“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” by Paul Simon

"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" belongs to Graceland, Paul Simon's 1986 album on Warner Bros., the record he built from the music he soaked up in South Africa and finished in New York with the players he brought back. Simon recalled that this one wasn't originally meant for the album; then he, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and several of the South African musicians came to New York for a May episode of Saturday Night Live he was hosting, and the label moved the release from July to the fall.

What they cut is a joyous crossroads. Ladysmith Black Mambazo's voices wrap around Simon's, Joseph Shabalala shares the writing credit, and Bakithi Kumalo's elastic bass, Ray Phiri's guitar and Isaac Mtshali's drums push it along, with Youssou N’Dour on percussion and horns from Lenny Pickett, Alex Foster and Earl Gardner. Simon produced it, and it became the album's fourth single.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.