Paul Simon says that the title of “Mother and Child Reunion” came from a chicken and egg menu item at a Chinese restaurant. He also gave the song a Reggae beat. He recorded it in Jamaica with the back-up band of famous Reggae artist Jimmy Cliff.

This song was off his self titled album. It got up to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of  March 25 – April 1, 1972. On the Cash Box Top 10 chart it was at #4 for two weeks (March 19 – April 1).