Simon & Garfunkel – A Legendary American Folk Rock Duo

Simon & Garfunkel were a legendary American folk rock duo which was musically active mainly throughout the 1960s and partially during the 1970s. The duo was formed in 1956 in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, United States of America (USA) by two gifted young musicians, namely Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, hence the name of the duo. The two initially met three years earlier in 1953 as elementary school pupils. During the late 1950s, they were alternatively known as Tom & Jerry and had sown their first seeds of success and critical acclaim with the single ‘Hey Schoolgirl’ from 1957 (which was influenced by the Everly Brothers, whom the two were big fans of). Years later, after they were signed with Columbia Records, the two became officially known as Simon & Garfunkel.

Although their first studio album, more specifically Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (from 1964), wasn’t a commercial success, this particular aspect leading to a brief hiatus of the duo (with Paul Simon going solo in England and Art Garfunkel going back as a student to Columbia University), their second one, the well-known The Sound of Silence from 1966 earned them well deserved fame. Their third studio album entitled Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme which was also released in 1966 representing a creative turning point of the duo, the two being influenced by the medieval English ballad Scarborough Fair (from which the title of the LP was also inspired), a very touching and bittersweet traditional English song. Bookends, the title of their fourth studio album, was released in 1968. This studio album produced the hit singles ‘A Hazy Shade of Winter’ (released significantly earlier in November 1966), Mrs. Robinson (released in April 1968), or America (released later on in 1972). Additionally, the music of the duo was part of the soundtrack of the comedy-drama film The Graduate (1967) released in 1968, most notably the following songs: The Sound of Silence (probably the most popular or well known song by this legendary American folk rock duo), Mrs. Robinson, Scarborough Fair/Canticle, or April Come She Will.

As the 1960s came to an end, creative differences between these two legendary and talented musicians unfortunately became to surface, leading to their first break-up in 1970, the year during which they released Bridge over Troubled Water, their final studio album, another touching and bittersweet musical masterpiece. Though the two parted ways in 1970, they briefly re-united years later, the first time in 1972, the second time between 1975 and 1977, the third time between 1981 and 1984, the fourth time in 1990, the fifth time in 1993, the sixth time between 2003 and 2005, and the seventh and last time between 2007 and 2010.

Simon & Garfunkel are undoubtedly one of the most beloved musical duos in music history and definitely the best folk rock duo of the 1960s, alternatively referred to as ‘the most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s’ according to American journalist Richie Unterberger. Their fame and commercial success was also coupled with very important critical acclaim and awards, the two receiving an impressive number of seven Grammy Awards, four Grammy Hall of Fame Awards as well as being inducted back in 1990 in the renowned Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The music of the duo focuses on highly introspective and touching themes such as love or romance, alienation, disillusionment or disenchantment and melancholy on the grounds of social issues, consumerism, and superficiality (e.g. The Sound of Silence), the passage of time and friendship (e.g. in the lyrics of the song Old Friends), the changing of the seasons as well as ageing in general (e.g. the song April Come She Will), or intellectual self-defence by building walls through poetry and literature in general (e.g. I Am A Rock, one particularly favourite song of mine by the these two intelligent gentlemen).

Below you can listen to some of my most favourite songs by this legendary beloved American folk rock duo:

P.S. On a personal note, the music of these highly intelligent (not only from an intellectual point of view, but also, and this is very important, from an emotional point of view) two gentlemen acted as protective shield and as a very beautiful, soothing, and efficient patch or bandage on my wounds, anxieties, and sorrows, both during my early 20s and well beyond, to this very day. That’s why I love and respect them and their music so much… because it stayed with me when many other things (and some people) gone. Last but not least, one of their songs in particular, namely the very touching Bridge over Troubled Water, makes me reminiscence a little bit over my past back when I was a student in my early 20s in Aalborg, Denmark, crossing the bridge over Limfjorden, the local fjord (which sometimes has troubled waters, sometimes they are more still), to nearby Nørresundby, the picturesque, smaller satellite town of Aalborg, once for an examination during my first semester at Aalborg University (AAU) back in 2017 and several other fewer times in 2018 to a former study group mate rehearsing together on my acoustic Harley Benton guitar and my Alesis keyboard at his cozy (or hyggelig) place while having some mulled wine (gløgg). We briefly did an unreleased demo called ‘Shadows in the Night’. It was quite interesting as back then I was really serious about playing the guitar (as I still am to this day, very much fortunately). If you are reading this, thank you so much for your hospitality, time, and beautiful, creative memories in a cozy musical context, my friend.

Bonus interviews (one via The Howard Stern Show, the other via the official YouTube channel of Simon & Garfunkel):

Literary trivia: If my memory doesn’t deceive me, the legendary and touching American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel with the song El Condor Pasa (If I Could) is mentioned in the book Vinduerne (i.e. The Windows) by Danish author Leif Panduro (who was a dentist by profession). I read this book back when I was in high school and it was quite an interesting read, all the more that Simon & Garfunkel were mentioned as well.

Documentation sources and external links:

• Simon & Garfunkel on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
• Scarborough Fair (ballad) on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
• Bookends (album) on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
• The Graduate (soundtrack) on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
• Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme on www.britannica.com (the online version of Encyclopædia Britannica)
• Simon and Garfunkel on www.britannica.com (the online version of Encyclopædia Britannica)