One Trick Pony (film)
6 /10 1 Votes
Duration Country United States | 5.8/10 IMDb Genre Drama Writer Paul Simon Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date 3 October 1980 Cast Paul Simon (Jonah), (Marion), (Walter Fox), (Lonnie Fox), (Cal van Damp), (Modeena Dandridge)Similar movies This Is Elvis , Dire Straits: Alchemy Live , Be Cool , Imagine Waking Up Tomorrow and All Music Has Disappeared , Standing in the Shadows of Motown , Election Tagline Rock 'n' roll will give you some laughs...but it won't do you any favors. |
Paul simon one trick pony live
One-Trick Pony is a 1980 feature film written by and starring Paul Simon and directed by Robert M. Young. It also stars Blair Brown, Rip Torn, Joan Hackett, Michael Pearlman, and Allen Garfield (credited under his birth name, Allen Goorwitz).
Contents
- Paul simon one trick pony live
- One trick pony 1980 3 00 4 50
- Synopsis
- Production
- Actors
- Musicians
- References

The song "Late in the Evening," from the film's soundtrack, hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the title song peaked at #40. After years of being available only on videocassette and laserdisc, One-Trick Pony was released by Warner Bros. on DVD in 2009.
One trick pony 1980 3 00 4 50
Synopsis
Paul Simon plays Jonah Levin, a once-popular folk-rock musician who hasn't had a hit in ten years, and now opens for bands like the B-52's (Levin's bandmates are played by musicians Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Tony Levin, and Richard Tee, all of whom similarly backed Simon on One-Trick Pony's soundtrack album). He's trying to record a new album but faces a number of obstacles, including an indifferent record-company executive (Rip Torn) who's pressuring him to create a hit record with the help of a trendy producer (Lou Reed). Jonah is also trying to restore his relationship with his estranged wife, Marion (Blair Brown), and young son, Matty (Michael Pearlman).
Production
The title derives from a colloquial American expression meaning a person specializing in only one area, having only one talent, or of limited ability.
Biographer Laura Jackson felt that the film may have been based on experiences in Simon's professional and personal life, though Dave Marsh in a Rolling Stone review saw similarities with Simon's personality, but not with his life and career. However, the character of Walter Fox, the record company executive portrayed by Rip Torn, is regarded as reflecting some of Simon's experiences in moving away from CBS Records, his former label, in the 1970s. (Simon went to Warner Bros. Records at the time of the film's release. The label, owned by the film's distributor, acquired the masters of Simon's CBS catalog that same year.) In general the film is seen as not autobiographical, but uses some of Simon's experiences in the music business. The film featured the last appearance of the original members of The Lovin' Spoonful, in a simulated TV show appearance.
The One-Trick Pony album was released concurrently. All of the songs on the album are featured in the film, though some are presented with a slightly different mix, e.g., "Jonah" features a harmonica solo (probably by Toots Thielemans) that's missing from the album version. The film also features "Soft Parachutes," Jonah Levin's sole hit as a recording artist, which is included as a bonus track on the album's 2004 reissue.
Actors
Musicians
References
One-Trick Pony (film) WikipediaOne-Trick Pony (film) IMDb One-Trick Pony (film) themoviedb.org