Simon and Garfunkel

Simon and Garfunkel were an American popular music duo comprised of Paul Simon and Arthur "Art" Garfunkel. Simon and Garfunkel were among the most popular recording artists of the 1960s, and are best known for their songs "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". They have received several Grammys and are inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

First breakup

Shortly after finishing recording, the duo effectively split again and Simon moved to England, where he recorded his solo The Paul Simon Song Book in May 1965. Recorded on three different dates in June and July at Levy's Studio, London, and featuring only Simon and his guitar, it is a refreshing souvenir of the early folk work of Paul Simon. The album was supposedly deleted about 1979 at Simon's request, but was re-introduced on CD with bonus tracks in 2004.

Related Topics:
England - The Paul Simon Song Book - 1965 - London - 1979 - 2004

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While Simon was in England that summer of 1965, radio stations around Cocoa Beach and Gainesville, Florida, began to receive requests for a song from the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A. M. called "The Sound of Silence". The song also began to receive radio airplay in Boston. Seizing the chance, the duo's U.S. producer, Tom Wilson, who had heard The Byrds' early folk records, dubbed an electric guitar and drums into "The Sound of Silence" track, and released it as a single, backed with "We've Got a Groovey Thing Goin'". The dubbing turned folk into folk-rock, the debut of a new genre for the Top 40, much to Simon's surprise.

Related Topics:
1965 - Cocoa Beach - Gainesville, Florida - The Sound of Silence - Boston - The Byrds - We've Got a Groovey Thing Goin' - Folk-rock - Top 40

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In September 1965, Simon first learned that it had entered the pop charts while he was about to go on stage in a Danish folk club. The song hit number 1 on the pop charts by that December.

Related Topics:
September - 1965 - Danish

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