Though a professed Anglophile, and having written at least two of his classic songs while in the UK: 'Homeward Bound' - written on Widnes railway station, where there is (or was) a plaque commemorating the event, & 'Kathy's Song'-written for Paul's then British girlfriend, the first time that many of the British population heard Paul Simon's work was via the Irish trio The Bachelors. (Not too sure if their fame travelled to the US/Canada etc). They had a huge hit in the 1960s with The Sound of Silence. Thereafter people, esp the young, sought out the original. After the release of The Graduate, CBS further cashed in by releasing a 4-track EP featuring Mrs Robinson, The Sound of Silence etc which charted. The LPs and singles were released and charted, culminating with the album Bridge Over Troubled Water being at number 1, with the same single being number 1 for at least 6 weeks.
The legitimate question that was asked earlier in the thread 'What did Art Garfunkel do?', simple, he brought the magic.
Here's Paul and Art doing a Dylan in the 1960s.
^^Didn't know that little historical tidbit Steve, it's amazing all the little twists and turns that happen in music tying artists together across cultures and time itself.
^^Didn't know that little historical tidbit Steve, it's amazing all the little twists and turns that happen in music tying artists together across cultures and time itself.
LG - I agree with what you say, and further, some of these things really are either luck, fate or whatever. Because, it's a bit of an odd chronology all round with this - The Sound of Silence, and hence the success of Simon & Garfunkel themselves. The original studio version of the song is just Paul & Art and guitar, and is featured on the album Wednesday Morning 3am, which was just one of many Folk LPs released in the middle 1960s. Apparently the mood in the U.S. at the time was uneasy: the Vietnam war, Young vs Old etc, and some of the students at the East Coast universities feeling alienated picked-up on the song S.o.S., and started asking radio DJs to play it. Word got back to CBS, and Tom Johnston(sp?), who was producing Bob Dylan at the time, used Dylan's studio band to put an electric beat to the song (they can actually be heard slowing down to let Paul, Art & guitar catch up), and this was because Paul Simon was in the UK at the time and unaware of what was going on. Paul was apparently in Denmark when the 'revised' S.o.S. started climbing the U.S. charts. The Bachelors somehow heard the new song, recorded their version which went to Number 1 in the UK. Happily, talent-will-out, and the rest is history. But sometimes it's a close-run thing,
^^Serendipity at work I would have to say. And I have read that story myself, Paul Simon was shocked that his own label would rework a song and release it without checking with him first. But as it turned out it became a classic and I am glad I like the reworked version.
Just heard Simon and Garfunkel's dark but beautiful version of Silent Night thanks to Cosmic and I love it!!! Wow, still powerful even though it's issues were different than now! I think this is an appropriate bump to the thread!!!
Just heard Simon and Garfunkel's dark but beautiful version of Silent Night thanks to Cosmic and I love it!!! Wow, still powerful even though it's issues were different than now! I think this is an appropriate bump to the thread!!!
It was the "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" album that got me into Simon & Garfunkel and their rendition of "Silent Night" was by far one of my favorite tracks from it as well as a fantastic way to close the album.
I love Simon and Garfunkel ! I remember our old hippy clog wearing music director made us sing plenty of S&G music.
One song we sang and I forever loved is this Beautiful harmony song..the Choral Ambassadors in my district picked us to sing this in their spring showcase,,and several of us wound up being asked to join !
Including myself ..good times ! Anyways ,I didn't see it posted yet so ..
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
