SIMON & GARFUNKEL

Pioneers in the musical style that became known as "folk-rock," Simon and Garfunkel were one of the most popular musical acts of the golden age of rock and roll. They were most successful folk-rock duo of the 1960s, who created a series of memorable hit albums and singles featuring their choirboy harmonies, ringing acoustic, and electric guitars. During the 1960s, they won four Grammys.

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel became friends in junior high school. As "Tom and Jerry," they recorded their first song, "Hey, Schoolgirl," on a small record label in 1957. By the early '60s, both Simon and Garfunkel were coming under the influence of folk music.

In 1964, they recorded their first album as Simon and Garfunkel, "Wednesday Morning, 3 AM", which sold poorly. Tom Wilson, a producer who had helped Bob Dylan electrify his sound, took one of its tracks, the folk-style "Sounds of Silence", layered electric guitar and drums over it, and had it released as a single. The new record proved extremely popular, and Simon and Garfunkel were suddenly stars.

"Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" (1966), produced the hit singles "Scarborough Fair/Canticle," "A Hazy Shade of Winter," and "At the Zoo." "Bookends" (1968) reflected their growing maturity. One of its songs, "Mrs. Robinson," became one of the biggest singles of the late '60s after it was featured in one of the best films of the period, The Graduate (which also had other Simon & Garfunkel songs on the soundtrack), starring Dustin Hoffman in his first major film role.

The final Simon and Garfunkel's studio album was "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1970). It was an enormous hit, topping the charts for ten weeks, and containing four hit singles: "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "The Boxer," "Cecilia," and "El Condor Pasa".

The duo then split up, driven apart by creative differences and personal conflict.

Listen to: Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson