Simon and Garfunkel
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel came together in the early 1960’s to form one of the most prominent American musical duos of the decade. With their folk-rock sound and poetic lyrics, they captured the hearts of young and old audiences alike, perfectly reflecting the emotions of the tumultuous 60’s.
When Simon and Garfunkel first started out, they were a very basic folk duo heavily influenced by the Everly Brothers, much like every other folk group during this time. When they released their first album in 1964, Wednesday Morning, 3 am, they didn’t see massive success right away. In fact, they were lost among the growing number of folk groups, all striving to find success in the genre of Bob Dylan in the early days of his career (Scoppa).
In 1965, music producer Tom Wilson, who was actually responsible for electrifying Dylan, electrified Simon and Garfunkel’s song “The Sound of Silence” from Wednesday Morning and released it as a single (Scoppa). Wilson added electric guitar, bass, and drums to the original track, capitalizing on the growing genre of “folk-rock”, which had been started by The Byrds (Greene). It was then that people really started to take notice of Simon and Garfunkel. Pretty soon, “The Sound of Silence” became a number one hit, which proceeded to launch Simon and Garfunkel into the fame that had previously escaped them in 1964. “The Sound of Silence” actually went on to be the anthem of the year, reflecting the discontent among the people during the 1960’s (Scoppa).
By 1966, Simon and Garfunkel were actively taking part in the political unrest spreading across the country, especially in the face of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. Their anti-war sentiments were reflected in their album released during this year, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (Scoppa). This album showed off their new “folk-rock” sound, and was a huge success across America. The album won over young audiences because they loved the “relevance” of the album to the music and discontent of the time, while older audiences loved it for Simon and Garfunkel’s “intelligence” and complex lyrics (Greene). Simon and Garfunkel’s music was really starting to resonate with people all across America (Scoppa).
Politically speaking, Simon and Garfunkel made it clear what they thought about the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, and other events happening across the country in their album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (Eder). Before this, the duo had dabbled in political statements with their song “The Sound of Silence,” which subtly suggested that it was wrong for people to blindly follow their government and not freely speak their minds (Simon).
Parsely, Sage, however, was not so subtle in its meaning. Especially evident in their song “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night”, Simon and Garfunkel did not shy away from expressing their anti-war sentiments and reflecting the dissatisfaction of many across America. “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night” is so effective in blatantly expressing their thoughts on the subject because of their use of authentic news footage and audio taken during the 60’s. The duo “juxtaposed the Christmas peace hymn with an increasingly grim newscast” (Fyfe), containing controversial events from the year 1966, such as the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, anti-war protests, student demonstrations, etc. (Eder). By combining a song with such an obviously peaceful connotation with the accounts of the volatile occurrences of the time, it was very apparent that Simon and Garfunkel supported the anti-war movement and other protests that were occurring, as these movements were a way to bring back the peace that had been abandoned in the turmoil of the decade (Fyfe).
In 1968, a year after the Beatles released their album Sgt. Pepper and the Lonely Hearts Club Band, and thus effectively changing the face of the music industry, Simon and Garfunkel released their next album, Bookends. Unlike the Beatles and the groups that followed in their wake, Simon and Garfunkel didn’t give in to the psychedelic mood that was created during 1967’s “Summer of Love”. Instead, they added “color” to their album by infusing it with a deep lyrical meaning and messages. This is in part why the album is called Bookends, to reflect this literary emphasis (Scoppa).
By the end of the 1960’s, the “Summer of Love” definitively came to an end as tensions over the Vietnam War continued to escalate. As the country grew even more restless, many groups, including the Beatles, started to break up. Simon and Garfunkel wrote their album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, in response to the conflicting emotions of this period, with the title song offering a “much needed message of hope with eloquent simplicity and grace” (Scoppa). Shortly after, however, Simon and Garfunkel succumbed to the unrest of the time and broke up, just like the Beatles had before them. Both Simon and Garfunkel went on to pursue successful solo careers (Scoppa).
It wasn’t just the messages of their albums and their relevance to the time that made Simon and Garfunkel a success as a duo while they were still together. Musically, Simon and Garfunkel were able to stand out from all of the others folk groups of the 1960’s. The duo was heavily influenced by the Everly Brothers (Scoppa), a rock and roll duo from the late 50’s and early 60’s, known for their use of close harmonies (Kemp). Simon and Garfunkel were especially inspired by the harmonies of the Everly Brothers, and implemented extremely close harmonies in their own music.
Where Simon and Garfunkel were able to stand out from their contemporaries was with their “overtly poetic lyrics and Garfunkel’s keening tenor,” (Scoppa), both of which brought a unique flair to the duo’s music. The music of Simon and Garfunkel, while lyrically complex, relied simply on the close harmonies of the duo’s intertwining voices, acoustic guitar, and “the sparest of rhythmic underpinnings and melodic ornamentation” to give their music the beauty it is known for (Scoppa).
Paul Simon was really the backbone of the duo, writing the music and amazingly complex lyrics. Simon was essentially a poet, and brought great literary depth to their songs. Because of this, Simon and Garfunkel’s music really meant something, which made it unique. On the other hand, Garfunkel’s vocals carried the duo, and added the heart and intensity to the music that the lyrics alone could not (Thorncroft). When Simon and Garfunkel sang together, their voices were described as “blending effortlessly, with Garfunkel’s rising smoothly above Simon’s like a front row forward in a line out” (Thorncroft). Evidently, it was the combination of Simon and Garfunkel’s talents that made them so great, not their individual talents alone. Together, Simon and Garfunkel’s distinct abilities were able to combine to create incredible music, which would go on to influence singer-songwriters for years to come (Greene).
Interestingly, Simon and Garfunkel didn’t just have an important impact on the music industry, but on the film industry as well. Their music was used on the soundtrack for The Graduate, which greatly affected the way music was used in future films. Until this point, new music was usually written for the soundtrack of a movie. Using existing, popular music for soundtracks was very uncommon (Lipshutz).
However, that was exactly what happened with The Graduate soundtrack. Simon and Garfunkel’s existing music, such as the songs “The Sound of Silence” and “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” was used for the soundtrack because it perfectly reflected the mood of the movie. Simon and Garfunkel’s music completely captured the overall feelings of melancholy and ennui that pervade the film, which was about a recent college grad dissatisfied and confused about his life (Lipshutz). In fact, both the movie and its Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack reflected the overall discontent of the 60’s perfectly (Scoppa).
The reason Simon and Garfunkel’s music had such a huge impact on the film industry was that it changed how the industry used popular music in movies for the years to come. Their music proved that “popular artists could steer the emotional impact of a film’s music” (Lipshutz), sometimes even better than music written specifically for it. Furthermore, this soundtrack exposed Simon and Garfunkel to an even wider audience across the country, since the movie was incredibly popular, which in turn had a positive effect on Simon and Garfunkel’s career (Lipshutz).
Overall, Simon and Garfunkel made a tremendous impact during the 1960’s. From the music industry all the way to the politics of the decade, their music resonated with people across the country. The duo’s overall messages, as well as the melancholic mood of many of their songs, reflected the discontent that was so prevalent during this decade. As Simon and Garfunkel said themselves in their song “America”, “I’m empty and aching, and I don’t know why” (Simon). The people in America during the 1960’s were feeling restless, and Simon and Garfunkel’s music embodied this attitude effortlessly.
Simon and Garfunkel
Works Cited
Eder, Bruce. “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme – Simon & Garfunkel.” AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC, n.d. Web. 18 May 2015.
Fyfe, Andy. “Simon and Garfunkel Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Review.” BBC Music. BBC, 2009. Web. 18 May 2015.
Greene, Andy. “Simon & Garfunkel Biography.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.
Kemp, Mark. “The Everly Brothers Biography.” Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, n.d. Web. 15 May 2015.
Lipshutz, Jason. “R.I.P. Mike Nichols: Why ‘The Graduate’ Soundtrack Will Always Matter.” Billboard. Billboard, 20 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 May 2015.
Scoppa, Bud. “Simon & Garfunkel.” The Official Site. Sony Music Entertainment, n.d. Web. 15 May 2015.
Simon, Paul. “Music+Lyrics – The Sound of Silence.” Paul Simon. Sony Music Entertainment, n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.
Thorncroft, Antony. “Simon and Garfunkel.” The Financial Times [London, England] 28 Apr. 1970, 25th ed.: 3. Gale NewsVault. Web. 17 May 2015.