The Sounds of Silence
By Martin Rots
It was the big hit that almost wasn't.
Paul Simon graduated from Queen's College in the spring of 1963 and spent the summer with his guitar, touring Europe by thumb. He eventually ended up in Paris sleeping under the Pont Neuf along the Seine and literally singing for his supper most days. In Paris, Simon met Dave McCausland, an Englishman, sitting on a park bench. The two became friendly and when Simon prepared to return to New York, McCausland extended an open invitation if Paul were ever in England.
He returned to New York and his parent's home in late summer. He enrolled for the fall semester at the Brooklyn Law School but dropped out before completing his courses. It was music he really wanted to pursue as a career, much to his parent's disappointment.
In November 1963, John Kennedy was assassinated and a melancholy Simon began writing The Sound of Silence. It expressed his disillusionment with society and anger at the lack of any real communication between those who so desperately needed to establish rapport. Simon had a finished song by February and he and Art Garfunkel, performing for the first time as Simon and Garfunkel, began to play it in New York clubs that winter.
Simon played his new song for Dylan producer Tom Wilson who, in turn, successfully pitched the project to Columbia Records’ executives. The duo recorded the song on March 10, 1964, in New York as part of the initial sessions for their first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM.
By summer, Paul was in England, staying with McCausland and his family in Essex and playing local clubs as a solo act. While there, he met his first real love, Kathy Chitty, minding the door at the Railway Inn Folk Club. She became the subject of many of his early love songs. It wasn't long before they moved to London where there was an incredible music scene happening.
In September 1964, Simon returned to the US with Kathy and they explored the country by bus and hitchhiking. The moving song, America, is a result of their journey. By the beginning of October, she had returned home to England and Paul turned his attention to the release of Wednesday Morning, 3 AM.
The album was released that October to underwhelming response. Despondent, Simon flew back to England and Kathy in January. Garfunkel went back to school with the intention of becoming a teacher. Their future as a duo was uncertain, at best.
While Garfunkel was finishing school in New York, Simon recorded a solo effort in London called The Paul Simon Song Book with producer Wilson again. It included most of the tracks from Wednesday Morning, 3AM, including The Sound of Silence. To Simon's bitter disappointment, it performed more poorly than Wednesday Morning, 3AM had done in the US. When Garfunkel visited Simon in London that summer, he learned Simon had recorded without him. He was understandably hurt but said nothing. At this point, there was no partnership agreement between the men. Their subsequent career as Simon and Garfunkel was almost a matter of coincidence.
London was home to Paul by the fall of 1965. His live music was well received, and he had all the club dates he was interested in playing. He and Kathy were very much in love. Years later in a Rolling Stone interview, he would say, "I was consciously aware that I was ecstatically happy. I'm sure that those will be the happiest, purest days of my life."
Back in New York, Tom Wilson listened to The Sound of Silence one more time with the recent success of the Byrds in mind. In June, Wilson used some of the same musicians that had just cut Like a Rolling Stone with Bob Dylan to overdub electric guitar, bass, and drums to the track. Neither Simon nor Garfunkel were aware of Wilson's efforts. It was re-released in September and started a slow crawl up the charts.
Simon was in Copenhagen that November when he first heard that The Sound of Silence was poised to break the Top 100 back home in the US. He returned to London but by the end of the month, Paul left London and Kathy Chitty behind to return to New York. The Sound of Silence reached the number one spot early in January, 1966.
In closing, I'd like to point out that the song and/or album is sometimes referred to as The Sound of Silence or Sounds of Silence depending where you find it. It's kind of like the Keith Richard or Richards thing. I prefer to think of it as the Sounds of Silence.
A single sound would get old…but a rose is a rose.
To learn more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sounds_of_Silence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Chitty
Simon and Garfunkel The Biography by Victoria Kingston
Paul Simon the definitive biography by Laura Jackson
The Paul Simon Companion by Stacey Luftig
It was the big hit that almost wasn't.
Paul Simon graduated from Queen's College in the spring of 1963 and spent the summer with his guitar, touring Europe by thumb. He eventually ended up in Paris sleeping under the Pont Neuf along the Seine and literally singing for his supper most days. In Paris, Simon met Dave McCausland, an Englishman, sitting on a park bench. The two became friendly and when Simon prepared to return to New York, McCausland extended an open invitation if Paul were ever in England.
He returned to New York and his parent's home in late summer. He enrolled for the fall semester at the Brooklyn Law School but dropped out before completing his courses. It was music he really wanted to pursue as a career, much to his parent's disappointment.
In November 1963, John Kennedy was assassinated and a melancholy Simon began writing The Sound of Silence. It expressed his disillusionment with society and anger at the lack of any real communication between those who so desperately needed to establish rapport. Simon had a finished song by February and he and Art Garfunkel, performing for the first time as Simon and Garfunkel, began to play it in New York clubs that winter.
Simon played his new song for Dylan producer Tom Wilson who, in turn, successfully pitched the project to Columbia Records’ executives. The duo recorded the song on March 10, 1964, in New York as part of the initial sessions for their first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM.
By summer, Paul was in England, staying with McCausland and his family in Essex and playing local clubs as a solo act. While there, he met his first real love, Kathy Chitty, minding the door at the Railway Inn Folk Club. She became the subject of many of his early love songs. It wasn't long before they moved to London where there was an incredible music scene happening.
In September 1964, Simon returned to the US with Kathy and they explored the country by bus and hitchhiking. The moving song, America, is a result of their journey. By the beginning of October, she had returned home to England and Paul turned his attention to the release of Wednesday Morning, 3 AM.
The album was released that October to underwhelming response. Despondent, Simon flew back to England and Kathy in January. Garfunkel went back to school with the intention of becoming a teacher. Their future as a duo was uncertain, at best.
While Garfunkel was finishing school in New York, Simon recorded a solo effort in London called The Paul Simon Song Book with producer Wilson again. It included most of the tracks from Wednesday Morning, 3AM, including The Sound of Silence. To Simon's bitter disappointment, it performed more poorly than Wednesday Morning, 3AM had done in the US. When Garfunkel visited Simon in London that summer, he learned Simon had recorded without him. He was understandably hurt but said nothing. At this point, there was no partnership agreement between the men. Their subsequent career as Simon and Garfunkel was almost a matter of coincidence.
London was home to Paul by the fall of 1965. His live music was well received, and he had all the club dates he was interested in playing. He and Kathy were very much in love. Years later in a Rolling Stone interview, he would say, "I was consciously aware that I was ecstatically happy. I'm sure that those will be the happiest, purest days of my life."
Back in New York, Tom Wilson listened to The Sound of Silence one more time with the recent success of the Byrds in mind. In June, Wilson used some of the same musicians that had just cut Like a Rolling Stone with Bob Dylan to overdub electric guitar, bass, and drums to the track. Neither Simon nor Garfunkel were aware of Wilson's efforts. It was re-released in September and started a slow crawl up the charts.
Simon was in Copenhagen that November when he first heard that The Sound of Silence was poised to break the Top 100 back home in the US. He returned to London but by the end of the month, Paul left London and Kathy Chitty behind to return to New York. The Sound of Silence reached the number one spot early in January, 1966.
In closing, I'd like to point out that the song and/or album is sometimes referred to as The Sound of Silence or Sounds of Silence depending where you find it. It's kind of like the Keith Richard or Richards thing. I prefer to think of it as the Sounds of Silence.
A single sound would get old…but a rose is a rose.
To learn more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sounds_of_Silence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Chitty
Simon and Garfunkel The Biography by Victoria Kingston
Paul Simon the definitive biography by Laura Jackson
The Paul Simon Companion by Stacey Luftig
Posted by Martin Rots at 10/13/2009 8:18 PM 
Categories: The Musicians, Big Hits
Tags: Paul Simon Sound of Silence Tom Wilson disillusionment Simon and Garfunkel America London Copenhagen album New York clubs Dylan producer Byrds 1964 Simon Bob Dylan Railway Inn Folk Club overdub number one Queen's College Like a Rolling Stone Kathy Chitty Keith Richard love songs Keith Richards Dave McCausland Sounds of Silence hitchhiking Wednesday Morning 3 AM Garfunkel Paris Brooklyn Law School 1963 guitar US Pont Neuf Rolling Stone 1966 Columbia Paul Simon Song Book John Kennedy Seine New York 1965 music Top 100 Art Garfunkel
Categories: The Musicians, Big Hits
Tags: Paul Simon Sound of Silence Tom Wilson disillusionment Simon and Garfunkel America London Copenhagen album New York clubs Dylan producer Byrds 1964 Simon Bob Dylan Railway Inn Folk Club overdub number one Queen's College Like a Rolling Stone Kathy Chitty Keith Richard love songs Keith Richards Dave McCausland Sounds of Silence hitchhiking Wednesday Morning 3 AM Garfunkel Paris Brooklyn Law School 1963 guitar US Pont Neuf Rolling Stone 1966 Columbia Paul Simon Song Book John Kennedy Seine New York 1965 music Top 100 Art Garfunkel
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