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October 13, 2011. That’s today.
October 13, 1941. That was Paul Simon’s birthday. Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel. (A very famous folk rock band formed in Brooklyn in 1957, if you’re confused.)
But I don’t think there’s a person who hasn’t at least heard of Simon & Garfunkel. And hopefully you’ve all actually heard them or intend to listen to them NOW.
Done with that? Cool.
So what you might not know is that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were destined to be a duo, since they grew up together! Not only did they go to school together until college, but also, more importantly, Simon was the White Rabbit to Garfunkel’s Cheshire Cat in their elementary school production of Alice in Wonderland.
Somehow, despite going to different colleges (Simon at Queens College and Garfunkel at Columbia University), the duo found their way back to each other and to a mutual love of folk music. They went on to quickly become really important in the folk music scene of New York’s Greenwich Village, and music from that period in their lives was featured on their first studio album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
The two went on to release five studio albums: Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (1964), Sounds of Silence (1966), Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme (1966), Bookends (1968) and Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970). Plus, they released 15 compilation albums and 26 singles.
Happy birthday, Paul Simon!
And in his honor, make sure you check these super popular and awesome singles that received Billboard Hot 100 rankings:
The Sound of Silence (ranked #1 in 1965)
Scarborough Fair (ranked #11 in 1968)
Mrs. Robinson (ranked #1 in 1968)
Bridge Over Troubled Water (ranked #1 in 1970)
Cecilia (ranked #4 in 1970)
P.s. And also happy birthday to Kele Okereke of British band Bloc Party! 🙂
