The Sound of Silence
Encyclopedia
"The Sound of Silence" is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music
duo Simon & Garfunkel to popularity. It was written in February 1964 by Paul Simon
in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy
. An initial version preferred by the band was remixed and sweetened
, and has become known as "the quintessential folk rock release". In the U.S., it was the duo's second most popular hit after "Bridge Over Troubled Water
".
The song features Simon on acoustic guitar and both singing. It was originally recorded as an acoustic piece for their first album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
in 1964 but on the initiative of the record company's producer, Tom Wilson, it was later overdubbed
with drums (Bobby Gregg
), electric bass (Bob Bushnell) and electric guitar (Al Gorgoni
), all without the knowledge or participation of Simon & Garfunkel and rereleased as a single in September 1965. The single reached number one on New Year's Day
1966 and was included in the 1966 album Sounds of Silence
.
"The Sound of Silence" was originally called "The Sounds of Silence" and is titled that way on the early albums in which it appeared and on the first single release; only on later compilations was it retitled "The Sound of Silence". Both the singular and the plural appear in the lyrics. In his book Lyrics 1964–2008 Simon has the title in the singular.
. I'd turn on the faucet so that water would run — I like that sound, it's very soothing to me — and I'd play. In the dark. 'Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again'."
Simon showed the new composition to Garfunkel the same day, and shortly afterward, the duo began to perform it at folk clubs in New York. In the liner notes of their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
, Garfunkel claims, "'The Sound of Silence' is a major work. We were looking for a song on a larger scale, but this is more than either of us expected."
The duo recorded it for the first time on March 10, and included the track on Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which was released that October. The album flopped upon its release, and the duo split up, with Simon going to England
for much of 1965. There he often performed the song solo in folk clubs, and recorded it for a second time on his solo LP in May 1965, The Paul Simon Songbook. In the meantime, Simon and Garfunkel's producer at Columbia Records
in New York, Tom Wilson, had learned that the song had begun to receive airplay on radio stations in Boston, Massachusetts and around Gainesville
and Cocoa Beach, Florida
.
On June 15, 1965, immediately after the recording session of Bob Dylan
's "Like a Rolling Stone
", Wilson took the original acoustically instrumented track of Simon & Garfunkel's 1964 version, and overdubbed the recording with electric guitar
(played by Al Gorgoni and Vinnie Bell), electric bass
(Joe Mack), and drum
s (Buddy Salzman), and released it as a single without consulting Simon or Garfunkel. The lack of consultation with Simon and Garfunkel on Wilson's re-mix was because, although still contracted to Columbia Records at the time, the musical duo at that time was no longer a "working entity". Roy Halee
was the recording engineer, who in spirit with the success of The Byrds
and their success formula in folk rock, introduced an echo chamber effect into the song. Al Gorgoni later would reflect that this echo effect worked well on the finished recording, but would dislike the electric guitar work they technically superimposed on the original acoustic piece.
For the B-Side, Wilson used an unreleased track he cut with the duo a few months earlier on which they had tried out a more "contemporary" sound. The record single "Sounds of Silence"/"We've Got a Groovey Thing Going" entered the U.S. pop
charts in September 1965 and slowly began its ascent. In the first issue of Crawdaddy!
magazine, January 30, 1966, Paul Williams
, in reviewing the later album, wrote that he liked this B-side song which he found pure "rock and roll", "catchy", with a "fascinating beat and melody" and great harmony.
Simon learned that it had entered the charts minutes before he went on stage to perform at a club in Copenhagen
, and in the later fall of 1965 he returned to the U.S. By the end of 1965 and the first few weeks of 1966, the song reached number one on the U.S. charts. Simon and Garfunkel then reunited as a musical act, and included the song as the title track of their next album, Sounds of Silence
, hastily recorded in December 1965 and released in January 1966 to capitalize on their success. The song propelled them to stardom and, together with two other top-five (in the U.S.) hits in the summer of 1966, "I Am a Rock
" and "Homeward Bound
," ensured the duo's fame. In 1999, BMI
named "The Sound of Silence" as the 18th-most performed song of the 20th century. In 2004, it was ranked #156 on Rolling Stone
' s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, one of the duo's three songs on the list.
On the duo's 1968 album Bookends
, the track "Save the Life of My Child" features a distorted sample of Art Garfunkel's "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you" line from the original recording of "The Sound of Silence").
included a Dutch
translation of the song ("Het geluid van de stilte") on his unnamed 1965 debut album. The lyrics were translated by lyricist Lennaert Nijgh.
In the late 1980s, The Fools
often covered "The Sound of Silence" at their live performances. One such performance was released on the band's 1987 live album Wake Up... It's Alive!!!. The album was re-released with more tracks in 1993 as Wake Up... It's Alive!!! (Again).
In 1999, Gregorian
covered "The Sound of Silence" on their album Masters of Chant
.
In 2000, Atrocity
covered "The Sound of Silence" on their EP Sounds of Silence.
In 2000, Nevermore
covered "The Sound of Silence" on their album Dead Heart in a Dead World
.
Italian classical singer, Micheal Castaldo
recorded an Italian version of this song on his 2010 album Aceto.
"The Sound of Silence" was covered by Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini
on a compilation album.
In 2011, the band Bobaflex
covered "The Sound of Silence" on their album Hell in my Heart
.
In 2011, the song was performed by Paul Simon during the 10th anniversary memorial service for the victims of 9/11. This was a last minute change, as the official program had him performing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters". Video
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 & Garfunkel to popularity. It was written in February 1964 by Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. An initial version preferred by the band was remixed and sweetened
Sweetening
In sound design sweetening refers to "juicing up" the video portion of a film, play, computer game software or any other multimedia project...
, and has become known as "the quintessential folk rock release". In the U.S., it was the duo's second most popular hit after "Bridge Over Troubled Water
Bridge over Troubled Water (song)
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel's album of the same name. The single was released on January 26, 1970, though it also appears on the live album Live 1969, released in 2008. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at...
".
The song features Simon on acoustic guitar and both singing. It was originally recorded as an acoustic piece for their first album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut album by folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, released October 19, 1964. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. On its cover sleeve the album bears the subtitle: "Exciting new sounds in the folk tradition".The album was initially unsuccessful,...
in 1964 but on the initiative of the record company's producer, Tom Wilson, it was later overdubbed
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
with drums (Bobby Gregg
Bobby Gregg
Robert J. Gregg is a musician who has performed as a drummer and has also been a record producer. As a drum soloist and band leader he recorded one album and several singles, including one Top 40 single in the United States...
), electric bass (Bob Bushnell) and electric guitar (Al Gorgoni
Al Gorgoni
Al Gorgoni is an American guitarist, born October 11, 1939, known for his work as a session musician during the 1960s and 1970s. Growing up in Philadelphia, his family moved to The Bronx where he took up the guitar at age 14....
), all without the knowledge or participation of Simon & Garfunkel and rereleased as a single in September 1965. The single reached number one on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
1966 and was included in the 1966 album Sounds of Silence
Sounds of Silence (album)
Sounds of Silence is the second album by Simon and Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, "The Sound of Silence", which originally was released as "The Sounds of Silence"...
.
"The Sound of Silence" was originally called "The Sounds of Silence" and is titled that way on the early albums in which it appeared and on the first single release; only on later compilations was it retitled "The Sound of Silence". Both the singular and the plural appear in the lyrics. In his book Lyrics 1964–2008 Simon has the title in the singular.
History
Paul Simon began working on the song some time after the Kennedy assassination. He had made progress on the music but had yet to get down the lyrics. On 19 February 1964, the lyrics coalesced, as Simon recalled: "The main thing about playing the guitar, though, was that I was able to sit by myself and play and dream. And I was always happy doing that. I used to go off in the bathroom, because the bathroom had tiles, so it was a slight echo chamberEcho chamber
thumb|right|Echo chamber of the Dresden University of Technologythumb|right|Hamilton Mausoleum has a spectacularly long lasting unplanned echoAn echo chamber is a hollow enclosure used to produce echoing sounds, usually for recording purposes...
. I'd turn on the faucet so that water would run — I like that sound, it's very soothing to me — and I'd play. In the dark. 'Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again'."
Simon showed the new composition to Garfunkel the same day, and shortly afterward, the duo began to perform it at folk clubs in New York. In the liner notes of their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut album by folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, released October 19, 1964. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. On its cover sleeve the album bears the subtitle: "Exciting new sounds in the folk tradition".The album was initially unsuccessful,...
, Garfunkel claims, "'The Sound of Silence' is a major work. We were looking for a song on a larger scale, but this is more than either of us expected."
The duo recorded it for the first time on March 10, and included the track on Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which was released that October. The album flopped upon its release, and the duo split up, with Simon going to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for much of 1965. There he often performed the song solo in folk clubs, and recorded it for a second time on his solo LP in May 1965, The Paul Simon Songbook. In the meantime, Simon and Garfunkel's producer at Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in New York, Tom Wilson, had learned that the song had begun to receive airplay on radio stations in Boston, Massachusetts and around Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
and Cocoa Beach, Florida
Cocoa Beach, Florida
Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,482 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates of 2008, the city had a population of 11,920...
.
On June 15, 1965, immediately after the recording session of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "Like a Rolling Stone
Like a Rolling Stone
"Like a Rolling Stone" is a 1965 song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originate in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England...
", Wilson took the original acoustically instrumented track of Simon & Garfunkel's 1964 version, and overdubbed the recording with electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
(played by Al Gorgoni and Vinnie Bell), electric bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(Joe Mack), and drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s (Buddy Salzman), and released it as a single without consulting Simon or Garfunkel. The lack of consultation with Simon and Garfunkel on Wilson's re-mix was because, although still contracted to Columbia Records at the time, the musical duo at that time was no longer a "working entity". Roy Halee
Roy Halee
Roy Halee is an American record producer and engineer, best known for working with Simon and Garfunkel.Halee grew up on Long Island, New York. His father, also named Roy Halee, provided the singing voice for Mighty Mouse in late 1940s Terrytoons cartoons, as well as the voices of Heckle and Jeckle...
was the recording engineer, who in spirit with the success of The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
and their success formula in folk rock, introduced an echo chamber effect into the song. Al Gorgoni later would reflect that this echo effect worked well on the finished recording, but would dislike the electric guitar work they technically superimposed on the original acoustic piece.
For the B-Side, Wilson used an unreleased track he cut with the duo a few months earlier on which they had tried out a more "contemporary" sound. The record single "Sounds of Silence"/"We've Got a Groovey Thing Going" entered the U.S. pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
charts in September 1965 and slowly began its ascent. In the first issue of Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy!
Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock and roll music criticism. Created in 1966 by college student Paul Williams in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music, Crawdaddy! was self-described as "the first magazine to take rock and roll...
magazine, January 30, 1966, Paul Williams
Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! creator)
Paul Williams is an American music journalist and writer. Williams created the first national US magazine of rock music criticism :Crawdaddy! in January 1966 on the campus of Swarthmore College with the help of some of his fellow science fiction fans...
, in reviewing the later album, wrote that he liked this B-side song which he found pure "rock and roll", "catchy", with a "fascinating beat and melody" and great harmony.
Simon learned that it had entered the charts minutes before he went on stage to perform at a club in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, and in the later fall of 1965 he returned to the U.S. By the end of 1965 and the first few weeks of 1966, the song reached number one on the U.S. charts. Simon and Garfunkel then reunited as a musical act, and included the song as the title track of their next album, Sounds of Silence
Sounds of Silence (album)
Sounds of Silence is the second album by Simon and Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, "The Sound of Silence", which originally was released as "The Sounds of Silence"...
, hastily recorded in December 1965 and released in January 1966 to capitalize on their success. The song propelled them to stardom and, together with two other top-five (in the U.S.) hits in the summer of 1966, "I Am a Rock
I Am a Rock
"I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon alone as the opening track on his album The Paul Simon Songbook which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom...
" and "Homeward Bound
Homeward Bound (song)
"Homeward Bound" is an American folk song written by Paul Simon, performed by Simon and Garfunkel, produced by Bob Johnston and recorded on December 14, 1965. The song describes his longing to return home, both to his then girlfriend, Kathy Chitty in Brentwood, Essex, England, and to return to the...
," ensured the duo's fame. In 1999, BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
named "The Sound of Silence" as the 18th-most performed song of the 20th century. In 2004, it was ranked #156 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
On the duo's 1968 album Bookends
Bookends
-Charts:-Personnel:*Paul Simon - Vocals, Guitar, Producer*Art Garfunkel - Vocals, Producer*Hal Blaine - Drums, Percussion*Joe Osborn - Bass*Larry Knechtel - Piano, Keyboards*John Simon - Production Assistant...
, the track "Save the Life of My Child" features a distorted sample of Art Garfunkel's "Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you" line from the original recording of "The Sound of Silence").
Chart performance
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 3 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 10 |
| German Singles Chart | 9 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 5 |
| Japanese Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 94 |
| UK Singles Chart | 9 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
Cover versions
Dutch singer Boudewijn de GrootBoudewijn de Groot
Boudewijn de Groot is a famous Dutch singer/songwriter. He is known for the songs "Welterusten Meneer de President" , "Land van Maas en Waal" , "Jimmy" and "Avond" among others...
included a Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
translation of the song ("Het geluid van de stilte") on his unnamed 1965 debut album. The lyrics were translated by lyricist Lennaert Nijgh.
In the late 1980s, The Fools
The Fools
The Fools are a Massachusetts rock band best known for the party atmosphere of their live performances and tongue-in-cheek original songs, covers and parodies.-History:...
often covered "The Sound of Silence" at their live performances. One such performance was released on the band's 1987 live album Wake Up... It's Alive!!!. The album was re-released with more tracks in 1993 as Wake Up... It's Alive!!! (Again).
In 1999, Gregorian
Gregorian (band)
Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs Gregorian chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs. The band features both vocal harmony and instrumental accompaniment.- Band history :...
covered "The Sound of Silence" on their album Masters of Chant
Masters of Chant
Masters of Chant is the second album by Gregorian, released in 1999. It is the first Masters of Chant album.In 2008 Barnes & Noble/Curb Records released a Gregorian compilation album with the Masters of Chant name, containing tracks from various Masters of Chant albums.- Track listing :# "Brothers...
.
In 2000, Atrocity
Atrocity
Atrocity or Atrocities may refer to:* Atrocity , a German metal band* Atrocities , the fourth album by Christian Death* Atrocious , a 2010 Spanish film...
covered "The Sound of Silence" on their EP Sounds of Silence.
In 2000, Nevermore
Nevermore
Nevermore is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in 1991, they are known to incorporate elements from styles such as thrash, power, progressive, and neo-classical metal into their songs, and also makes use of acoustic guitars and a wide range of vocal styles.-Early years...
covered "The Sound of Silence" on their album Dead Heart in a Dead World
Dead Heart in a Dead World
Dead Heart in a Dead World is the fourth studio album by heavy metal band Nevermore, released in July 2000. In a style comparable to a darker, heavier Queensrÿche, its songs range topics such as criticism of drug possession penalties to rejection of religion. The album also features a cover of...
.
Italian classical singer, Micheal Castaldo
Micheal Castaldo
Michéal Castaldo is an Italian-born Canadian, and now a New York City resident classical crossover tenor, music producer and composer.-Early life and musical career:...
recorded an Italian version of this song on his 2010 album Aceto.
"The Sound of Silence" was covered by Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini
Emilíana Torrini
Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, best known for her 2009 single Jungle Drum, 1999 album Love in the Time of Science and for performing "Gollum's Song" for Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.-Early life:Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of...
on a compilation album.
In 2011, the band Bobaflex
Bobaflex
Bobaflex is an American rock band from Point Pleasant, West Virginia. They were part of Gigantour in 2005 and Rock on the Range in 2008.-History:...
covered "The Sound of Silence" on their album Hell in my Heart
Hell in my Heart
Hell in My Heart is an album from the band Bobaflex. It was released on August 30, 2011 via BFX records. The album has 16 tracks, 4 of which are remastered songs from the Chemical Valley EP. The album features the single "Bury Me with My Guns On"...
.
In 2011, the song was performed by Paul Simon during the 10th anniversary memorial service for the victims of 9/11. This was a last minute change, as the official program had him performing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters". Video