Listen to the isolated vocals on Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence’
No one nails harmonies like Simon and Garfunkel. Soundtracking the 1960s with their vocal-heavy folk-leaning sound, the duo reshaped the rock genre into something softer.
After meeting in elementary school, the pair basically grew up together. After learning to write songs and harmonise from a young age, it all came so naturally to Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon. They were greatly inspired by the Everly Brothers, another duo known for their use of close harmonies and two-part vocal leads. After a brief separation during college, the two friends reunited in 1963 as folk entered the countercultural sphere, determined to join the moment.
Thanks to their effortless talent, the duo were quickly signed to Columbia Records. While their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M, didn’t perform very well commercially, it housed one of their biggest and best-known hits. ‘The Sound Of Silence’, the harmony-heavy folk ballad, has gone on to be written into music history as one of the best songs ever made.
It took a while for the song to gain popularity. It was a slow burner that took a while to get the attention of radio DJs. Eventually, in 1965, as the song became more popular, the producer, Tom Wilson, overdubbed the original version with more electric instrumentation to expand the sound. Without the band’s knowledge, the redone version shot to number one. After finding out, the band returned to the studio to work on their second album, Sound Of Silence, titled after the track.
The song’s popularity also has a film to thank. In 1967, the countercultural cult classic film The Graduate. Originally, Simon and Garfunkel’s music was only used as a stand-in while the editors decided on the soundtrack, but in the end, the band wrote three more original songs for the movie. ‘Mrs Robinson’ proved to be anthemic, becoming another timeless hit for the band.
But even with the help of overdubbed instrumentation and a Hollywood box office smash, the true magic of ‘The Sound Of Silence’ is the raw talent of the two singers. A secret to the beautiful vocals in the song was the use of double tracking. On the recording, the singers initially recorded their harmonies in the organic way they grew up practising, standing in the vocal both together and singing at once. Afterwards, each vocalist recorded his part separately so the vocals sounded rich and full.
Listening to the isolated vocals, it’s easier to hear the vital roles the singers took. Paul Simon’s deeper voice pins down the foundation of the song, providing a bed for the melody to sit on. Simon’s low harmonies allow Garfunkel’s higher voice to soar. Together, the contrast makes that beautiful, close, two-part harmony the band is known and loved for.
Interestingly, when Paul Simon plays the song as part of his own solo shows, he adopts Art Garfunkel’s part. As Garfunkel sings the song’s main melody, it would sound incredibly different if Simon stuck firmly to his part.
