50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

1975 single by Paul Simon

"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"

Single by Paul Simon

from the album Still Crazy After All These Years

B-side

"Some Folks' Lives Roll Easy"

Released

December 1975

Genre

Soft rock
folk rock

Length

3:35

Label

Columbia

Songwriter(s)

Paul Simon

Producer(s)

Paul Simon
Phil Ramone

Paul Simon singles chronology

"Gone at Last"
(1975)

"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"
(1975)

"Still Crazy After All These Years"
(1976)

"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the second single from his fourth studio album, Still Crazy After All These Years (1975), released on Columbia Records. Backing vocals on the single were performed by Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson, and Phoebe Snow.^[1] The song features a recognizable repeated drum riff performed by drummer Steve Gadd.

One of his most popular singles, "50 Ways" was released in December 1975 and began to see chart success in the new year. It became Simon's sole number-one hit as a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and was his highest position in France, where it peaked at number two. Elsewhere, the song was a top 20 hit in Canada and New Zealand. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of more than one million copies.

Creation

Following Simon's divorce from first wife Peggy Harper, Simon opted to take a more humorous approach to document the event. He recorded the song in a small New York City studio on Broadway and built the song around the drums in order to "avoid clutter".^[2]

Reception

Billboard called it an "excellent song" that has "very clever lyrics" and an "easy to listen to melody."^[3] Cash Box said that it is "a clever, commercial song about the elasticity of love, how easy it is to pull away and equally easy to snap back with it."^[4] Record World said that the song "finds Simon aided by a crack team of session men and the unmistakable vocals of Phoebe Snow."^[5] Spin listed the song as one of the "50 Worst Songs By Otherwise Great Artists".^[6]

Charts and certifications

"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" was Paul Simon's biggest solo hit and broke in the US in late 1975. It hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on February 7, 1976 (his only number one on that chart as a solo act), soaring from number ten the previous week, and remained there for three weeks; it topped the adult contemporary chart for two weeks.^[7] Overseas, on the UK Singles Chart, the song reached number 23 in January 1976. It was certified gold on March 11, 1976, and remained a best seller for nearly five months. Billboard ranked it as the No. 8 song of 1976.^[8]

Weekly charts

Chart (1975–1976)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[9]	35
Canada (RPM) Top Singles^[10]	7
Canada Pop Music Playlist (RPM)^[11]	1
France (SNEP)^[12]	2
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[13]	18
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)^[14]	23
US Easy Listening (Billboard)^[15]	1
US Billboard Hot 100^[16]	1
West Germany (Official German Charts)^[17]	42

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)	Rank
Canada 100 (RPM)^[18]	91
US Billboard Hot 100^[19]	8
US Billboard Easy Listening ^[20]	3

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[21]	Silver	200,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[22]	Gold	1,000,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Paul Simon – vocals, acoustic guitar
John Tropea, Hugh McCracken^[23] – electric guitars
Tony Levin – bass guitar^[24]
Kenny Ascher – Hammond organ
Steve Gadd – drums
Ralph MacDonald – tambourine, shaker
Patti Austin – background vocals
Valerie Simpson – background vocals
Phoebe Snow – background vocals

Legacy

Electronic group Plummet covered the song in 2005.
The song was sampled by American rapper Common for his track "Forever Begins" on his 2007 album Finding Forever.
American Rapper Eminem sampled this song for his track "Murder, Murder" on his 1997 extended play Slim Shady EP and in an unreleased & leaked track named "50 Ways" in 2007.
Fellow American musician Kid Cudi interpolated and sampled the song when he recorded his own rendition titled "50 Ways To Make A Record", taken from his debut mixtape A Kid Named Cudi (2008).
The song was sampled by American rapper Ab-Soul for his track "A Rebellion" on his 2012 album Control System.
The song was parodied by Julia Louis-Dreyfus in HBO comedy Veep as '50 Ways To Win In Denver'.
The song was sampled by Lisa Lindsley in her 2023 release The Paul Simon Project.

References

^ Marc Eliot (2010), Paul Simon: A Life, John Wiley and Sons, p. 142, ISBN 978-0-470-43363-8
^ "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". Super Seventies. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. December 13, 1975. p. 58. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 13, 1975. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. December 13, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
^ https://www.spin.com/2022/07/the-50-worst-songs-by-otherwise-great-artists/
^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 222.
^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1976
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "RPM100: Singles" (PDF). RPM. 24 (21). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. February 21, 1976. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
^ "The Programmers' Pop Music Playlist" (PDF). RPM. 24 (22). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. February 28, 1976. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
^ "Paul Simon – 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
^ "Paul Simon – 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 499. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
^ "Paul Simon - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
^ "Paul Simon Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Paul Simon – {{{song}}}" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 12, 2015. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Paul Simon"
^ "RPM100: Singles" (PDF). RPM. 26 (14–15). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. January 8, 1977. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
^ "Pop Singles" Billboard December 25, 1976: Talent in Action-6
^ Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1976
^ "British single certifications – Paul Simon – 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
^ "American single certifications – Paul Simon – 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
^ "Original 1977 album liner notes", Paul Simon Greatest Hits.
^ "Tony Levin". Rolling Stone Australia. 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2023-11-02.