The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
Encyclopedia
"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" is a song by folk music
duo Simon and Garfunkel
, appearing on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
. "59th Street Bridge" is the colloquial name of the Queensboro Bridge
in New York City
. The song's message is immediately delivered in its opening verse: "Slow down, you move too fast".
The studio version features Dave Brubeck Quartet members Joe Morello
(drums) and Eugene Wright
(bass).
Footage of Simon and Garfunkel performing the song at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival is featured in the film Monterey Pop
.
Simon's writing credit was added to the theme song to the American children's TV show H.R. Pufnstuf
after The Kroffts were successfully sued by Simon, who claimed that the theme ripped off this song.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
duo Simon and Garfunkel
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
, appearing on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is the third album by Simon & Garfunkel, released in the United States on October 10, 1966. Its name comes from the second line of the album's first track, "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", an English folk song from the 16th century, paired with a counter-melody and...
. "59th Street Bridge" is the colloquial name of the Queensboro Bridge
Queensboro Bridge
The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge – because its Manhattan end is located between 59th and 60th Streets – or simply the Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City that was completed in 1909...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The song's message is immediately delivered in its opening verse: "Slow down, you move too fast".
The studio version features Dave Brubeck Quartet members Joe Morello
Joe Morello
Joseph Albert Morello was a jazz drummer best known for his 12½-year stint with The Dave Brubeck Quartet. He was frequently noted for playing in the unusual time signatures employed by that group in such pieces as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo à la Turk"...
(drums) and Eugene Wright
Eugene Wright
"The Senator" Eugene Wright is an American jazz bassist, best known for his work as a member of The Dave Brubeck Quartet, in particular on the group's most famous album Time Out , with pianist Brubeck, drummer Joe Morello and saxophonist Paul Desmond.Wright, nicknamed "The Senator", had played...
(bass).
Footage of Simon and Garfunkel performing the song at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival is featured in the film Monterey Pop
Monterey Pop
Monterey Pop is a 1968 concert film by D. A. Pennebaker that documents the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967. Among Pennebaker's several camera operators were fellow documentarians Richard Leacock and Albert Maysles...
.
Simon's writing credit was added to the theme song to the American children's TV show H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf was a children's television series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft in the United States. It was the first Krofft live-action, life-size puppet program. The seventeen episodes were originally broadcast September 6, 1969 to September 4, 1971...
after The Kroffts were successfully sued by Simon, who claimed that the theme ripped off this song.
Covers and performances
- A popular cover version was recorded by Harpers BizarreHarpers BizarreHarpers Bizarre was an American pop-rock band of the 1960s, best known for their Broadway/Sunshine Pop sound and their remake of Simon & Garfunkel's "The 59th Street Bridge Song ."- Career :...
, reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. - Former Simon songwriting partner, Bruce WoodleyBruce WoodleyBruce William Woodley , is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the successful pop-folk group The Seekers, and co-composer of the anthemic song "I Am Australian"...
, recorded a cover with his band The SeekersThe SeekersThe Seekers are an Australian folk-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States...
on their 1967 album Seen in Green. - The song was covered by The Free DesignThe Free DesignThe Free Design was a Delevan, New York-based vocal group playing jazzy pop music. Their music can be described as sunshine pop and baroque pop, which were pop music subgenres at the time, which later influenced the bands Stereolab, Cornelius, Pizzicato Five, Beck and The High Llamas.-Early...
on their 1967 debut album Kites Are FunKites Are FunKites are Fun is the debut album from The Free Design, released in 1967.-Track listing:# "Kites Are Fun" # "Make the Madness Stop" # "When Love is Young"...
. - The melody was used by Nana MouskouriNana MouskouriNana Mouskouri , born Ioánna Moúschouri on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer who has sold about 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was known as Nána to her friends and...
in 1967 for her song "C'est bon la vie". - The song was covered by the Boston band Jim's Big EgoJim's Big EgoJim's Big Ego is a Boston, Massachusetts-based band formed in 1995 under the leadership of singer/songwriter Jim Infantino.Among the band's songs are "The Ballad of Barry Allen", based on Barry Allen , a character co-created by Infantino's uncle Carmine Infantino, and "New Lang Syne" , a new New...
on the album Don't Get Smart. - The song appears on the album The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al KooperThe Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al KooperLive Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper is a double album documenting performances from two of blues-rock's most notable American musicians of the late 1960s...
. - During live performances, Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
guitarist Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
would often include snippets of "The 59th Street Bridge Song" in the guitar solo of the song "HeartbreakerHeartbreaker (Led Zeppelin song)"Heartbreaker" is a song from English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II. It was credited to all four members of the band, having been recorded at A&R Studios, New York, during the band's second concert tour of the United States, and was engineered by Eddie Kramer."Heartbreaker"...
." While usually edited out of official live releases, the snippet can be heard on numerous Led Zeppelin bootleg recordingsLed Zeppelin bootleg recordingsThe Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings are a collection of audio and video recordings of musical performances by English rock band Led Zeppelin which were never officially released by the band, or under other legal authority. The recordings consist of both live concert performances and outtakes from...
. - Tori AmosTori AmosTori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
performed the song at several of her concerts in 2005. - The Grateful Dead were known to have sampled portions of the song in their music. The most notable is the performance of "Dark Star" on February 13, 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York, NY on the Dick's Picks Volume 4Dick's Picks Volume 4Dick's Picks Volume 4 is the fourth live album in the Dick's Picks series of releases by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded on February 13 and February 14, 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York City, and released in February 1996. It was the first of the Dick's Picks CDs to have three discs...
album.
In popular culture
- "Feelin' Groovy" was used in a 2003 series of GapGap (clothing retailer)The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
commercials featuring R&B/soul singers Angie StoneAngie StoneAngie Stone is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She has been nominated for three Grammy Award. She is more successful on the charts R&B charts, with four Top 10 albums, forms including a number one album and 10 singles on the R&B chart,...
and MýaMya-A person:* Bo Mya , Chief Commander of the Karen National Union* Mýa , American R&B singer-songwriter and actress** Mýa , a 1998 album by Mýa-A code:* Burmese language, ISO 639-3 code is mya* Moruya Airport's IATA code...
. - The song was used in the first season of US TV series Desperate HousewivesDesperate HousewivesDesperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
, during a scene where Lynette ScavoLynette ScavoLynette Scavo is a fictional character on the series Desperate Housewives. The character is playedby actress Felicity Huffman, who won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 2005, and was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series...
hallucinates her own suicide.