Music for Sight: Featured Artis - Music for Sight

Music for Sight

Featured Artist Simon and Garfunkel

Paul simon and Art Garfunkel Brought To You by Music for Sight

While you are reading, if you would like, you may listen to two of my favorite songs by our featured artists, simon and Garfunkel... "For emily, Whenever I May Find Her" - and "April, come She Will".

Listen to For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her

Listen to April, come She will

Ever since the Dutch arrived on the North American shores of the Atlantic Ocean in the early seventeenth century, and began the chain of events which many say swindled the Algonquin, Iroquois and Lenape native American Indians out of their ancestral homelands, The region we know as New York has been the progenitor of many amazing things. Chief, (no pun intended), among them, in the middle part of the twentieth century, in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, the emergence of Tom and Jerry, who would one day make a permanent and indelible mark on the soundscape of the American folk, country, jazz and rock music scene, equal to the impact of the Europeans on the landscape.

PaulSimon & Art Garfunkel

aka Tom and Jerry

Paul Frederick simon was born on October 13, 1941 in Newark, New Jersey. His mom, Bella, and his papa Louis, both of Jewish and Hungarian ancestry, were the kind of folks you would imagine could produce such a son. Paul’s mom was an elementary school teacher, and his dad, also known on the music circuit as Lee Sims, was a bassist, dance band leader and college professor. Louis “Lee Simms” Simon was one of the first musicians in Hungary to have his music broadcast over the new fangled wireless radio.

Across the river, in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Arthur Ira Garfunkel was born a few weeks later on November 5^th, 1941. Art’s mom and dad, Rose, a housewife, and Jacob Jack, a traveling men’s clothing salesman, Garfunkel were fine working folks whose parents had migrated from Romania seeking among other things, I suspect, freedom to practice their Jewish faith in the new world. While Art’s parents had no musical background per se, Art has recalled to interviewers in the past that his mom and dad both sang a lot and inspired their son to do likewise.

The Featured Artist Discography

Simon and Garfunkel released a total of six albums between 1964 and 1970

Wednesday Morning 3 a.m.

sounds of Silence

Parsley, Sage, rosemary and Thyme

The Graduate soundtrack

Bookends

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

There are quite a few collector's editions, box sets, greatest hits, essentials, and three very good live albums that were released after Paul and art called it quits as a recording duo in 1970. Over the years, Art and Paul have reunited on stage and my favorite is The concert In Central Park. The Live In New York City 1967 is memorable as it is just Paul playing his Martin and singing with Art providing those unimaginable tight vocal harmonies . To view these click on the link in the catagory section below.

Listed below are the five original Simon and Garfunkel albums. Click on the play button and enjoy!

Promotional Red Vinyl 45

I Am A Rock

Music

Becoming New Friends

So these two kids, Paul and Art , who still had not met, each decide to have a go at tryouts for the PS 164 in Queens graduation play, “Alice In Wonderland”. Art got the part of the Cheshire Cat and Paul got the part of the White Rabbit. I’m guessing it was an awkward, yet somehow affable meeting of these two future superstars. And now that they have become new friends, they are, though unbeknown to either, on the path to becoming “Old Friends”.

First Recording Contracts

It happened in 1957. The two had been gigging around school dances and the like, doing their imitation of The Everly Brothers. Paul and Art certainly had the vocal skills for executing the tight vocal harmonies of their favorite big time stars. Under the name of Tom and Jerry, Art and Paul signed their first recording contract with Big Records and recorded their first single “Hey Schoolgirl”.

The Concert In Central Park

1981 New York city

Becoming Old Friends

Pablo Picasso told an interviewer once that “it takes a long time to become young”. And we all know it takes a long time for people to become old friends. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s stint as a duet has seen it’s share of breakups and reunions. They first broke up in 1959, got back together in 1963, broke up in 1964, got back together in 1965, broke up again in 1970, got back together on several occasions during the seventies and early eighties for reunion tours, got back together once in 1983 to record a new studio album, a project that led to another breakup before the album was released, (Art’s bits were stripped from the master tapes and the album was released as “Hearts and Bones”, a solo album by Paul), back together again three times during the nineties, and several times here in the 21^st century. A tour scheduled for right now, summer 2010, has been postponed due to a problem Art his having with his vocal chords. The duo said they were postponing the show out of respect for their fans. Art’s doctors say a full recovery is very likely.

So after nearly five decades, Paul and Art, who first met at that elementary school play in 1953 have indeed become old friends.

Dj Bowen

June 2010

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