LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Paul Simon: Art Garfunkel
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Paul Simon has never been much of a political writer. He emerged as a songwriter in the 1960s, when the sheer newness of the folk-rock sound made popular musicians cultural objects, caught up in an intergenerational clash that had much to do with the role of popular art in a civilization’s political expression. The great songs of the 1960s, both Simon’s and those of his peers (Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Neil Young) were political in their interpretation, though not necessarily in their intent. The Simon & Garfunkel tunes that have lasted into their fourth decade are not those that are overtly political, like “He Was My Brother” or “A Church Is Burning.” The music that lasts is neither topical nor eagerly direct; even “The Sound of Silence,” Simon’s first number one hit, skirted around the idea of social communication and political alienation without addressing current events head on.
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Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel both grew up in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York City. After becoming friends in middle school, the two started singing doo-wop in various groups. In 1955, the copyrighted their first composition, a song called “The Girl For Me.” By 1957, they were local stars (at least amongst the high school crowd), and tried to take their musicianship to the next level and sell songs to the big publishing houses in Manhattan.
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In a career dating back to the 1950s, Paul Simon has established himself among the best and most popular songwriters of the rock era. Growing up in Queens, NY, Simon befriended schoolmate Art Garfunkel, who had an angelic tenor voice, and the two teamed up as Tom & Jerry, taking the names of the cartoon characters. In the winter of 1957-1958, they scored a chart hit with "Hey Schoolgirl"; both were 16 years old.
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While Paul was in England in 1965, producers Tom Wilson and Bob Johnston happened upon an idea: why not take Bob Dylan’s new, in-studio backing band and create a more “upbeat” Simon & Garfunkel tune? This formula had worked for Dylan, so it was reasoned that the other New York folk singers could follow suit. “The Sound Of Silence” was picked, and this “new” version charted very well.
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Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician. Simon is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, both as half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel and as a solo artist. In 2006, Time magazine called him one of the "100 people who shape our world."[1] As of 2007, he resides in New Canaan, Connecticut.[2]
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Today Paul Simon lives in seclusion at the top of one of the Catskill Mountains. He is occasionally visited by fellow misanthrope Woody Allen, and on such occasions the two converse about the trials of being a genius and about which of them hates Art Garfunkel more. He still has his tin can.
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