Today in Music (1966): Simon & Garfunkel Sounds of Silence released

Sounds of Silence Simon & Garfunkel

Released: January 17, 1966 Peak: 21 US, 13 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.1 UK, 6.0 world (includes US + UK) Genre: folk rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. The Sound of Silence (electric version) (11/12/65, 12 BB, 11 CB, 11 GR, 12 HR, 50 AC, 1 CL, 7 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU, 2 DF) Leaves That Are Green Blessed Kathy’s Song Somewhere They Can’t Find Me Anji Richard Cory A Most Peculiar Man April Come She Will We’ve Got a Groovy Thing Goin’ I Am a Rock (4/29/66, 3 BB, 4 CB, 2 GR, 2 HR, 2 CL, 17 UK, 20 AU, 10 DF) Total Running Time: 29:09

Rating: 3.532 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: When the folk-rock trend kicked in, producer Tom Wilson lifted the acoustic version of The Sound of Silence from Simon & Garfunkel’s Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. album and overdubbed it with electric guitar, bass, and drums. After releasing it as a single, it took off and hit #1 and became a quintessential song of the new folk-rock movement. To capture the moment, Simon & Garfunkel reunited and recorded a second album titled Sounds of Silence, featuring the new rendition of the song. While recorded only 18 months after the duo’s debut, “the sound here seemed a million miles away from the gentle harmonizing and unassuming acoustic accompaniment on the first record.” BE They also reworked a full half dozen songs from Paul Simon’s 1965 release The Paul Simon Songbook. Simon also rewrote “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” as Somewhere They Can’t Find Me. BE “The parts that work best, Kathy’s Song and April Come She Will, two of the most personal songs in Simon’s output, were similar to the stripped-down originals Simon had cut solo in England, and among the most affecting (as opposed to affected) folk-style records of their era.” BE “But it also had flaws, some of which only became fully apparent as their audience matured: the snide, youthful sensibilities of I Am a Rock and Blessed haven’t aged well.” BE “Though a rushed effort, this was a far stronger album than their debut, mostly thanks to Simon’s compositions; indeed, in one fell swoop, the world learned not only of the existence of a superb song-poet in Paul Simon, but, in Simon’s harmonizing with Art Garfunkel, the finest singing duo since the Everly Brothers.” BE

Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Simon & Garfunkel BE All Music Guide review by Bruce Eder Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 5/5/2011; last updated 10/9/2023.