Simon & Garfunkel was the folk rock duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, formed in Queens, New York in 1957 and signed to Columbia by 1964. Bridge over Troubled Water (1970) sold over 25 million copies and won six Grammys; Bookends might be the better record. Find Simon & Garfunkel vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Simon & Garfunkel formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City in 1957 around Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel - the duo met in elementary school in the Kew Gardens Hills neighborhood and attended Forest Hills High School together. They recorded together initially as Tom & Jerry, releasing the single Hey, Schoolgirl in 1957 (#49 Billboard Hot 100 hit). They developed their folk rock approach across the early 1960s and signed with Columbia Records as Simon & Garfunkel in 1964. Their breakthrough came with The Sound of Silence (initially the 1964 acoustic folk track on Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., subsequently re-recorded with electric instruments by producer Tom Wilson without Simon and Garfunkel's knowledge or consent, then released as a single in late 1965, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1966). Their subsequent catalog established them as one of the most important folk rock duos in popular music history. Their 1968 contributions to the Mike Nichols film The Graduate - use of Mrs. Robinson, The Sound of Silence, Scarborough Fair, and other tracks - extended their cultural footprint. Their 1970 album Bridge over Troubled Water - featuring the title track, The Boxer, and Cecilia - sold over 25 million copies worldwide and won 6 Grammy Awards in 1971 (including Album of the Year and Record of the Year). The duo dissolved later in 1970 amid creative tensions over Simon's creative authority. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. See also the separate Paul Simon collection page for the wider context of his solo career. Their foundational influence on folk rock and broader popular music history is widely cited as one of the most important contributions to the form.
Simon & Garfunkel's sound is foundational to folk rock as a recognized genre - combining folk rock, folk, pop, soft rock, chamber pop, and acoustic with their distinctive multi-vocalist arrangements (use of Simon-Garfunkel harmonies, widely cited as one of the most important vocal duos in popular music history), Simon's intricate fingerpicking acoustic guitar work, virtuosic compositional approaches (all material written by Simon), and lyrical content addressing alienation, urban life, relationships, and broader American social commentary drawing on American folk and pop traditions.
Original Columbia Records pressings of the Simon & Garfunkel catalog are foundational items in folk rock and broader rock collecting, with collector premiums on rare pressings.
Listeners new to Simon & Garfunkel typically start with Bridge over Troubled Water (1970) or Bookends (1968).
