Personalities | Simon & Garfunkel | Sixties | Rock

(Vocal duo, 1957–71, 1981–83, 2003–04, 2009–10)

As ‘Tom and Jerry’, Paul Simon (vocals, guitar) and Art Garfunkel (vocals) had a minor US Hot 100 success as teenagers in 1957 with ‘Hey Schoolgirl’. Both attempted to forge solo careers, which took Simon to the UK where he became a reliable draw in the country’s folk clubs. Back in the US by 1964, he recorded an album, Wednesday Morning 3am, with Garfunkel. Its highlight was ‘The Sound Of Silence’, which was issued (with superimposed backing) as a single to top the US charts. With Simon taking most of the creative initiative, later hits included ‘Homeward Bound’, ‘Mrs Robinson’ (from 1968’s The Graduate film soundtrack) and ‘The Boxer’. The new decade began with a No. 1 in both Britain and the States with ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’, in which Garfunkel’s breathy tenor floated effortlessly over orchestrated accompaniment. Both he and Simon have given good individual accounts of themselves in the charts since, and, if not all smiles, occasional reunions on disc and on stage have proved lucrative.

Styles & Forms | Sixties | Rock
Personalities | Percy Sledge | Sixties | Rock

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

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