Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel formed the folk-rock duet Simon and Garfunkel in the 1950s. They’d known each other since they were kids, and while their music was lovely, rumors about their friendship weren’t always so sweet. Is there any truth to the rumors that Simon and Garfunkel are back together? Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel grew up just three streets apart in New York City, where they first met while they were both in elementary school.
Their friendship flourished, and Paul’s interest in music was sparked by his newfound admiration for his friend’s musical abilities. They formed a pair and began performing around town and eventually writing their own music because the Everly Brothers were their musical heroes. Hey Schoolgirl, a song written by the duo, was picked up by Big Records and they just had to pay $25 (£18).
Paul’s Decision to Record Two Solo Singles
The label signed the teenagers, and they released their debut single under the Tom & Jerry moniker. The couple apparently had some fights at the beginning of their relationship due to Paul’s decision to record two solo singles without consulting his spouse. Despite these disagreements, they continued to perform as Tom & Jerry, but by 1958, they had officially called it quits.
After releasing solo albums for a while, Simon and Garfunkel reunited to release their debut album as a folk duo, which unfortunately did not make them household names. Once again, they went their separate ways to concentrate on their homework. After relocating to England, Paul began his career as a folk singer.
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How Paul Simon Wrote Their Most Famous Song
The podcast is also great because it tells the story of how the duo’s Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. record came to be, including how Paul Simon wrote their most famous song, “The Sound of Silence,” seemingly out of the blue. That I composed the song at 22 is actually quite astonishing to me,” Simon told Axelrod. He claimed the song “wrote itself,” describing himself as “a conduit.” Simon had never before felt so strongly about a song.
Simon had met a girl in England and moved there, so he wouldn’t be in the United States when the song became a radio hit there (producer Tom Wilson had to go back and add a 12-string electric guitar part and drums/bass to make it sound more like folk rock, which was the de rigueur genre at the time). It topped the charts and revitalized the band’s career, elevating them to the level of renown enjoyed by The Beatles.
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Their Breakup
Infighting between Simon, who had emerged as the duo’s primary songwriter, and Garfunkel, who had begun to distance himself from his buddy and bandmate, served as a reality check for the group. At the time that Bridge Over Troubled Water was being written, “Art went down for lengthy periods of time to Mexico to make [the film Catch-22], and he wanted to be in the movies as well as do [music],” stated Simon. And so he said, ‘Well, I see it is I’ll make movies for six months, and you’ll create songs, and then I’ll come back, and then I’ll sing, you know, for six months.
‘ And I was like, ‘Yeah, to hell with that. To which I said, “That’s not going to happen. Ultimately, it was Garfunkel’s decision to star in the film Carnal Knowledge without informing his bandmate that proved fatal to the group. Why didn’t you tell me?’ I asked. A quote from his explanation: “I was scared that you’d quit working on this [music] if I informed you.” That infuriated me to the point where I determined to put a stop to it. Said Simon, “I don’t want to do this anymore.