Paul Simon’s thoughts on Frank Sinatra’s version of his own song made him stop recording the song.
During the MGM+ premiere of the two-part Alex Gibney-directed docuseries ‘In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon’ at the DGA New York Theater, Simon was asked if he had ever known Frank Sinatra. Recalling the one time he met him, he explained why he stopped Sinatra to record the song:
“I met him once. It was very interesting too, because he made a cover record of my song ‘Mrs. Robinson.’ And he changed the lyric[s]. They were fantastic, but when I first heard it, it was like, ‘man, ring a ding, ding you Mrs. Robinson, Jesus loves you more,’ and this is in the sixties, and I said, ‘He can’t do that.'”
Simon’s Thoughts About The Song Changed Later
Simon explained that his initial feelings towards Sinatra’s version of ‘Mrs. Robinson’ shifted after receiving a call from a Warner Brothers executive. This executive assured Simon that the altered lyrics were his own idea. The executive pleaded with Simon to reconsider his negative opinion of Sinatra’s rendition, expressing concern that it could harm his producing career:
“I said, ‘I’m stopping the record.’ He said, ‘You can’t stop a Frank record.’ I said, ‘I am stopping it. Nobody asked me to change and I’m not giving permission. I don’t care.’ And so a guy from Warner Brothers called me up and said, ‘Please don’t do this. It’s my fault I did it. Please don’t do this to me.’ So I said, ‘Okay.'”
Simon’s perspective on the song eventually changed:
“And then later I fell in love with that record. And when you play music after the concert is over, that’s the first song.”
‘In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon’ is scheduled to premiere on MGM+ on March 17, with the second half following on March 24.
You can hear Sinatra’s version of ‘Mrs. Robinson’ below.
