and is in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame both as a member of Simon and Garfunkel and as a solo artist.  He was a recipient of The Kennedy Center Honors in 2003 and was named as one of Time Magazine's "100 People Who Shape Our World" in 2006.

Simon was  the recipient of the first annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, which he received in 2007. The award recognizes the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world’s culture.