I remember when Paul Simon's Graceland was released. There was much critical praise for it but sales weren't up to the praise. The first single, the silly "You Can Call Me Al," made a brief blip on the Hot 100 and vanished. But then the even sillier video found its way into heavy rotation on both MTV, Friday Night Videos and the WTBS-aired Night Tracks, and the single re-charted, becoming a modest hit on the Billboard Top 40. A bunch of Grammy nominations didn't hurt either.
I'd heard that this song was inspired by a party Simon attended with his then-wife Carrie Fisher. Supposedly, some drunk couldn't remember the famous couple's names, so resorted to calling them Al and Betty. Apocryphal? Maybe. I'm too lazy to look such things up.
Thanks for this. I love the GRACELAND album.
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