![\"Simon](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Simon-and-Garfunkel-Paul-Simon-Art-Garfunkel-Far-Out-Magazine--1140x855.jpg\")
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(Credits: Far Out \/ Sony Music Entertainment)<\/p>\n
Sun 1 June 2025 19:40, UK <\/p>\n
Simon and Garfunkel<\/a> were one of the most iconic acts of the 1960s. <\/p>\n Consisting of songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel, the duo led the folk-rock wave of the decade. Their carefully crafted songs turned them into one of the best-selling groups of the time, earning worldwide number-one hits with \u2018The Sound of Silence\u2019, \u2018Mrs. Robinson\u2019, \u2018The Boxer\u2019 and their swan song \u2018Bridge over Troubled Water\u2019.<\/p>\n The pair met in elementary school in Queens, New York, in 1953. It was there that they began a highly productive partnership, writing together under the moniker Tom and Jerry \u2013 not after the cartoon, but from Garfunkel\u2019s alias \u201cTom Graph\u201d, reflecting his love of maths, and Simon\u2019s choice, \u201cJerry Landis\u201d, taken from a girl he dated.<\/p>\n Success followed quickly. At 15, they signed to Sid Prosen\u2019s Big Records after he overheard them recording \u2018Hey Schoolgirl\u2019 in a Manhattan studio. The $25 recording\u2014around $244 today\u2014became a hit after Prosen paid DJ Alan Freed $200 to play it on air. The single gained rotation on major radio stations, selling over 100,000 copies and landing them on American Bandstand alongside Jerry Lee Lewis.<\/p>\n Early fame and the beginnings of friction<\/p>\n The duo earned around $4,000\u2014close to $38,000 in today\u2019s money\u2014though it amounted to just two per cent each in royalties, with the rest going to Prosen. Their next singles, \u2018Our Song\u2019 and \u2018That\u2019s My Story\u2019, failed to chart. After graduating in 1958, both pursued higher education. Simon studied English at Queens College, and Garfunkel studied architecture before switching to art history at Columbia.<\/p>\n Still under contract, Simon released a solo track under the name \u2018True Taylor\u2019, which Garfunkel saw as a betrayal. It sparked long-running tensions. Garfunkel began to feel like a backing singer to Simon\u2019s operation \u2014 a dynamic that would continue to haunt their relationship.<\/p>\n By late 1963, they reunited as Kane and Garr, playing open mic nights at Gerde\u2019s Folk City in Greenwich Village. Performing \u2018Sparrow\u2019, \u2018He Was My Brother\u2019 and \u2018The Sound of Silence\u2019, they caught the attention of Columbia producer Tom Wilson, who had also guided Bob Dylan\u2019s shift into electric folk<\/a>. Simon convinced Wilson not to give \u2018He Was My Brother\u2019 to another act, and the duo were signed to Columbia under their real names.<\/p>\n Their debut, Wednesday Morning, 3AM. was released in 1964 to little fanfare, and they disbanded once more. Simon moved to England, playing with folk contemporaries like Bert Jansch and Sandy Denny.<\/p>\n A smash hit and the seeds of their split<\/p>\n Out of nowhere, a remixed electric version of \u2018The Sound of Silence\u2019 became a hit in the US. They reunited to release Sounds of Silence in 1966 and toured college campuses. That same year, their third album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme saw them regain creative control. Their music featured heavily in The Graduate, pushing them further into the cultural spotlight.<\/p>\n In 1968, Bookends went to number one, led by the hit \u2018Mrs. Robinson\u2019, which became synonymous with The Graduate. Their final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), was their biggest commercial success, but behind the scenes, their relationship was fractured beyond repair.<\/p>\n
![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Paul-Simon-Art-Garfunkel-Simon-Garfunkel-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>(Credits: Far Out \/ Alamy)<\/p>\n