Simon & Garfunkel are household names in the music industry. The folk-rock duo released iconic songs such as “The Sound of Silence” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and sold over 100 million records worldwide. Nevertheless, there are still some interesting facts about the legendary duo that are relatively unknown. In this article, I’m going over 8 facts about Simon & Garfunkel that only true fans know
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1. They Started as Tom & Jerry
Simon & Garfunkel met in high school as kids in the early 1950s. Both fascinated by music, the two became friends and started to perform together. After garnering interest from promoter Sid Prosen, they signed their first record deal and adopted the name Tom & Jerry (an idea by Sid Prosen). They even had success under the pseudonyms, because their debut single “Hey, Schoolgirl” – released in 1957 – sold over 100.000 copies.
2. The Sound of Silence Was Initially a Commercial Failure
7 years after Tom & Jerry had a hit with “Hey, Schoolgirl”, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel released their debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. under their own names Simon & Garfunkel. The album features one of Simon & Garfunkel’s most celebrated songs: “The Sound of Silence”. But when the song was released it gained little to no traction. The opening sentence of “The Sound of Silence” even became a running joke among other folk artists and the album only sold 3000 copies upon its release.
But in the spring of 1965, the song started to gain traction among students. Therefore, producer Tom Wilson decided to give the acoustic version of “The Sound of Silence” a folk-rock treatment. This remixed version of the song was released as a single on September 12, 1965, and became Simon & Garfunkel’s first hit.
3. Simon Lived in England and Met His Girlfriend Kathy There
Before the success of “The Sound of Silence”, Simon lived on and off between New York and England. In England, Simon played folk clubs and met his girlfriend Kathy Chitty, who sold tickets in one of the clubs Simon played. The two became inseparable and Kathy became the inspiration behind some of Paul Simon’s most well-known compositions. She is mentioned in “Kathy’s Song” and “America”, and was the inspiration behind “Homeward Bound”.
Simon referred to his England days as the happiest period of his life. The period ended after the success of “The Sound of Silence”, when Paul Simon moved back to New York to reunite with Art Garfunkel. His success as a musician also meant the end of his relationship with Kathy, who preferred to live in privacy.
Read more: The Story Behind “Homeward Bound” by Simon & Garfunkel
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4. Mrs. Robinson was once Mrs. Roosevelt
The Graduate’s producer Mike Nichols became obsessed with Simon & Garfunkel’s first three records and decided to ask Paul Simon to write songs for the movie. Simon was initially hesitant, but eventually agreed to write 3 songs for the movie. But by the time to movie was almost finished, Paul Simon had only written 2 original songs, which were both disliked by Mike Nichols. After asking for other songs, Simon explained he had another song unrelated to the movie; a song about the past featuring the likes of Mrs. Roosevelt and Joe DiMaggio. Nichols loved the song and reportedly told Simon it was now titled “Mrs. Robinson”, not “Mrs. Roosevelt”.
5. Simon & Garfunkel Released a Concept Album
Most people don’t think of Simon & Garfunkel when they hear the term concept album. That spot is reserved by The Beatles and Pink Floyd. But Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album Bookends surely qualifies as one. Side one of the album explores the several stages of life and features “America”, one of Simon & Garfunkel’s most celebrated songs.
6. The Boxer’s Lie-La-Lie Chorus Was a Placeholder
“The Boxer’s” iconic Lie-La-Lie chorus has nothing to do with lies (or Bob Dylan, as the rumor goes), but was used as a placeholder for later-to-be-written lyrics. But Simon couldn’t come up with any words and decided to keep the placeholder.
“I thought that ‘lie la lie’ was a failure of songwriting, Simon told SongTalk magazine in 1990. “I didn’t have any words! Then people said it was ‘lie’ but I didn’t really mean that. That it was a lie. But, it’s not a failure of songwriting, because people like that and they put enough meaning into it, and the rest of the song has enough power and emotion, I guess, to make it go, so it’s all right. But for me, every time I sing that part, I’m a little embarrassed.”
Read more: The Story behind “The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkel
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7. Bridge Over Troubled Water Was Once the Best-Selling Album Ever
At the time of its release, Simon & Garfunkel’s final studio album Bridge Over Troubled Water was the best-selling album of all time. To this day it’s still the best-selling album of 1970, outranking the likes of Led Zeppelin and The Beatles by a big margin. The album – with iconic tracks such as “The Boxer”, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, and “Cecilia” – eventually sold over 25 million copies worldwide.
Sadly, Bridge Over Troubled Water also marked the end of Simon & Garfunkel. Art Garfunkel’s acting duties caused difficulties in recording the album and brought up old feuds and insecurities. In July 1970, the duo parted ways.
8. Simon & Garfunkel Considered Making An Album in the 1980s
Despite breaking up, the duo reunited occasionally for live performances. In 1975, they even released the song “My Little Town” together. But the most iconic reunion was undoubtedly the duos’ free concert in Central Park. Because of its success, Simon & Garfunkel embarked on a world tour and discussed recording a new album together. Unfortunately, the two fell into arguments again and the album never materialized. The material Simon considered for the comeback album ended up on his 1983 album Heart and Bones.
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Did you know all these facts about Simon & Garfunkel? Do you know other interesting facts about the duo that are note-worthy? Let me know in the comments below!
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