I was working in a mechanic shop in Soweto when I got the call that Paul Simon was looking for studio musicians to record an album. “Paul who?” I asked. But I needed the money so I went. I was poor. I was supporting my mother, who was sick, and as a black musician in South Africa at the time, you’d get ripped off a lot, getting paid five dollars for an entire album. Paul was different. When I got to the studio, we started jamming. He liked everything I did.

One day, when we were playing “You Can Call Me Al,” I said, “Hey Paul, it’s my birthday, can I do something here?” He said, “Sure, go ahead. Let’s see what you have.” When I played the solo, he thought it was nice but then someone turned it backwards. The first two bars are normal, the second two bars are backwards. Everyone loved it. It drove me crazy because I had to learn how to play the solo backwards, too. For a long time, I kept it a secret.

The Two Bars That Changed My Life