Bridge over Troubled Water

Background:

“Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.” Paul Simon

Paul Simon is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actor, who is possibly best known as one half of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, along with Art Garfunkel. First performing as Tom & Jerry in 1957, the duo had their first minor hit with “Hey, Schoolgirl” before separating and later reformed as Simon & Garfunkel. Simon & Garfunkel released 5 successful studio albums: “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” (1964, #30 US, #24 UK), “Sounds of Silence” (1966, #21 US, #13 UK), “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” (1966, #4 US, #13 UK), “Bookends” (1968, #1 US & UK) and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970, #1 US &s UK), and 26 singles, including the No. 1 US hits “The Sound of Silence” (1965), “Mrs. Robinson” (1968) and “Bridge over Troubled Water” (1970). The duo's first compilation album, “Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits” (1972), sold over 14 million units in the US alone, making it the duo's best selling album ever in the U.S., and holds the record in the U.S. for the best selling album ever by a duo. The duo has also produced 4 live albums, 1 soundtrack album, 15 compilation albums and 2 box sets.

After Simon & Garfunkel split up in 1970, Simon went on to embark on a successful solo career. As a solo artist, he has released 11 studio albums, 2 live albums, 9 compilation albums and 15 singles. Among his significant albums are “Paul Simon” (1972, #4 US), “There Goes Rhymin' Simon” (1973, #2 US), “Still Crazy After All These Years” (1975, #1 US), “Graceland” (1986, #3) and “The Rhythm of the Saints” (1990, #4). His new album, “So Beautiful or So What” (2011), debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. He had his first and to date only No. 1 solo hit single on the Billboard Hot 100 with “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (1975). His other notable singles include “Mother and Child Reunion,” “Kodachrome,” “Loves Me Like a Rock” and “Father and Daughter.”

Apart from music, Simon wrote and starred in the film “ One Trick Pony” (1980). He also co-wrote the Broadway musical “ The Capeman” (1998).

Spending almost six decades in the music industry, Simon has received over 10 Grammy Awards for his solo and collaborative work. In 2004, he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been an inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 1990 as member of Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist since 2001. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1982. Among many other honors he has received include the Library of Congress's first Gershwin Prize for Popular Music in 2007.

Simon has been married three times. He has one child with his first wife Peggy Harper (together from 1969 to 1975) and three children with present wife Edie Brickell, whom he married in 1992. He had a brief marriage with actress Carrie Fisher between 1983 and 1984.

Father of 4

Childhood and Family:

Paul Frederic Simon was born on October 13, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey. Shortly after his birth, his family relocated to Kew Garden Hills, Queens in New York City. Paul grew up in a Jewish Hungarian household with parents Louis Simon and Belle Simon and brother Eddie Simon. His father was a college professor, bassist and dance bandleader who performed under the stage name Lee Sims, while her mother teaching elementary school. Paul attended Forest Hills High School, where he started his music career with childhood friend Art Garfunkel. After graduating from high school, he went to Queens College and became a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He graduated with a degree in English literature. He then attended Brooklyn Law School, but soon quit to pursue rock and roll.

Paul has been married three times. He married first wife Peggy Harper in 1969 and welcomed his first child, son Harper Simon, in 1972. The couple divorce later in 1975. Paul next married actress Carrie Fisher on August 16, 1983, but the marriage only lasted for nearly a year in July 1984. A year after divorcing, Paul and Fisher continued their relationship for several years. Paul married his third wife, Edie Brickell, a folk singer, on May 30, 1992. They have three children: Adrian Edward Simon (born December 28, 1992), Lulu Simon (born March 1995) and Gabriel Elijah Simon (born May 1998).

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

Career:

Raised in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Paul Simon met Art Garfunkel in elementary school in 1953, when they both appeared in the school play “Alice in Wonderland.” At the time, Simon played the role of the White Rabbit, while Garfunkel was the Cheshire Cat. The two went on to become classmates at high school, and in 1957, they formed the group Tom & Jerry, with Simon as Jerry Landis and Garfunkel as Tom Graph. Their first professional recording, “Hey, Schoolgirl,” sold about 100,000 units and peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard charts. After some unsuccessful efforts, the duo broke up, but Simon continued to write and record music as Tico and The Triumps, and Jerry Landis.

In 1964, Simon and Garfunkel reunited, and released their debut album as Simon & Garfunkel, “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.,” on October 19, 1964 under Columbia Records. The album, which was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee, was a flop upon its release that resulted in Simon moving to the United Kingdom and Garfunkel resuming his university studies. While in the UK, Simon performed at Les Cousins and The Troubadour in London and toured provincial folk clubs. Besides, he recorded his solo effort, “The Paul Simon Songbook,” in August 1965. The album was released as an LP but was supposedly deleted in 1979 at the request of Simon. It was later re-released on CD with bonus tracks in 2004. During this period in London, Simon also worked together on many songs with Bruce Woodley of The Seekers, including “I Wish You Could Be Here,” “Cloudy” and “Red Rubber Ball,” which would become a No. 1 hit in the US for the short lived American band The Cyrkle.

Simon, however, did not enjoy real big success until the release of a re-mixed electric/acoustic version of “The Sounds of Silence,” a single from “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.,” in September 1965. Written by Simon in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 1, 1966, becoming the first No. 1 hit for Simon & Garfunkel, and went gold. It also made the Top 10 in Australia. Austria and Germany. Led by the success of the single, “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” was re-released in January 1966 and rose to No. 30 on the Billboard 200 and No. 24 on the UK Albums chart. It has since been certified platinum by the RIAA.

Simon soon moved back to the United States, and the duo re-formed to record more tracks in a similar style. On January 17, 1966, Simon & Garfunkel launched their second studio album, “Sounds of Silence,” a folk rock album produced by Bob Johnston. The album peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 and No. 13 on the UK Albums chart. In addition to “The Sounds of Silence,” the album also contained tracks from his album, “The Paul Simon Songbook,” such as “I Am a Rock,” which was released as a single in 1966 and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 17 in the UK, “Leaves That Are Green,” “April Come She Will,” “A Most Peculiar Man” and “Kathy's Song.” “Sounds of Silence” eventually went triple platinum in the US and gold in the UK. Simon & Garfunkel followed it up with their third album, “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme,” on October 10, 1966. It reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and No. 15 on the UK Album charts. Released on February 1966, the single “Homeward Bound” [eaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also produced the hit singles “The Dangling Conversation” (released in September 1966), which peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” (1968), which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” was certified triple platinum by the RIAA.

In 1967, Simon and his music partner Garfunkel recorded a soundtrack album for the Mike Nichols' movie, “The Graduate.” Released on January 21, 1968, the soundtrack album, which featured hits songs from the duo like “The Sounds of Silence” and “Scarborough Fair/Canticle,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on the UK Album Charts. It achieved double platinum in the US. The album brought the duo a 1969 Grammy for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture.

Later that same year, on April 3, 1968, the duo released the fourth studio album “Bookeds,” which was produced by Simon, Roy Halee and Garfunkel. The album topped both the Billboard 200 and the UK Album charts. It produced three Top 40 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 with “A Hazy Shade of Winter” (#13), “At the Zoo” (#16) and “Fakin' It” (#23) and their second chart topping hit, “Mr. Robinson” (1968). “Mr Robinson” also earned the duo two Grammys for Record of the Year, and Best Contemporary Pop Performance – Vocal Duo or Group.

The fifth album “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released on January 26, 1970. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, as well as for Best Engineered Recording. The album was certified 8x Platinum in the US. The album also reached No. 1 in several other countries like the UK, Australia, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The title track “Bridge Over Troubled Water” reached No. 1 on both the US and the UK Singles Charts as well as the Billboard Adult Contemporary. It won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Contemporary Song, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) and Best Contemporary Vocal Group. Other hit singles released from the album were “The Boxer” (#7 US; #6 UK), “Cecilia” (#4 US) and “El Condor Pasa (If I Could)” (#18 US). “Bridge Over Troubled Water” marked the last album by the duo of Simon & Garfunkel before the group disbanded. Since the 1970 breakup, Simon and Garfunkel have reunited to perform and sometimes tour together in every decade.

On January 14, 1972, Simon released a solo album, “Paul Simon,” which he produce with Roy Halee. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum in the US. The album also reached No. 1 in the UK, Finland and Norway. It produced three hit singles with “Mother and Child Reunion,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” and “Duncan,” which reached No. 4, No. 22 and No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, respectively. Also in 1972, Simon reunited with Garfunkel for benefit concert at Madison Square Garden for McGovern campaign. “Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits,” the duo's first compilation album, also was released in that same year on June 14. The album reached No. 5 in the US and No. 2 in the UK. The album was certified 14x platinum in the US, making it their best selling album ever in the U.S. and holds the record in the U.S. for the best selling album ever by a duo.

Simon's next solo effort, “There Goes Rhymin' Simon,” followed on May 5, 1973. It charted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, went platinum and was nominated for the Grammy Awards of 1974 for Best Male Pop Vocal performance and Album of the Year. The album yielded two runner up hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Kodachrome” and “Loves Me Like a Rock” as well as a Top 40 hit, “American Tune.” The fourth solo album “Still Crazy After All These Years” was released on October 25, 1975. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and No. 6 on the UK Album Charts. The album won a 1976 Grammy for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal. “Still Crazy After All These Years”spawned four US Top 40 hits with “Gone at Last” (#23), “My Little Town” (#9, credited to Simon & Garfunkel), “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” (#1) and the title track “Still Crazy After All These Years” (#40).

In 1977, Simon made his screen acting debut in “Annie Hall,” a comedy/drama film directed and written by and starring Woody Allen. There he played the notable supporting role of Tony Lacey. He went on to have an uncredited part in the 1978 made for TV film “All You Need Is Cash,” starring

Eric Idle, John Halsey and Ricky Fataar, and a starring role in the 1980 drama “One Trick Pony,” which Simon also wrote. Simon also recorded the soundtrack album of “One-Trick Pony,” which was released in August 1980. The album charted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and No. 17 on the UK Albums Chart. It was nominated for a 1981 Grammy Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special. Meanwhile, in 1977, Simon appeared in the TV special “The Paul Simon Special,” from which he shared a 1978 Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special.

In 1981, Simon reunited with Garfunkel for a free concert in Central Park, which was attended by 500,000 people and became the most attended concert in the music history.

On November 4, 1983, Simon released the studio album “Hearts and Bones” on Warner Bros. Records. The album peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard 200. The single “Allergies” reached No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100. Simon rebounded in 1986 with “Graceland,” which topped the UK Albums Chart and reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and went 5x platinum in both countries. The album won a 1986 Grammy for Album of the Year. “Graceland” produced the hit singles “You Can Call Me Al” (#23), “Graceland” (feat. The Everly Brothers.) (#81) and “The Boy in the Bubble” (#86), with the title track winning a 1987 Grammy for Record of the Year.

On October 16, 1990, Simon resurfaced with his album, “The Rhythm of the Saints,” which he also solely produced. The album topped the UK Albums Chart and reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200. It achieved double platinum status in both the UK and the US. The album produced the minor hit singles “The Obvious Child” (#92 US) and “Proof” (#89 UK). Still in 1990, Simon resumed his acting career by playing Simple Simon in the made for TV film “Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme,” starring Harry Anderson, Cyndi Lauper and Brian Bonsall. In 1992, he appeared on “MTV Unplugged” and became first major international performer to appear in South Africa after the lifting of the UN's 11 year cultural boycott of the country. 1994 saw Simon co-produce “ Picture Perfect Morning,” the album of his wife, Edie Brickel. He also provided some arrangements and instrumentals on the album. In 1996, Simon was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Original Song for his work on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

On November 18, 1997, Simon released the album “Songs from The Capeman,” containing Simon's own performances of songs from the Broadway musical he wrote and produced called “The Capeman.” The album sis not sell well and only peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard 200. After seven years of preparation, Simon's musical play, “The Capeman,” opened on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre to poor reviews and had an initial run of only 68 performances. It was nominated for Tony in the categories of Best Original Score, Best Orchestrations and Best Scenic Design.

On October 3, 2000, Simon released the tenth studio album “You're the One,” which marked his first successful album in a decade. It was nominated for a 2001 Grammy for Album of the Year. The album peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold by the RIAA. Simon spent the next two years promoting the album before taking a year off in 2002. During 2003 and 2004, he had a widely documented reunion with Art Garfunkel, followed by a Simon & Garfunkel comeback tour. During June and July 2004, the duo toured American and Europe extensively and the concerts were recored on both a live album and video that was released by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Simon also contributed the song “Father and Daughter” for the soundtrack of the movie “The Wild Thornberrys Movie” (2003), from which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Music, Original Song, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song - Motion Picture and Broadcast Film Critics Association Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Song.

Simon released the eleventh studio album “Surprise” on May 9, 2006. It peaked at No. 4 in the UK Albums chart and No. 14 on the Billboard 200. The Single “Father and Daughter” reached No. 31 on the UK Singles Chart.

In 2008, Simon had an uncredited part in the Sean McGinly film “The Great Buck Howard,” which starred Colin Hanks, John Malkovich and Tom Hanks.

Recently, on April 8, 2011, Simon released the new studio album “So Beautiful or So What,” a follow up to 2006's “Surprise.” The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, becoming his highest debut on the chart, and earned broad acclaim from music critics. The album also charted in the UK at No. 6. The song “The Afterlife” (2011) reached No. 50 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.

Awards:

• TV Land: Most Memorable SNL Musical Guest, “Saturday Night Live,” 2008

• Grammy: Lifetime Achievement Award, 2004

• Grammy: Record of the Year, “Graceland,” 1986

• Grammy: Album of the Year, “Graceland,” 1986

• Emmy: Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special, “The Paul Simon Special,” 1978

• Grammy: Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal, “Still Crazy After All These Years,” 1976

• Grammy: Album of the Year & Best Engineered Recording, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” 1971

• Grammy: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Contemporary Song, Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) & Best Contemporary Vocal Group, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” 1971

• Grammy: Record of the Year, “Mr. Robinson,” 1969

• Grammy: Best Contemporary Pop Performance – Vocal Duo or Group, “Mr. Robinson,” 1969

• Grammy: Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture, “The Graduate,” 1969