The pair always inhabited the more polished end of the folk-rock spectrum and was sometimes criticized for a certain collegiate sterility.
Many also feel that Simon , as both a singer and songwriter, didn't truly blossom until he began his own hugely successful solo career in the s.
Childhood friends while growing up together in Forest Hills, NY, they began making records in , performing and often writing their own material in something of a juvenile Everly Brothers style. By the early '60s, both Simon and Garfunkel were coming under the influence of folk music. When they reteamed, it was as a folk duo, though Simon 's pop roots would serve the act well in their material's synthesis of folk and pop influences.
It got to number one in early , giving the duo the impetus to reunite and make a serious go at a recording career, Simon returning from the U. In and , they were regular visitors to the pop charts with some of the best folk-rock of the era, including "Homeward Bound," "I Am a Rock," and "A Hazy Shade of Winter.
Their execution was so clean and tasteful that it cost them some hipness points during the psychedelic era, which was a bit silly. They were far from the raunchiest thing going, but managed to pull off the nifty feat of appealing to varying segments of the pop and rock audience -- and various age groups, not just limited to adolescents -- without compromising their music.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme late was their first really consistent album; Bookends , which actually blended previously released singles with some new material, reflected their growing maturity. One of its songs, "Mrs. It was unsurprising, in retrospect, that the duo's partnership began to weaken in the late '60s. The title track from the album was also winging its way up the UK singles charts, and in late March, the duo simultaneously topped the singles and albums charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
They would get together periodically over the years for some memorable gigs, and if they reunited tomorrow, their concerts would surely sell out overnight. However, with Simon announcing his retirement from live work a couple of years ago, and with their relationship cool to say the least, that looks increasingly unlikely. For an act that soundtracked an era while virtually inventing the soft-rock genre, their legacy rests on a surprisingly small body of work — just those five studio albums that have been endlessly recycled in one form or another.
Just one minute and 43 seconds long and boasting the light, airy, optimistic feel of the sunshine pop era, this glorious, harmony-driven confection was the very definition of radio friendly. A hit single in the States in , beneath the autumnal chill of the lyrics lies a breezy pop sensibility recognised by the Bangles in their Eighties remake.
Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a day free trial. A very short but completely wonderful love song, owing much to traditional English folk ballads, which compares the changing of the seasons with the changeable moods of a young woman.
Simon was criticised for not crediting his arrangement of the traditional English folk song to Martin Carthy, who had popularised it. This huge international hit quickly captured the zeitgeist and remains forever associated with The Graduate despite the fact that you only hear snippets on the soundtrack. Masterfully conceived and executed, this anthemic personal voyage of discovery is both a celebration of and elegy for the American dream in a time of uncertainty.
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