Simon And Garfunkel Album Of The Year

[Anais Wachowski]

SimonGarfunkel, an American singer-songwriter duo, has released five studio albums, fifteen compilation albums, four live albums, one extended play, twenty-six singles, one soundtrack, and four box sets since 1964. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel first formed a duo in 1957 as Tom & Jerry, before separating and later reforming as Simon & Garfunkel.[1]

Simon & Garfunkel's debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., was released on October 19, 1964. Initially a flop, it was re-released two years later with the new version of the single "The Sound of Silence", which was overdubbed with electric instruments and drums by producer Tom Wilson.[2] The re-released version peaked at number thirty in the US Billboard 200 chart and at twenty-four in the UK Albums Chart, and later received a platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The overdubbed version of the eponymous single was released on their second studio album, Sounds of Silence, released on January 17, 1966.[3] It peaked at twenty-one on the Billboard charts and at thirty in the UK Album Charts, and later received a three-times multi-platinum certification by the RIAA. Besides the same-named single, the album also featured Simon's "I Am a Rock", a song that first appeared on his 1965 debut solo album, The Paul Simon Songbook.

Simon & Garfunkel's third album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, was released on October 10, 1966, and produced five singles. It peaked at number four in the US and number thirteen in the UK, and received a three-time multi-platinum certification by RIAA. The single "Mrs. Robinson" was included in the duo's first and only soundtrack, The Graduate, and was later included on their fourth studio album Bookends, which was released on April 3, 1968. It peaked at number one in both the US and UK, therefore becoming their first number one album, and received two-times multi-platinum in the US. On January 26, 1970, they released their fifth and final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water. It was their most successful to date, peaking at number one in several countries, including the UK and US. The album sold over twenty-five million copies worldwide,[4][5][6] and received eight-time multi-platinum in the US.

Despite the success of their fifth album, the duo Simon & Garfunkel decided to part company, announcing their break-up later that year. They have nonetheless made a number of reunion performances, including a free concert in New York City's Central Park in 1981, which drew a crowd of half-a-million people and resulted in the live album The Concert in Central Park.[1]

Simon and Garfunkel had a troubled relationship, leading to artistic disagreements and their breakup in 1970. Their final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water, was released that January, becoming one of the world's best-selling albums. After their breakup, Simon released a number of acclaimed albums, including 1986's Graceland.[3] Garfunkel released solo hits such as "All I Know" and briefly pursued an acting career, with leading roles in the Mike Nichols films Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge and in Nicolas Roeg's 1980 Bad Timing. The duo have reunited several times; their 1981 concert in Central Park may have attracted more than 500,000 people, one of the largest concert attendances in history.[4][5]

Simon & Garfunkel won 7 Grammy Awards[6] and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.[7] Richie Unterberger described them as "the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s" and one of the most popular artists from the decade.[8] They are among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 100 million records.[9] They were ranked 40th on Rolling Stone's 2010 list of the Greatest Artists of All Time[10] and third on its list of the greatest duos.[11]

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel grew up in the 1940s and 1950s in their predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, New York, three blocks away from one another. They attended the same schools: Public School 164 in Kew Gardens Hills, Parsons Junior High School, and Forest Hills High School.[12][13] They were both fascinated by music; both listened to the radio and were taken with rock and roll as it emerged, particularly the Everly Brothers.[14] Simon first noticed Garfunkel when Garfunkel was singing in a fourth grade talent show, which Simon thought was a good way to attract girls; he hoped for a friendship, which started in 1953, when they appeared in a sixth grade adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.[13][15] They formed a streetcorner doo-wop group called the Peptones with three friends and learned to harmonize.[16][17] They began performing as a duo at school dances.[18]

Simon and Garfunkel later attended Forest Hills High School,[19] where in 1956 they wrote their first song, "The Girl for Me"; Simon's father sent a handwritten copy to the Library of Congress to register a copyright.[18] While trying to remember the lyrics to the Everly Brothers song "Hey Doll Baby",[20] they wrote "Hey, Schoolgirl", which they recorded for $25 at Sanders Recording Studio in Manhattan.[21] While recording they were overheard by promoter Sid Prosen, who signed them to his independent label Big Records after speaking to their parents. They were both 15.[22]

After graduating from Forest Hills High School in 1958,[29] the pair continued their education should a music career not unfold. Simon studied English at Queens College, City University of New York, and Garfunkel studied architecture before switching to art history at Columbia College, Columbia University.[23][30][31] While still with Big Records as a duo, Simon released a solo single, "True or False", under the name "True Taylor".[26] This upset Garfunkel, who regarded it as a betrayal; the emotional tension from the incident occasionally surfaced throughout their relationship.[32]

Simon & Garfunkel's debut studio album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., produced by Wilson, was recorded over three sessions in March 1964 and released in October.[41] It contains five songs by Simon, three traditional folk songs, and four folk-influenced singer-songwriter songs.[clarification needed][41] Simon was adamant that they would no longer use stage names.[42] Columbia set up a promotional showcase at Folk City on March 31, 1964, the duo's first public concert as Simon & Garfunkel.[42]

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. sold only 3,000 copies on release. Simon moved to England,[43] where he toured small folk clubs and befriended folk artists such as Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy, Al Stewart, and Sandy Denny.[44][45][46] He also met Kathy Chitty, who became the object of his affection and is the Kathy in "Kathy's Song" and "America".[47]

A small music publishing company, Lorna Music, licensed "Carlos Dominguez", a single Simon had recorded two years prior as Paul Kane, for a new recording by Val Doonican that sold well.[48] Simon visited Lorna to thank them, and the meeting resulted in a publishing and recording contract. He signed to the Oriole label and released "He Was My Brother" as a single.[48] Simon invited Garfunkel to stay for the summer of 1964.[48]

Near the end of the season, Garfunkel returned to Columbia for class.[49] Simon also returned to the US, and resumed his studies at Brooklyn Law School for one semester, partially at his parents' insistence. He returned to England in January 1965, now certain that music was his calling.[50] In the meantime, his landlady, Judith Piepe, had compiled a tape from his work at Lorna and sent it to the BBC in hopes they would play it.[50] The demos aired on the Five to Ten morning show, and were instantly successful. Oriole had folded into CBS by that point, and hoped to record a new Simon album.[51]

Simon recorded his first solo album, The Paul Simon Songbook, in June 1965, featuring future Simon & Garfunkel staples including "I Am a Rock" and "April Come She Will". CBS flew Wilson over to produce the record, and he stayed at Simon's flat.[51] The album was released in August; although sales were poor, Simon felt content with his future in England.[52] Garfunkel graduated in 1965, returning to Columbia University to pursue a master's degree in mathematics.[31][53]

In the United States, Dick Summer, a late-night DJ at WBZ in Boston, played "The Sound of Silence"; it became popular with a college audience.[54] It was picked up the next day along the East Coast of the United States. When Wilson heard about this new wave of interest, he took inspiration from the success of the folk-rock hybrid that he had created with Dylan in "Like a Rolling Stone" and crafted a rock remix of "Sound of Silence" using studio musicians.[55] The remix was issued in September 1965, and it eventually reached the Billboard Hot 100.[56] Wilson did not inform the duo of his plan, and Simon was "horrified" when he first heard it.[56]

By January 1966, "The Sound of Silence" had topped the Hot 100, selling over one million copies.[57] Simon reunited with Garfunkel in New York, leaving Chitty and his friends in England behind. CBS demanded a new album to be called Sounds of Silence to ride the wave of the hit.[58] Recorded in three weeks and consisting of rerecorded songs from The Paul Simon Songbook plus four new tracks, Sounds of Silence was rush-released in mid-January 1966, peaking at number 21 Billboard Top LPs chart.[59] A week later, "Homeward Bound" was released as a single, entering the USA top ten, followed by "I Am a Rock" peaking at number three.[59] The duo supported the recordings with a nationwide tour of the US including a performance during the first Spring Weekend of the University of Massachusetts Boston where the duo was the headline act.[60] CBS continued its promotion by re-releasing Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which charted at number 30.[61] Despite the success, the duo was derided by some critics as a manufactured imitation of folk music.[59]

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