In 1957, in their mid-teens, they recorded the song "Hey, Schoolgirl" under the name Tom & Jerry, given to them by their label Big Records. The single reached No. 49 on the pop charts. After graduating from Forest Hills High School, Simon majored in English at Queens College, while Garfunkel studied mathematics at Columbia University in Manhattan. Simon earned a degree in English literature, and briefly attended Brooklyn Law School after graduation, but his real passion was rock and roll.
Between 1957 and 1964, Simon wrote, recorded, and released more than 30 songs, occasionally reuniting with Art Garfunkel as Tom & Jerry. Paul used several pseudonyms for these earliest recordings, including Jerry Landis, Paul Kane and True Taylor.
In early 1964, Simon and Garfunkel got an audition with Columbia Records, whose executive Clive Davis was impressed enough to sign the duo to a contract to produce an album. Columbia decided that the two would be called simply "Simon & Garfunkel," instead of the group's previous name "Tom and Jerry." Simon said in 2003 that this renaming as "Simon & Garfunkel" was the first time that artists' ethnic names had been used in pop music. Simon and Garfunkel's first LP, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., was released on October 19, 1964; it consisted of 12 songs in the folk vein, five written by Simon. The album initially flopped.
Simon moved to England to pursue a solo career, touring folk clubs and coffee houses. At the first club he played, the Railway Inn Folk Club in Brentwood, Essex, he met Kathy Chitty who became his girlfriend and inspiration for "Kathy's Song," "America," and others. In 1965, he recorded a solo LP. The Paul Simon Songbook in England.
While in the UK, Simon co-wrote several songs with Bruce Woodley of the Australian pop group The Seekers, including "I Wish You Could Be Here," "Cloudy," and "Red Rubber Ball." The American group The Cyrkle recorded a cover of "Red Rubber Ball" that reached No. 2 in the U.S.
Back on the American East Coast, radio stations began receiving requests for one of the Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. tracks, Simon's "The Sound of Silence." Their producer, Tom Wilson, overdubbed the track with electric guitar, bass guitar and drums, releasing it as a single that eventually went to No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts.
The song's success drew Simon back to the United States to reunite with Garfunkel. Together they recorded four more influential albums: Sounds of Silence; Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme; Bookends; and the hugely successful Bridge over Troubled Water. Simon and Garfunkel also contributed extensively to the soundtrack of the Mike Nichols film The Graduate in 1967, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft.
Simon pursued solo projects after Bridge over Troubled Water, reuniting occasionally with Garfunkel for various projects, such as their 1975 Top Ten single "My Little Town." Simon wrote it for Garfunkel. The song was included on their respective solo albums, Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years and Garfunkel's Breakaway. In 1981, Simon & Garfunkle reunited again for the famous concert in Central Park, followed by a world tour. Together, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
In 2003, Simon and Garfunkel reunited once again when they received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. This reunion led to a U.S. tour—the acclaimed "Old Friends" concert series, followed by a 2004 international encore that culminated in a free concert at the Colosseum in Rome that drew 600,000 people.
After Simon and Garfunkel officially split up in 1970, Simon began to write and record solo material. His album Paul Simon was released in January 1972, preceded by his first experiment with world music, the Jamaican-inspired "Mother and Child Reunion," considered one of the first examples of reggae by a white musician. The single was a hit, reaching both the American and British Top 5. The album received universal acclaim, with critics praising the variety of styles and the confessional lyrics, reaching No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 1 in the UK and Japan. It later spawned another Top 30 hit with "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard".
In 1973, Simon released There Goes Rhymin' Simon. It contained some of his most popular and polished recordings. The lead single, "Kodachrome," was a No. 2 hit in America, and the follow-up, the gospel-flavored "Loves Me Like a Rock" was even bigger, topping the Cashbox charts. Other songs, like "American Tune" and "Something So Right" became standards in the musician's catalogue. Critical and commercial reception for this second album was even stronger than for his debut. The album reached No. 1 on the Cashbox album charts.
For the next four decades Paul Simon would continue to make his mark on Amer8ican popular music. He has earned 12 Grammys for his solo and collaborative work, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist and in 2006 was selected as one of the "100 People Who Shaped the World" by Time magazine. Among many other honors, Simon was the first recipient of the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007. In 1986, Simon was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees.
Paul Simon's contributions are legendary and best illustrated by listening. Enjoy this week's tribute to Paul Simon.
~ Jerry Landis (aka Paul Simon) ~
