(Simon and Garfunkel to his Solo career on songs and albums)
The Sound of Silenceis a song by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. The song was written by Paul Simon over a period of several months in 1963 and 1964. A studio audition led to the duo signing a record deal with Columbia Records, and the song was recorded in March 1964 at Columbia Studios in New York City for inclusion on their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M..
Released in October 1964, the album was a commercial failure and led to the duo breaking apart, with Paul Simon returning to England and Art Garfunkel to his studies at Columbia University. In the spring of 1965, the song began to attract airplay at radio stations in Boston, Massachusetts, and throughout Florida. The growing airplay led Tom Wilson, the song’s producer, to remix the track, overdubbing electric instruments and drums. Simon & Garfunkel were not informed of the song’s remix until after its release. The single was released in September 1965.
The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending January 1, 1966, leading the duo to reunite and hastily record their second album, which Columbia titled Sounds of Silence in an attempt to capitalize on the song’s success. The song was a top-ten hit in multiple countries worldwide, among them Australia, Austria, West Germany, Japan and the Netherlands. Generally considered a classic folk rock song, the song was added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important” in 2012 along with the rest of the Sounds of Silence album.
Originally titled “The Sounds of Silence” on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., the song was re-titled for later compilations beginning with Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits.
I Am A Rock is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon alone as the opening track on his album The Paul Simon Songbook which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, as the American folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel, re-recorded it on December 14, 1965, and included as the final track on their album Sounds of Silence, which they released on January 17, 1966.
The folk-rock nature of the music makes it unlikely that Simon would have written it much earlier than 1964, when he first began experimenting with the folk genre. Some sources say that it was performed by Simon on January 27, 1965, on a promo show for the BBC. In any case, Simon seems to have written the song before the end of January 1965, and certainly had it down before May, when he recorded it. Thematically, the song deals with isolation and emotional detachment.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Is the third studio album by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966 in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of their debut single “The Sound of Silence”, Simon & Garfunkel regrouped after a time apart while Columbia issued their second album, a rushed collection titled Sounds of Silence. For their third album, the duo spent almost three months in the studio, for the first time extending a perfectionist nature both in terms of instrumentation and production.
The album largely consists of acoustic pieces that were mostly written during Paul Simon’s period in England the previous year, including some recycled numbers from his debut solo record, The Paul Simon Songbook. The album includes the Garfunkel-led piece “For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her”, as well as “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night”, a combination of news reports of the day (the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the death of comedian Lenny Bruce), and the Christmas carol “Silent Night”.
Many critics have considered it a breakthrough in recording for the duo, and one of their best efforts. “Homeward Bound” had already been a top five hit in numerous countries and “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” performed similarly. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard Pop Album Chart and was eventually certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Scarborough Fair/Canticle
Is a traditional English ballad (existing in more than one version) that hangs, in some versions at least, upon a possible visit by an unidentified person (the “third party”) to the Yorkshire town of Scarborough.
Paul Simon learned the song in London in 1965 from Martin Carthy, who had picked up the tune from the songbook by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger and included it on his eponymous 1965 album. Simon & Garfunkel set it in counterpoint with “Canticle” – a reworking of the lyrics from Simon’s 1963 anti-war song, “The Side of a Hill”, set to a new melody composed mainly by Art Garfunkel.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel written by Paul Simon and produced by Bob Johnston. The song was released as a single on January 19, 1966 by Columbia Records.
The song appears on the duo’s third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966), although it was recorded during the sessions for their second album Sounds of Silence and included on that album in the UK. It was their second single, the follow-up to their enormously successful breakthrough hit “The Sound of Silence”. It performed very well domestically, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the charts for 12 weeks. Internationally, the song performed best in Canada, where it hit number two; it was also a top five hit in the Netherlands.
“Homeward Bound” was written by Paul Simon after returning to England in the spring of 1964. He had previously spent time in Essex, and he became a nightly fixture at the Railway Hotel in Brentwood, beginning that April. He was reeling from his brief period in the Greenwich Village folk scene, as well as the recording of his first album with Art Garfunkel, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which he anticipated would be a failure.
During this time, he met Kathy Chitty, who was working as a ticket-taker at the club. The two hit it off instantly, but it became clear that Simon desired to perform in London, resulting in an emotional farewell.
Following a performance in Liverpool, Simon was at Widnes railway station, waiting for the early morning milk train to London. He had been missing Chitty’s company and he began to write “Homeward Bound” on a scrap of paper
Bookends
Is the fourth studio album by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Paul Simon, Roy Halee and Art Garfunkel, the album was released on April 3, 1968, in the United States by Columbia Records. The duo had risen to fame two years prior with the albums Sounds of Silence and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme and the soundtrack album for the 1967 film The Graduate.
Bookends is a concept album that explores a life journey from childhood to old age. Side one of the album marks successive stages in life, the theme serving as bookends to the life cycle. Side two largely consists of unused material for The Graduate soundtrack. Simon’s lyrics concern youth, disillusionment, relationships, old age, and mortality. Much of the material was crafted alongside producer John Simon, who joined the recording when Paul Simon suffered from writer’s block. The album was recorded gradually over the period of a year, with production speeding up around the later months of 1967.
Initial sales for Bookends were substantial in the US, and the album produced the number-one single “Mrs. Robinson”. The album sold best in the US and in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number one. Bookends was considered a breakthrough for the duo, placing them on the same level as artists such as the Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones at the forefront of the cultural movement in the 1960s. The album has continued to receive critical acclaim.
Mrs. Robinson
Is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, Bookends (1968). Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, it is famous for its inclusion in the 1967 film The Graduate. The song was written by Paul Simon, who pitched it to director Mike Nichols alongside Art Garfunkel after Nichols rejected two other songs intended for the film. The song contains a famous reference to baseball star Joe DiMaggio.
“Mrs. Robinson” became the duo’s second chart-topper, hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaking within the top 10 of multiple other countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain, among others. In 1969, it became the first rock song to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
Bridge Over Troubled Water Is the fifth and final studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released in January 1970 on Columbia Records. Following the duo’s soundtrack for The Graduate, Art Garfunkel took an acting role in the film Catch-22, while Paul Simon worked on the songs, writing all tracks except Felice and Boudleaux Bryant’s “Bye Bye Love” (previously a hit for the Everly Brothers).
With the help of producer Roy Halee, the album followed a similar musical pattern as their Bookends, partly abandoning their traditional style to incorporate elements of rock, R&B, gospel, jazz, world music, pop and other genres. It was described as their “most effortless record and their most ambitious”.
Bridge over Troubled Water was released on January 26, 1970, and several re-releases followed. The album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. Columbia Records released a 40th Anniversary Edition on March 8, 2011, which includes two DVDs, including the politically themed TV special Songs of America (1969), the documentary The Harmony Game, additional liner notes and a booklet. Other reissues contain bonus tracks, such as the 2001 version, which covers the demo tapes of “Feuilles-O” and “Bridge over Troubled Water”.
Despite numerous accolades, the duo decided to split up, and parted company later in 1970; Garfunkel continued his film career, while Simon worked intensely with music. Both artists released solo albums in the following years. Bridge includes two of the duo’s most critically acclaimed and commercially successful songs, “Bridge over Troubled Water” and “The Boxer”, which were listed on Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Critically and commercially successful, the album topped the charts in over ten countries and received two Grammy Awards, plus four more for the title song. It sold around 25 million records and was ranked on several lists, including at number 51 on Rolling Stone‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Bridge Over Troubled Water (song) is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, the song was released as the follow-up single to “The Boxer” in January 1970. The song is featured on their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Composed by singer-songwriter Paul Simon, the song is performed on piano and carries the influence of gospel music. The original studio recording employs elements of Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” technique using L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew.
It was the last song recorded for their fifth and final album, but the first fully completed. The song’s instrumentation was recorded in California while the duo’s vocals were cut in New York. Simon felt his partner, Art Garfunkel, should sing the song solo, an invitation Garfunkel initially declined but later accepted. Session musician Larry Knechtel performs piano on the song, with Joe Osborn playing bass guitar and Hal Blaine closing out the song with drums. The song won five awards at the 13th Annual Grammy Awards in 1971, including Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
The song became Simon & Garfunkel’s biggest hit single, and it is often considered their signature song. It was a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, and it also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and New Zealand. It was a top five hit in eight other countries as well, eventually selling over six million copies worldwide, making it among the best-selling singles. It became one of the most performed songs of the twentieth century, with over 50 artists, among them Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, covering the song. It was ranked number 48 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The Boxer Is a song by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, it was released as the lead single from the album on March 21, 1969. The song, the only one in the duo’s repertoire co-signed by Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon, is a folk rock ballad that variously takes the form of a first-person lament as well as a third-person sketch of a boxer. The lyrics are largely autobiographical and partially inspired by the Bible, and were written during a time when they felt they were being unfairly criticized. The song’s lyrics discuss poverty and loneliness. It is particularly known for its plaintive refrain, in which they sing ‘lie-la-lie’, accompanied by a heavily reverbed drum.
“The Boxer” was the follow-up to one of the duo’s most successful singles, “Mrs. Robinson”. It peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. It performed well internationally, charting within the Top 10 in nine countries, peaking highest in the Netherlands, Austria, South Africa, and Canada. Rolling Stone ranked the song No. 106 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Paul Simon (album) is the second solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was released in January 1972, nearly two years after he split up with longtime musical partner Art Garfunkel. His first solo album was recorded in England in 1965 but remained unreleased in the U.S. (except for a brief period in 1969) until 1981, when it appeared in the 5-LP Collected Works boxed set. The album topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Japan and Norway and reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Albums. In 1986 it was certified platinum. Originally released on Columbia Records, Paul Simon was reissued on the Warner Bros. label. The album is currently issued on Columbia through Sony.
Simon taught songwriting classes at New York University during the summer of 1971. Among the students he taught were two of the Roche sisters, Maggie and Terre, and singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester who remembers that Simon was nervous, listened to the students’ songs and offered suggestions and criticism, often dissecting the lyrics and drawing comparisons with his own work while offering insights into his own work and sources of inspiration.
Simon traveled to San Francisco to record some demos and began to work with different musical styles for a proposed solo album, including Latin music, jazz, blues and reggae with the song “Mother and Child Reunion”, recorded in Kingston, Jamaica). Guest musicians on the record included Stephane Grappelli, Ron Carter, and Airto Moreira. The music reflects Simon’s interest in world music.
Several songs on the album, such as “Run That Body Down” (in which both “Paul” and “Peg” are mentioned by name) and “Congratulations”, make reference directly or indirectly to his rocky marriage to Peggy (née Harper), which ended in divorce in 1975. Other themes include drugs and adolescence.
Mother and Child Reunion
Is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his second self-titled studio album (1972), released on Columbia Records. It was released as a single on February 5, 1972, reaching No. 1 in South Africa and No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 57 song for 1972. It was at the time one of the few songs by a non-Jamaican musician to use prominent elements of reggae.
Simon was a fan of reggae music, and he listened to artists such as Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker, and Byron Lee; he wanted to go to Kingston, Jamaica to record the song, as that was where Cliff had recorded his antiwar song “Vietnam” in 1970. The title has its origin in a chicken-and-egg dish called “Mother and Child Reunion” that Simon saw on a Chinese restaurant’s menu. The song’s lyrics were inspired by a pet dog that was run over and killed. It was the first death Simon personally experienced, and he began to wonder how he would react if the same happened to his wife, Peggy Harper. “Somehow there was a connection between this death and Peggy and it was like Heaven, I don’t know what the connection was,” Simon told Rolling Stone in 1972.
Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard is a song by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the second single from his second self-titled studio album (1972), released on Columbia Records.
The song is about two boys (“Me and Julio”) who have broken a law, although the exact law that has been broken is not stated in the song.
When “the mama pajama” finds out what they have done, she goes to the police station to report the crime.
The individuals are later arrested, but released when a “radical priest” intervenes.
There Goes Rhymin’ Simon is the third solo studio album by American musician Paul Simon rush-released on May 5, 1973. It contains songs covering several styles and genres, such as gospel (“Loves Me Like a Rock”) and Dixieland (“Take Me to the Mardi Gras”). It received two nominations at the Grammy Awards of 1974, including Best Male Pop Vocal performance and Album of the Year.
As foreshadowed by the feel-good lead single “Kodachrome” (which reached #2 on the Billboard charts, blocked by Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles”), There Goes Rhymin’ Simon proved to be a bigger hit than its predecessor, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200 chart (kept off the top spot by George Harrison’s Living in the Material World), and #1 on Cashbox Magazine for one week on June 30, 1973.
In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at #4. Subsequent singles were also the #2 single “Loves Me Like a Rock” (knocked off by Cher’s “Half-Breed”, but reaching #1 on Cashbox on September 29, 1973), and the Top 40 hit “American Tune”. Also “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” was released in the UK reaching the Top 20.
The song “Kodachrome” is named after the Kodak film of the same name. Kodak required the album to note that Kodachrome is a trademark of Kodak. The song was not released as a single in Britain, where it could not be played on BBC radio due to its trademarked name. The song “Was a Sunny Day” has an interesting reference to early rock and roll in the line “She called him Speedo but his Christian name was Mr. Earl” which echoes the chorus from the 1955 song “Speedoo” by The Cadillacs: “They often call me Speedo but my real name is Mr. Earl,” referring to lead singer, Earl “Speedo” Carroll.
Loves Me Like a Rock Is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the second single from his third studio album, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973), released on Columbia Records.
It features background vocals from the Dixie Hummingbirds, a Southern black gospel group. Although the lyrics are not typically associated with gospel music, the Dixie Hummingbirds were eager to record the song with Simon, and they recorded their own version of the song soon afterward.
The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100; it was also a top five hit in Canada. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies.
Still Crazy After All These Years (Album) is the fourth solo studio album by Paul Simon. Recorded and released in 1975, the album produced four U.S. Top 40 hits: “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” (#1), “Gone at Last” (#23), “My Little Town” (#9, credited to Simon & Garfunkel), and the title track (#40). It won two Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1976.
In Simon’s acceptance speech for the Album of the Year award, on February 28, he jokingly thanked Stevie Wonder, who had won the award the two previous years for Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale, for not releasing an album that year. (Wonder won the award again for Songs in the Key of Life, a double album, in 1977.)
“My Little Town” reunited Simon with former partner Art Garfunkel on record for the first time since 1970, while “Gone at Last” was a duet between Simon and Phoebe Snow.
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover Is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon featuring Peter, Paul, and Mary. It was the second single from his fourth studio album, Still Crazy After All These Years (1975), released on Columbia Records. Backing vocals on the single were performed by Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson, and Phoebe Snow. The song features a recognizable repeated drum riff performed by drummer Steve Gadd.
One of his most popular singles, “50 Ways” was released in December 1975 and began to see chart success within the new year. It became Simon’s sole number-one hit as a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and was his highest position in France, where it peaked at number two. Elsewhere, the song was a top 20 hit in Canada and New Zealand. The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting sales of over one million copies.
Graceland Is the seventh solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was produced by Simon and Roy Halee and released on August 25, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records.
Following a successful but fraught reunion with his musical partner Art Garfunkel, Simon’s marriage had fallen apart and his previous record, Hearts and Bones (1983), was a commercial failure. In 1984, after a period of depression, Simon became fascinated by a bootleg cassette of South African township music. He and Halee visited Johannesburg, where they spent two weeks recording with South African musicians.
Recorded in 1985 and 1986, Graceland features an eclectic mixture of genres, including pop, rock, a cappella, zydeco, isicathamiya, and mbaqanga. Simon created new compositions inspired by the recordings made in Johannesburg, collaborating with African and American artists. He received criticism for seemingly breaking the cultural boycott imposed against South Africa because of its policy of apartheid. Following its completion, Simon toured alongside South African musicians, combining their music and the music of Graceland.
Graceland became Simon’s most successful studio album and his highest-charting album in over a decade; it is estimated to have sold up to 16 million copies worldwide. It was lauded by critics, won the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and is frequently cited as one of the best albums of all time.