Song#: 0981
Date: 04/03/1982
Debut: 67
Peak: 27
Weeks: 11
Genre: Pop
Pop Bits: Childhood friends Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel began their music career as the folk duo Tom & Jerry in the late 50s. Signed to Big Records, they had a minor hit in 1957 with "Hey, Schoolgirl" (#49). Without a substantial follow-up, the duo headed to separate colleges but reformed later and issued a debut album for Columbia Records called "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." The LP flopped and the duo decided to split. That may have been the end of the line for both, but luckily a track from the album started to get requests. "The Sound of Silence" was gaining in popularity and so the album's producer, Tom Wilson, added a new Byrds-esque arrangement and in 1965 the song hit #1. Simon & Garfunkel reunited and over the next five years released a string of hit albums and singles that culminated in their 1970 Grammy-winning masterwork, "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Their strained relationship caused them to split up after that album, but they would reunited on occasion for special appearances and tours. Their most famous post-breakup appearance came in 1981 when they did a free concert in New York's Central Park. Over 500,000 people showed up and the event was turned into a TV special and a double live LP. This single from the concert album was issued and it became the duo's final pop chart entry.
ReduxReview: As a tribute to their heroes (see below), I guess this is perfectly fine. There is not much here though that makes it interesting. It's just a cover tune. Since it was the only "new" song done in the concert, I'm guessing that is why it was chosen over a live version of one of their famous songs. The duo really did amazing work but if you just judged them by this single, the reaction might be...eh.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: Simon & Garfunkel have stated that the Everly Brothers influenced their music greatly. They paid tribute to the Everly's in their Central Park concert by performing this classic that was a #1 for the Brothers in 1957.
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