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Musical Information

  Name Simon & Garfunkel
  Img Bookendsjpg
  Img Capt Simon and Garfunkel, Bookends
  Background group_or_band
  Origin Forest Hills , Queens , New York City , NY , USA
  Genre Rock , Folk Rock
  Years Active 1957–1970<br>1981–1983 (reunion)<br>2003–2004 (reunion)
  Label Columbia
  URL wwwsimonandgarfunkelcom
  Current Members Paul Simon <br> Art Garfunkel


The duo of Paul Simon and ''' Art Garfunkel ''' are American Popular Musicians known collectively as '''Simon and Garfunkel'''. They met in Elementary School in 1953, when they both appeared in the school play Alice In Wonderland (Simon as the White Rabbit , Garfunkel as the Cheshire Cat ). They formed the group Tom and Jerry in 1957, and had their first taste of success with the minor hit "Hey Schoolgirl." As Simon and Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965 backed by the hit single " The Sound Of Silence ." Their music was featured on the landmark film '' The Graduate '', propelling them further into the public consciousness. They are well known for their close harmonies and sometimes unstable relationship. Their last album, '' Bridge Over Troubled Water '', was marked with several delays caused by artistic differences. Simon and Garfunkel were among the most popular recording artists of the 1960s, and are best known for their songs " The Sound Of Silence ," " Mrs. Robinson ," " Bridge Over Troubled Water " and " The Boxer ." They have received several Grammys and are inductees of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and the Long Island Music Hall Of Fame (2007). In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Simon and Garfunkel1 #40 on their list of the ''100 Greatest Artists of All Time''.2

They have reunited on several occasions since their 1970 break-up, most famously for 1981's The Concert In Central Park , which attracted 500,000 people.


HISTORY


Early history

'' was Simon and Garfunkel's last album; the Title Track was one of three number one hits in the United States but their only number one hit in the United Kingdom .]] Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel grew up in the same Forest Hills neighborhood just blocks away from one another and were classmates at Forest Hills High School in New York City . Close friends since childhood, they began performing together in their junior year as Tom and Jerry, with Simon as Jerry Landis (whose last name he borrowed from a girl he had been dating) and Garfunkel as Tom Graph (so called because he was fond of tracking ("graphing") hits on the pop charts). They began writing their own songs in 1955, and made their first professional recording, "Hey, Schoolgirl", for Sid Prosen of Big Records in 1957. Released on 45 and 78 rpm records, the song - with B side "Dancin' Wild" - sold 100,000 copies, hitting #49 on the '' Billboard '' charts. Both Simon and Garfunkel have acknowledged the tremendous impact of The Everly Brothers on their style, and many of their early songs (including "Hey, Schoolgirl") bear the mark of this influence.

They later performed their hit on '' American Bandstand '', right after Jerry Lee Lewis ' " Great Balls Of Fire ".

Subsequent efforts in 1958 did not reach near their initial success, and after high school the duo went to separate colleges, with Simon enrolling at Queens College and Garfunkel at Columbia University . While enrolled in college, they both joined the same fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi .

In 1963 they found prominence as part of the Greenwich Village , a friend of both Simon and Garfunkel, and a classmate of Simon's at Queens College, who was one of three civil rights workers murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi , on June 21 , 1964 .

  filename Sg mrobogg
  title Mrs Robinson
  description 23 second sample from " Mrs Robinson "


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  title Bookends
  description 13 second sample from "Bookends"


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  title Bridge over Troubled Water
  description 15 second sample from "Bridge over Troubled Water"


  filename Sg sfcogg
  title Scarborough Fair/Canticle
  description 16 second sample from "Scarborough Fair/Canticle"


  filename Sg sosogg
  title The Sound of Silence
  description 16 second sample from "The Sound of Silence"


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  title Wednesday Morning, 3 AM
  description 11 second sample from "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM"