If you are looking for Simon & Garfunkel chords, you came to the right place. The North American singer-songwriter duo became world famous in the 1960s, with their unique folk-rock sound. Some of their greatest hits are “The Sound of Silence,” “Cecilia,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and “The Boxer.” But the most famous Simon & Garfunkel song is probably “Mrs. Robinson,” which was used on the soundtrack of the film “The Graduate,” in 1967. The characteristic chords are fairly easy to learn on your own acoustic guitar.
Bumpy breakthrough
When we talk about Simon & Garfunkel chords and tunes, what immediately comes to mind are their unique close harmony vocals, acoustic guitars and beautiful melodies. Simon & Garfunkel found themselves right at home in the folk-rock genre, evident in their breakthrough single “The Sound of Silence.” But, their story is not a typical breakthrough story at all.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s musical journey began in Queens, New York, where they grew up. Attending the same elementary and high school, they soon started making music together under the name Tom & Jerry; which led to their first record deal. Big successes were hard to find, which led the duo to split up in 1958. A few years later they kicked off another musical adventure under the name Simon & Garfunkel. In 1963 they signed a record deal with Columbia Records and in 1964 they released their debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
**Sound of Silence success **
Their debut album turned out to be a commercial failure, so Paul Simon moved to England in pursuit of a successful solo career. Art Garfunkel, on the other hand, focused on his education and attended Columbia University. Without telling Simon or Paul, producer Tom Wilson took the original acoustic version of “The Sounds of Silence” and overdubbed it with some studio musicians who also worked with Bob Dylan at the time. This release is called “The Sound of Silence” (without the “s”). The new version included electric guitar and drums and hit number one in the charts in 1965; compelling Simon and Garfunkel to reunite.
This remarkable breakthrough story paved the way for two big releases in 1966: the album Sounds of Silence in January (including the overdubbed version of the hit single); and the third studio album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme in October. The instantly recognizable Simon & Garfunkel chords in “Homeward Bound” mark their unique acoustic folk sound. The fourth Simon & Garfunkel album, Bookends, was released in 1968 and included “America” and “Old Friends.”
Simon and Garfunkel break-up
Due to artistic differences, Simon & Garfunkel split up in 1970, after releasing their fifth and most successful studio album of all: Bridge Over Troubled Water. It sold over 25 million copies and won them a Grammy for Best Album. Providing the world with the most iconic folk-rock guitar chords, Simon & Garfunkel were honored with 10 Grammy Awards in total.
After the break-up, Paul Simon’s solo career took off. His songwriting skills sparked like never before on Graceland, which was released in 1986 and includes the hit single "You Can Call Me Al." Still, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon would regroup for some remarkable reunion performances. One of their biggest reunion gigs is The Concert in Central Park which a half a million fans attended. Simon jokes around in between songs saying: "It's great to do a neighborhood concert."
Check out all of the Simon & Garfunkel chords used in their best songs which can be found below.
