Arguably the most successful folk rock duo of the 1960s, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel created a series of haunting hit albums and singles that featured their choir melodies, acoustic and electric guitar sounds, and Simon's insightful, elaborate lyrics. .
The duet has always strived for a more correct and purer sound, for which they were often criticized by other musicians.
Many also claim that Simon was not able to fully open up while working as a duo. His songs, as well as his voice, sounded completely new as soon as he began his solo career in the 1970s.
But the best work (S & G) can be on par with Simon's solo records. The duo really progressed in sound during the release of their five albums.
The genre scope expanded from standard folk-rock pieces to Latin rhythms and arrangements influenced by the gospel. Such a variety of styles and eclecticism will later be displayed in Simon's solo works.
History of the first recordings
In fact, the history of the formation and the first recordings of the group does not begin in the first half of the 60s. The musicians made their first attempts to write songs ten years earlier.
Childhood friends who grew up in Forest Hills, New York, constantly wrote their own songs and wrote music for them. The first record was recorded in 1957 under the influence of another duet - the Everly Brothers.
The first single of the guys, who then called themselves Tom & Jerry, hit the Top 50. The song called "Hey Schoolgirl", although it was a good success, was soon forgotten and the duet did not lead to anything.
The guys stopped playing music together, and Simon tried his best to find work in the music industry. He, a pretty good songwriter, still did not gain much popularity.
From time to time Simon wrote songs for a couple of artists using the name Tico & The Triumphs.
Signing with Columbia
By the early 60s, Simon and Garfunkel were influenced by folk music.
When they re-released their records, they called their style folk. Although the roots of pop music could play into their hands in the synthesis of popular music and folk.
Signed to the Columbia label, the guys recorded their acoustic debut single in 1964, in just one night.
The debut song was unsuccessful, but the duet Simon & Garfunkel was listed as the artist, and not Tom & Jerry, as it was before. The musicians parted again.
Simon moved to England where he played folk instruments. There he recorded his first obscure solo album.
Help from Tom Wilson
This is where the story of the musicians Simon and Garfunkel could have ended if not for the active influence of their producer Tom Wilson, who had previously produced the early works of Bob Dylan quite successfully.
In 1965 there was a breakthrough in folk rock. Tom Wilson, who previously helped Dylan make his sound more electronic and modern, took the most successful single from S & G's debut album "The Sound of Silence" and added electric guitars, bass and drums to it.
After that, the track soared to the top of the charts in early 1966.
Such success served as an incentive for the duo to reunite and seriously engage in further recordings. Simon returned from the UK to the US.
Since 1966-67, the duo has been a regular guest on various charts. Their songs were considered among the finest recordings of the folk era. The most successful singles were "Homeward Bound", "I am a Rock" and "Hazy Shade of Winter".
Simon and Garfunkel's early recordings were very unstable, but the musicians steadily improved.
Simon constantly honed his songwriting skills as the duo became more commercially successful and enterprising in the studio.
Their performance was so pure and tasteful that even in the era of the popularity of psychedelic music, the duo remained afloat.
The musicians were very far from reckless acts to change their style, although it was already a little "out of fashion", which they were able to hook the listeners with.
Simon and Garfunkel's music appealed to listeners of different segments, from pop to rock audiences, as well as various age groups.
The duo was not limited to music for young people and teenagers, but created something unique and universal.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (late 1966) was the first truly coherent and polished album.
But the next work - "Bookends" (1968), not only combined previously released singles and some new material, but also demonstrated the growing maturity of the band.
One of the songs on this album, “Mrs. Robinson", became a huge success, becoming one of the most popular singles of the late 60s. It was also used as a soundtrack in one of the films of that time - "The Graduate".
Working separately
The duo's partnerships began to wane in the late 60s. The guys have known each other for most of their lives, and have been performing together for about ten years.
Simon began to feel his unrealized ideas more acutely due to the constant restrictions of working with the same musician.
Garfunkel felt oppressed. For the entire existence of the duet, he wrote absolutely nothing.
Simon's talents greatly depressed Garfunkel, although his voice, namely the recognizable high tenor, was extremely important for the duet and song performance.
The musicians began recording some of their work individually in the studio, with little or no live performance in 1969. Then Garfunkel began to pursue his acting career.
Last collaborative album
Their latest studio album, "Bridge Over Troubled Water", became very popular, topping the charts for ten weeks. The record contained four singles with such hits as "The Boxer", "Cecilia" and "El Condor Pasa".
These songs were by far the most ambitious and promising musically.
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "The Boxer" featured rumbling drums and expertly written orchestral elements. And the track "Cecilia" showed Simon's first attempts to get into the South American rhythms.
Also contributing to the album's popularity was Garfunkel's famous tenor, perhaps the most recognizable voice of the 60s and 70s.
Despite the fact that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was the duo's last album containing new material, the musicians themselves did not initially plan to part ways permanently. However, the break smoothly turned into the collapse of the duet.
Simon began a solo career that brought him as much popularity as working with Garfunkel. And Garfunkel himself continued his career as an actor.
The musicians reunited once in 1975 for the recording of the single "My Little Town", which hit the Top 10 chart. Periodically, they also performed together, but did not come close to joint new work.
A 1981 concert in New York's Central Park attracted half a million fans and was marked by the release of an album of live performances.
The musicians also toured in the early 80s, but a planned studio album was canceled due to musical differences.
