Dion Teams Up With Paul Simon for ‘New York Is My Home’

In February 2016, Dion, one of the great original rockers, will release a new album called New York Is My Home. For the title track, the doo-wop legend called in another fellow native New Yorker with an ear for harmony, Paul Simon.

The sparse song, the video of which can be viewed above, finds Dion celebrating the city, finding beauty even on rainy days and equating the noisy streets with gospel music. Simon comes in at the end of the first verse and stays throughout. He even takes the lead on the last two verses.

"We share a love for rock & roll street music the way it was done when we were kids," Dion told Rolling Stone. "I knew Paul would get this song. And he did. Soon after I sent it to him, he called and said he'd become obsessed with it. He added his own distinct touches to the production. He's from Queens; I'm from the Bronx. We're both at home in New York. What a trip, a labor of love for us."

The two have worked together a few times over the years. Simon sang on “Written on the Subway Wall/Little Star” for Dion’s 1989 major-label comeback, Yo Frankie, and they duetted on Dion’s classic “The Wanderer” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary concert in 2009.

"Paul and I have been friends a long time," Dion told Rolling Stone. "I was at his apartment back when there was a terrible downturn in the country and Paul wanted to do something special for the city. Well, he put together that wonderful concert in Central Park. He thought the city needed a touch of friendship. I thought it was off the Richter scale doing something for our city. When I wrote 'New York Is My Home,' I thought this is a way to have New Yorkers fall in love with their city all over again."

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