Singles & Rarities

Most people first became aware of Simon & Garfunkel in 1965, when the single "The Sounds of Silence" hit the charts and the duo began a run of hits that would make them one of the truly legendary folk-rock acts of the '60s. But record collectors knew that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had been making music for years before that -- in 1957, the two had scored a modest hit single, "Hey Schoolgirl," under the name Tom & Jerry, performing in a style strongly influenced by the Everly Brothers, and over the next five years the pair would cut several more singles as a duo, while Simon also cut a few sides as Jerry Landis and with an ad-hoc band dubbed Tico & the Triumphs, while Garfunkel put out some solo efforts as Artie Garr. Singles & Rarities collects 20 of these rare tracks that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel recorded during their early days in the music business, both solo and as a duo, and the harmonies point the way to the groundbreaking music they would make years later, even if the songs and arrangements are very much a teen-focused product of the time. ~ Mark Deming