A few years ago we did a tribute to Simon, the guy who was a fixture at El Paso concerts for decades.

Simon passed away last week and his presence at El Paso concerts simply cannot be overstated. Anyone who has ever been to a concert in El Paso or Las Cruces knows what Simon was all about. You'd be sitting in you seats waiting for the lights to go down and for the opening band to come out. Then, a cheer would go up. Was the show starting?

Nope. Simon had arrived.

Seriously. The crowd would get excited, not because the show had begun, but because the Simon Show had begun.

He'd strut, twirl and throw his jacket high into the air and beckon for the crowd to egg him on. In recent years, he would pose for "selfies" with people. He was a bona fide celebrity.

Usually, security would come and escort him from the venue. If you ask me, they (meaning the venue AND the artists) should have been paying him .  He got the crowd going. Actually, a lot of rock stars could have learned a thing or two from Simon about how to excite an audience.

Here's a Real El Paso Hero tribute we did to Simon over a decade to go. Hopefully, it will bring back some memories.

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