In the early 1980s, Simon's relationship with his former musical partner Art Garfunkel had deteriorated, his marriage to the actress Carrie Fisher had collapsed, and his previous record, Hearts and Bones (1983), had been a commercial failure.

Further recordings were held in the US with American musicians including Linda Ronstadt, the Everly Brothers, Rockin' Dopsie and the Twisters and Los Lobos.

Simon responded that Graceland was a political statement that showcased collaboration between black and white people and raised international awareness of apartheid.

[4] His relationship with his former musical partner Art Garfunkel had again deteriorated; his sixth solo studio album, Hearts and Bones (1983), achieved the lowest sales of his career; and his marriage to the actress Carrie Fisher collapsed.

[5] In 1984, Simon agreed to produce a record by a young singer-songwriter, Heidi Berg, who had played in the house bands for Saturday Night Live and The New Show.

As an example of how she wanted her record to sound, Heidi lent Simon a bootlegged tape of mbaqanga, black street music from the Soweto township of Johannesburg.

[7] In the 1980s, recording in South Africa was dangerous, and the United Nations had imposed a cultural boycott for its policy of apartheid, or forced racial segregation.

The South African black musicians' union also voted to let Simon come, as it could benefit their music by placing it on an international stage.

[9] The Warner executives were uninterested in the project, viewing Simon as a bad investment due to the failure of his previous two solo albums.

[10] Rosenthal used his connections to assemble musicians who had inspired Simon,[9] including Lulu Masilela, Tao Ea Matsekha, General M. D. Shirinda and the Gaza Sisters and the Boyoyo Boys Band.

[6] Simon recalled, "In the middle of the euphoric feeling in the studio, you would have reminders that you're living in an incredibly tense racial environment, where the law of the land was apartheid.

During a trip to Louisiana with Richard "Dickie" Landry, Simon saw a performance by the Lafayette zydeco band Good Rockin' Dopsie and the Twisters, and recorded "That Was Your Mother" with them in a small studio behind a music store.

[15] The album was influenced by the work of the South African musicians Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu, and their band Juluka's Zulu-Western pop crossover music.

[15] Joseph Shabalala also contributed to "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes", with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Senegalese singer-percussionist Youssou N'Dour.

[15] "Homeless" was written jointly by Simon and Shabalala, the lead singer of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, to a melody from a traditional Zulu wedding song.

[15] To write lyrics, Simon listened to the recordings made during his time in Johannesburg, identifying patterns in the music to fit to verses.

He derived the album title from the phrase "driving through Wasteland", which he changed to "going to Graceland", a reference to Elvis Presley's Memphis home.

[24] That year, Rolling Stone's David Fricke said the album had become "a daily soundtrack in urban yuppie condos and suburban living rooms and on radio airwaves from Australia to Zimbabwe".

[42] Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote: "With his characteristic refinement, Mr. Simon has fashioned that event into the rock album equivalent of a work of literature.

"[7] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau deemed it Simon's best record since his 1972 self-titled album, as well as "a tremendously engaging and inspired piece of work".

"[38] Patrick Humphries of BBC Music wrote that "it may well stand as the pinnacle of his remarkable half-century career ... Simon fashioned a record which was truly, blindingly original, and – listening to it a quarter of a century on – modern and timeless.

[51] "What was unusual about Graceland is that it was on the surface apolitical, but what it represented was the essence of the anti-apartheid in that it was a collaboration between blacks and whites to make music that people everywhere enjoyed.

[68] The South African jazz musician Jonas Gwangwa criticized the notion that Simon deserved praise: "So, it has taken another white man to discover my people?

[73] The Star-Ledger reporter Tris McCall wrote in 2012: "Does it complicate matters to realize that these musicians were second-class citizens in their own country, one groaning under the weight of apartheid?

At the invitation of the anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela and with the support of the African National Congress, Simon and his band played five shows, beginning at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.

Van Zandt said he persuaded them that murdering Simon would not help them achieve their goals, and mollified them by saying he was attempting to unite the music community against apartheid.

[4] The New York Times writer Jon Pareles said Graceland popularized African rock in the west, alongside albums such as Peter Gabriel's So (1986) and Talking Heads' Remain in Light (1980).

Andrew Leahey of American Songwriter wrote that "Graceland was never just a collection of songs, after all; it was a bridge between cultures, genres and continents, not to mention a global launching pad for the musicians whose popularity had been suppressed under South Africa's white-run apartheid rule.

"[33] Presenting the album in a modern context, Tris McCall of the Star-Ledger wrote: "In a sense, Simon was ahead of his time: the curatorial approach he took to assembling full tracks from scraps of songs and pre-existing recordings is closer in execution to that of Kanye West than it is to any of his contemporaries.

[80] The album has influenced musicians including Regina Spektor, Bombay Bicycle Club, Gabby Young, Casiokids, the Very Best,[81] Givers,[82] Lorde and Vampire Weekend.