![]() Unfortunately, all the money and success in the world isn't enough if you're in a two-person group and each of you comes to hate the other. Robinson" in The Graduate, they soon achieved a level of crossover appeal that made them into among the most popular musicians in the world. From there, their career picked up in earnest, with new music emerging as Simon's muse struck him (Garfunkel was the superior singer of the two, but Simon wrote the songs), and largely thanks to the prominent use of "Mrs. ![]() Despite the rushed nature of recording, Sounds of Silence was a good one, and it also prompted a re-release and re-evaluation of their debut. Much to their surprise (and Simon's initial disgust), the remix was a huge hit, and CBS ordered Simon & Garfunkel back into the studio to make an album in support of the remixed single. Their big break ultimately came without their involvement: "The Sound of Silence" had slowly started to gain a following among college-age listeners, and their producer then had the brilliant idea to come up with a rock-based remix of the song, without the involvement of either Simon or Garfunkel. Simon moved to England, attempted to start his own solo career, and was picked up by a label that would soon be absorbed by CBS. They recorded a nice but forgettable album ( Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.) that happened to have one great song on it ("The Sound of Silence"), and when it sold very poorly, it seemed like their career was again over almost as soon as it started. Eventually, while both were in college, they reunited as a folk duo called Kane & Garr, and they attracted the attention of an important producer at Columbia, who agreed to sign them and to allow them to start performing under their own names. Back in 1957, when they were each about 16, the duo (under the name Tom & Jerry) released a single called "Hey Schoolgirl" that turned out to have some moderate success, but their ensuing attempts to get back on the charts proved unsuccessful, and when Simon released a solo single of his own, this resulted in the first of many fallings out between the two. Simon & Garfunkel emerged in the mid-1960s as a "wholesome" alternative for Baby Boomers who didn't want to listen to the music their parents listened to but weren't necessarily totally sure about all of the dangerous elements making their way into music, but if S&G had had their way they would have broken through much earlier than that. Simon & Garfunkel's output is ultimately strong enough to muster a *** rating on my site, but it's extremely borderline and without the surprising (in the context of the albums that came before) marvel that is Bridge Over Troubled Water, they would essentially be a footnote in my collection. Simon & Garfunkel is typically considered one of the elite musical acts of the 1960s, and I agree that their best material is excellent, but there's way less top-notch material in their catalogue than you might guess if you only have a casual familiarity with them. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were a nice performing duo whose legacy was helped immeasurably by three main factors (and that's without accounting for the incredible stroke of luck that led to "The Sound of Silence" shooting up the charts and reviving their career when it was essentially dead): (1) a tight association with one of the defining movies of the generation that would ultimately determine the first iteration of what constituted the rock music canon, (2) the good fortune to break up right after releasing the album that was both their best and their most popular by a considerable margin, and (3) the good sense of their handlers to release a strong greatest hits compilation a couple of years after they broke up. ![]() Simon & Garfunkel Completely confused by the rating system? Go here for an explanation.
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