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Encyclopedia > The Sound of Silence
"The Sound of Silence"
"The Sound of Silence" cover
Single by Simon and Garfunkel
from the album Sounds of Silence
Released September 1965
Format 7" single
Recorded March 10, 1964 (main track); June 15, 1965 (overdub)
Genre Folk Rock
Length 3:05
Label Columbia Records
Writer(s) Paul Simon
Producer(s) Tom Wilson
Peak chart positions
Simon and Garfunkel singles chronology
n/a "The Sound of Silence"
(1965)		 "Homeward Bound"
(1966)

"The Sound of Silence" is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel to popularity. It was written by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Simon conceived of the song as a way of capturing the emotional trauma felt by many Americans left by the sudden death of a vigorous and visionary leader. It was originally recorded as an acoustic piece for their first album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. but was later overdubbed with electric instruments and released as a single. The single slowly climbed the charts until it reached number one on New Year's Day 1966. The song was included in the 1966 album Sounds of Silence. Image File history File links Soundofsilence. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sounds of Silence is an album by Simon and Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. ... In music, a single is a short (usually ten minutes or less) record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-sides, often accompanied by several B-sides—usually remixes or other songs. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Bob Dylans folk-rock album, Blonde on Blonde Folk-rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel who continues a successful solo career. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... // A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Homeward Bound is a 1966 song by Simon and Garfunkel. ... A song is a relatively short musical composition. ... Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including: Traditional music: The original meaning of the term folk music was synonymous with the term Traditional music, also often including World Music and Roots music; the term Traditional music was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel who continues a successful solo career. ... President Kennedy with his wife, Jacqueline, and Texas Governor John Connally in the presidential limousine just moments before his assassination The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 p. ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is an album by Simon and Garfunkel released October 19, 1964. ... Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously taped musical recording. ... This article is about January 1 in the Gregorian calendar. ... Sounds of Silence is an album by Simon and Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. ...


The song features Simon on acoustic guitar and both Simon and Garfunkel singing.


The song was originally called "The Sounds of Silence", and is titled that way on the early albums in which it appeared and on the single. In later compilations, it was retitled "The Sound of Silence". Both the singular and the plural form of the word appear in the lyrics.


The song was used in the film The Graduate, played during the opening credits and the closing footage and in the film Bobby, a film about several people staying in the hotel where Robert "Bobby" Kennedy was shot, during the last 24 hours before the assassination. In this film, it is played after the assassination. Meanwhile, several authentic speeches of and interviews with Kennedy are shown. For the American rock band, see The Graduate (band). ... Bobby is a Golden Globe Award-nominated drama film written and directed by Emilio Estevez. ... Robert Kennedy Robert Francis Bobby Kennedy, also called RFK (November 20, 1925–June 6, 1968) was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy, and was appointed by his brother as Attorney General for his administration. ...

Contents

History

After recording their first album, 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 Song Book. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Paul Simon Song Book is an album by Paul Simon. ...


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 15 June 1965, immediately after the recording session of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", he took the original track of Simon & Garfunkel and Simon's guitar, and overdubbed the recording with electric guitar (played by Al Gorgoni), electric bass (Bob Bushnell), and drums (Bobby Gregg), and released it as a single without Simon or Garfunkel's consent or even consulting them.[1] The song entered the U.S. pop charts in September 1965 and slowly began its ascent. Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Location of Gainesville, Florida Coordinates: , Country State County Alachua Incorporated (city) 15 April 1869 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan  - City Manager Russ Blackburn Area [1]  - City  49. ... Cocoa Beach sunrise. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... Highway 61 Revisited track listing Like a Rolling Stone (1) Tombstone Blues (2) Music sample: Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone ( file info) — 30 seconds (of 6:10) Problems listening to the file? See media help. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Left: Rosa Hurricane, a heavy metal-style solid body guitar. ... Fender Precision Bass Bass Guitar is a commonly spoken phrase used to refer to the electric bass and horizontal acoustic basses, a stringed instrument similar in design to the electric guitar, but larger in size, commonly fretted and sometimes fretless and with a lower range. ... Bass drum made from wood, rope, and cowskin A drum is a musical instrument in the percussion group that can be large, technically classified as a membranophone. ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ...


Simon learned that it had entered the charts minutes before he went onstage to perform at a club in Copenhagen, Denmark, and soon afterwards he returned to the United States. 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 group, 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. [2] 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. This article needs cleanup. ... Sounds of Silence is an album by Simon and Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... I Am a Rock is a song written by Paul Simon. ... Homeward Bound is a 1966 song by Simon and Garfunkel. ... Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) is a collecting society that protects composers intellectual property in the communications business, especially radio. ... This article is about the magazine. ... ...


Single

"The Sound of Silence" was released on Columbia Records as 45 rpm catalog number #4-43396. The single has several variations: This list presents the numbering systems used by various record companies for single (mainly 7 33 1/3 and 45, and 10 78 rpm) records. ...

  • One variation was a promotional release on red vinyl. This copy was unique in that it featured the original acoustic version found on Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. on one side and the electric overdubbed version later featured on Sounds of Silence on the other. This release was mainly distributed to radio stations and carries a white label. This version is rare to find today, and quite valuable to collectors.
  • The standard version of the single was released on black vinyl, with a red label the same Columbia catalog number, and backed with "We've Got A Groovey Thing Goin'." The now-passé adjective is normally spelled "Groovy", as it would be on their later issue, "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)".
  • "The Sounds of Silence" was later released in the 1970s on the Columbia "Hall of Fame" series, catalog number 13-3396, which featured back-to-back hits of a group on 45. This time the song was backed by "Homeward Bound."

A short and whimsical work by folk music duo Simon and Garfunkel entitled for the colloquial name of the Queensboro Bridge in New York City. ...

Quotations

  • "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.
- Art Garfunkel [1]
  • A societal view of the lack of communication.
- Paul Simon [2]
  • The lyrics burst forth practically writing themselves.
- Paul Simon [3]
  • 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 chamber. 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".
- Paul Simon [4]

Art Garfunkel in Bad Timing (1980) Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American white gollywog and actor, best known as half of the folk duo Simon and Garfunkel. ... Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel who continues a successful solo career. ... Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel who continues a successful solo career. ... Bathroom singing, also known as singing in the bathroom, singing in the bath, or singing in the shower is a widespread phenomenon. ... This article is about the technological device. ...

Covers

"The Sounds of Silence" was covered by Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini for a 1996 compilation. In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... A singer is a musician who uses their voice to produce music. ... Emilíana Torrini Emilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir (born 16 May 1977) is an Icelandic singer, best known for her worldwide debut album, Love in the Time of Science. ... See also: 1996 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 1996 Record labels established in 1996 // January 8 - Madonnas stalker, Robert Hoskins is found guilty and convicted on five charges of assault, stalking, and threatening to kill the singer. ... A compilation album is an album (music or spoken-word) featuring tracks from one or multiple recording artists, often culled from a variety of sources (such as studio albums, live albums, singles, demos and outtakes. ...


Progressive metal band Nevermore also recorded their own rendition for their 2000 album, Dead Heart in a Dead World. While directly borrowing Simon's lyrics and vocal melody, musically, Nevermore's version barely resembles the original, lasting over two minutes longer. Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music which blends the powerful, guitar-driven sound of metal with the complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing of progressive rock. ... Nevermore is an American progressive metal band from Seattle, Washington assembled in 1991 from the ashes of the power metal band Sanctuary. ... See also: 2000 in music (UK) Musical groups established in 2000 Record labels established in 2000 2000s in music. ... Dead Heart, in a Dead World is Nevermores fourth studio album release. ...


The Bachelors released a cover version as a single (Decca F12351, 9 Apr 1966), hitting number 3 in the UK charts. The track has been included on many of their albums. The Bachelors is a popular music group, originating from Dublin, Ireland. ...


German metalband Atrocity covered this song for their album Gemini in 2000 (Motor Music). Atrocity is a German band. ...


The Canadian progressive hard rock band Rush, while not exactly covering the song, referenced the vocal "And the words of the prophets were written on the subway walls" in their song "The Spirit of Radio" ("For the words of the prophets were written on the studio walls."). Rush is a Canadian rock band comprising bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. ... Resist (1997) The Spirit of Radio (Live) (1998) Secret Touch (2002) Permanent Waves track listing Beginning of Album The Spirit of Radio (Track 1) Freewill (Track 2) The Spirit of Radio is a song first released in 1980 by popular Canadian rock band Rush on their album Permanent Waves. ...


In 1971, during her solo career, Frida Lyngstad (later of ABBA) released a Swedish cover titled "En Ton Av Tystnad" ("A Note of Silence") on her album Frida. Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Princess Anni-Frid Reuss of Plauen, also known as Frida (but born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on November 15, 1945 in Bjørkåsen near Narvik, Norway), is a Norwegian singer, best known as one of the four members of Swedish pop group ABBA. // Lyngstad was born out of wedlock... This article or section may contain excessive or improper use of copyrighted images and/or audio files. ... Frida was an album released in 1982 in Sweden by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. ...


The June 30, 2007 broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion featured a spoof called "Sounds of Sirens" about a 17 year old who sets off Sirens for excitement in his boring town. [3]] This article is about the radio show. ...


References

  1. ^ http://freespace.virgin.net/r.kent/quotes.html
  2. ^ http://freespace.virgin.net/r.kent/quotes.html
  3. ^ http://freespace.virgin.net/r.kent/quotes.html
  4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0800328/publicity "Playboy" (USA), February 1984, Vol. 31, No. 384, Iss. 2, pp. 49-51+162-176; by: Tony Schwartz, "Playboy Interview"

See also

  • List of best-selling singles in Japan
Preceded by
"Over and Over" by The Dave Clark Five		 Billboard Hot 100 number one single
January 1, 1966
(2 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"We Can Work It Out" by The Beatles

  Results from FactBites:
 
No. 551: The Sounds of Silence (442 words)
The sound of silence is Paul Simon's wrenching metaphor for our inability to hear one another in the midst of our own noise.
Sound -- any sound -- is a pattern of density variations that travel like waves through air.
So we are daring to disturb the sounds of silence after all.
The Eloquent Sounds of Silence by Iyer Pico - Articles - House of Solitude - Hermitary (1084 words)
Silence, like all the best things, is best appreciated in its absence: if noise is the signature tune of the world, silence is the music of the other world, the closest thing we know to the harmony of the spheres.
In Tibet, where the silence has a tragic cause, it is still quickened by the fluttering of prayer flags, the tolling of temple bells, the roar of wind across the plains, the memory of chant.
Silence, then, could be said to be the ultimate province of trust: it is the place where we trust ourselves to be alone; where we trust others to understand the things we do not say; where we trust a higher harmony to assert itself.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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