January 2, 2026      —–     Chart #331

Hello Music Friends,

Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Some songs feel like they know something about your life that you haven’t admitted yet. Slip Slidin’ Away is one of those — Paul Simon in full philosopher-poet mode, humming in your ear like a wise friend who always tells the truth, but gently. The tune is warm and sweet, the lyrics are a little melancholy, and the whole thing feels like a long look out a winter window… which makes it a perfect way to kick off the new year.

Nobody writes about the human condition quite like Paul Simon. He can make a grocery list sound profound. Here, he turns an everyday idea — how life sometimes drifts away from our best intentions — into something haunting and beautiful.

The Backstory

Slip Slidin’ Away wasn’t originally written for a studio album at all. It was recorded during the Still Crazy After All These Years sessions in 1975 but didn’t make the final cut.

Two years later, in 1977, Simon released it as one of two new tracks on his Greatest Hits, Etc. compilation — because apparently even his leftover songs are masterpieces.

The song immediately became a hit, proving that Paul Simon’s “outtakes” would be the A-sides for most mortals.

The Recording

Recorded partly at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, which is basically musical holy ground. That’s where the soul and R&B greats forged half the American songbook, and the vibe must have rubbed off on Simon.

The track features:

• Paul Simon – vocals & acoustic guitar
• The Jordanaires – background vocals (yes, Elvis’s legendary vocal group)
• David Hood – bass
• Barry Beckett – keyboards
• Jimmy Johnson – guitar
• Roger Hawkins – drums

This lineup could have recorded the phone book and made it groove.

The Jordanaires especially give the song that soft, gospel-like shimmer. Hearing them behind Paul Simon feels like your eccentric English professor wandered into a Sunday service in Alabama — and somehow it works.

Chart Performance

• Reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100
• A major radio hit going into 1978
• Has remained one of Simon’s most played and most beloved songs

This is one of the rare “greatest-hits album songs” that actually becomes a greatest hit.

Fun Facts

• Paul Simon said the song is about “accepting the limits of life,” which is a nice way of saying, “Sometimes you think you’ve got things figured out, but nope.”
• In classic Simon fashion, the melody sounds cheerful while the lyrics quietly punch you in the feelings.
• Elvis fans are always surprised to learn The Jordanaires sang on a Paul Simon record, proving there are no musical borders — only musical detours.
• Simon was 36 when the song was released, and already writing like a man with the wisdom of someone who’d seen two or three lifetimes.

What’s It Really About?

The whole song revolves around the idea that we’re trying — always trying — but life has a way of drifting away from our plans. Dreams drift. People drift. Relationships drift. Even our best efforts sometimes slip right through our fingers.

The line “You know the nearer your destination, the more you’re slip slidin’ away” hits especially hard on January 2nd, when everyone’s New Year’s resolutions are two days old and already looking nervous.

But it’s not a sad song.
It’s honest.
It reminds us that life is imperfect, and that’s okay.

Playing the Song

Great on acoustic guitar. A gentle finger-picked rhythm, friendly chords, and a laid-back feel. Play it on your favorite Martin or Taylor acoustic and let the song do the work. You don’t need to overplay this one — Paul Simon sure didn’t.

And those harmonies?
Put a couple of friends around a mic, and magic happens.

Why It Lasts

Because it’s real.
Because it’s tender.
Because Paul Simon can somehow make existential dread sound comforting.

This song never tries too hard. It just tells the truth — that sometimes things fall apart, or drift, or change — and we keep going anyway. Which, let’s be honest, is exactly the message we all need at the start of a new year.

So here’s to 2026.
May our destinations stay within reach…  and may our slip-slidin’ be minimal.

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw