James Hoag - Legends of Rock & Roll: Simon & Garfunkel

By

James Hoag

~~~

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 by James Hoag

Discover other titles by James Hoag atSmashwords.com

Cover by James Hoag

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personalenjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away toother people. If you would like to share this book with anotherperson, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Ifyoure reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was notpurchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.comand purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard workof this author.

Disclaimer

Legends of Rock & Roll Simon &Garfunkel Copyright 2014 James Hoag.

All rights reserved.

No parts of this book may be reproduced inany form or by any electronic or mechanical means includinginformation storage and retrieval systems without writtenpermission from the publisher. The only exception is for areviewer. A reviewer may quote brief passages in a review.

Published by
www.number1project.com
Monument Marketing Publishing LTD.,
53 Hanover Dr., Orem, Utah 84058

If youve read my very first Legends ofRock & Roll book about the Everly Brothers, then you mightremember that in 2005, my wife and I attended the reunion concertof Simon & Garfunkel. The Everlys played during theintermission of the show, but the rest of the show was all PaulSimon and Art Garfunkel.

Now, these were not young guys. Both men werein their early sixties when we saw them, but you would never knowit. The harmonies were still there. The songs sounded the same. Theaudience sang along with them. This was the music of a generation;the music of the Sixties.

It was a magical night. I had never heard theguys perform live, and they performed all of their hits, as well asa lot of the solo work which they had recorded over the years. Mywife and I came away singing all of the songs.

I have always liked Simon & Garfunkel,even before they were S&G. I remember Tom & Jerry from thelate Fifties. I didnt know at the time (no one did) what theywould become, but I knew I liked the sound and the songs, but Tom& Jerry didnt find a place in our history; it took a namechange and a change of sound to accomplish that. They were destinedto become one of the most famous duos in music history: Simon &Garfunkel.

I flipped a coin and Paul won so lets dealwith him first. Paul was born Paul Frederic Simon on October 13,1941 in Newark, New Jersey. His father was Louis Simon and hismothers name was Belle. Paul came by his musical ability honestlyas his father was a bass player for a band which played on theradio. Mom was an elementary school teacher. Paul had one youngerbrother, Eddie, who was born in 1945 and Eddie turned out to bemusically inclined as well, but, of course, wasnt the success thatPaul later became.

Even though Paul was born in Newark, thefamily soon moved to Kew Gardens near Forest Hills, New York whichis a suburb of Queens. This was a nice middle-class neighborhood,and Paul grew up in a loving and fairly normal family. At thattime, Paul had no idea that just three blocks away and just threeweeks after Paul was born, a baby came to the Garfunkel family thatthey named Artie.

Art was born Arthur Ira Garfunkel on November5, 1941, just three weeks after Paul. Arts parents were Jack andRose Garfunkel. Jack was a travelling salesman. He marketed his ownproducts which he had invented and, as far as I can tell, did verywell at it. Mom was a secretary. He had two brothers. His olderbrother, Jules, was three years older than Art, and his youngerbrother, Jerome, was four years younger than Art, so Art was amiddle child. I cant find any evidence that it affected him muchone way or another.

You cant talk about either of the boyswithout mentioning the other one. They were both Jewish and knew ofeach other from the first grade on. Paul came from a musical familyas his dad played with a band, but Art had no such upbringing. Hegot his start just listening to the radio. From as early an age ashe can remember, he would sing along with the radio and it was soondiscovered that Art had perfect pitch. He would sing almosteverywhere he went, and he really didnt care who heard him.

By first grade Art and Paul were in the sameclass at PS 164 in Queens. However, they really werent friends atthis point. They, of course, knew of each others existence but nospark of friendship had occurred, yet. Paul first became aware ofArts talent in the third grade when the school put on a talentshow and Art sang the old Nat King Cole song Too Young. You mightremember the song: They tried to tell us we were too young. Itsa beautiful song and was a number one hit for Cole in 1951. Art wasnine years old, and the girls loved it.

Suddenly, Paul saw that music could be a wayto a girls heart. Im not sure I was thinking about girls at agenine, but Paul was. Paul knew he wanted to work in music but hadntquite settled on a direction. However, at age ten, his fatherhappened to pass by his room when Paul was practicing singing. Dadwas dressed in a tuxedo, getting ready to go out for a gig with hisband, and he stopped and said to Paul, Thats nice, Paul, realnice. Paul was blown away. He knew that if his father believed inhim, he could do almost anything. I think it was at that momentthat Paul knew that music was what he wanted to do with his life. Iam amazed by this story because not all parents are as supportiveof their children as Louis Simon was. In one off-handed remark, hesolidified Pauls future.

The singing that Paul was doing when his dadhappened by was from a stage production of Alice inWonderland that the school was doing. Paul had the part of theWhite Rabbit in the production, and Art played the Cheshire Cat. Itwas during rehearsal for this school play that the boys finally gotclose enough to realize that they could be real friends. They wereboth loners and really not part of the school social scene. Theydiscovered they liked the same things and were both planningsimilar futures. Why not work together?

They were eleven years old.

Even though both boys were Jewish, Art camefrom a much more traditional family than Paul did. Paul said hisfather really didnt believe in religion but his mother did andwent to synagogue about once a year. Art, on the other hand, facedwhat all Jewish boys face when they turn thirteen: Bar Mitzvah. Itimpressed me that Art served as the cantor at his own BarMitzvah.

In 1954, rock and roll was just starting tobe heard in the United States. New York City was the heart of thenew sound and many of the singers would go on to become legends inthat genre. Since Paul and Art lived in New York and were growingup there, they got a sneak peak at the future when Alan Freed cameto town with his show which he called Rock and Roll Party.Freed had become popular as a disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio, butwanted a bigger audience than Cleveland could provide, so hebrought his radio show to New York. Naturally, Paul and Art bothheard the show, and they were hooked on the music. They would bothstay up late at night and listen to the show which broadcast onWINS each night from seven to eleven.

Id like to picture the boys in theirrespective bedrooms, under the covers of their beds, with aflashlight and a radio listening to this new music that was aboutto sweep the nation. Then, one day, Paul heard a singer that wouldchange his life forever. He was riding in the car when the carradio played Elvis Presley. Paul knew immediately that that waswhat he wanted to do.

However, it was easier said than done. Pauldidnt think he had the talent to become the next Elvis Presley,but he kept trying. Art, on the other hand, liked Elvis, but he wasmore in love with the music. He would practice the songs when hewas alone. He especially liked to sing the ballads of the day likeEarth Angel by the Penguins.