Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

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"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the fourth single from his seventh studio album, Graceland (1986), released on Warner Bros. Records. The song features guest vocals from the South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Video Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

Background

"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" was written when Simon went to South Africa. While he was there, he gathered various music from locals, and risked possible imprisonment due to the apartheid regime. Upon returning to New York, Simon finished the album with the artists he brought back from South Africa. According to Simon's account in the Classic Albums documentary on the making of Graceland, with all the album's musicians with him in New York, he performed the song live on Saturday Night Live on May 10, 1986. During the performance, Simon sang live to the backing instrumental track featured on the album while Ladysmith Black Mombazo mimed their parts. Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing in Zulu on this track. Their refrain roughly translates to: "It's not usual but in our days we see those things happen. They are women, they can take care of themselves." Simon recalled that Diamonds wasn't originally planned for inclusion on Graceland. After the Saturday Night Live show, his label, Warner Bros., decided to release the album in the fall instead of the original planned release that July. Simon and engineer Roy Halee then decided to include it on the album.

Maps Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

Personnel

• Paul Simon--lead vocals, guitar
• Ray Phiri--guitar
• Bakithi Kumalo--bass
• Isaac Mtshali--drums
• Youssou N'Dour, Babacar Faye, Assane Thaim, James Guyatt-- percussion
• Lenny Pickett--tenor saxophone
• Earl Gardner--trumpet
• Alex Foster--alto saxophone
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo--vocals

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Covers

The song has been covered by the Soweto String Quartet and features on their greatest hits collection. English singer MIKA performed a live piano cover of the song on his BBC Radio 2 show The Art of Song in March 2016. The song was also covered by Dead & Company on June 9, 2018 live in Raleigh, NC.

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Charts

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Notes

References

Sources

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External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Source of article : Wikipedia