The Paul Simon song inspried by his first musical enemy: “I didn’t want to imitate”
It’s only natural that, as one makes their way through life, one gathers up a few enemies along the way. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you don’t, you probably haven’t lived a life worth living. When you add to this the ego of an artist and the extra pressure fame brings along, then it is no wonder that Paul Simon both became and had his fair share.
Many singers and songwriters have taken time out of their days to pick on Simon and lambast his musical creations, such a high pedestal that Simon has sat atop during his career begs to have the odd cannonball lobbed in its direction. But, for the most part, he has taken it in his stride. There is only one musician with whom it has been suggested Simon had a lifelong, and largely disdainful, relationship: Bob Dylan.
But while they spent a lot of time in an apparent, if generally civil feud, Paul Simon has always been open and honest about Bob Dylan’s influence on his songwriting. As a New Yorker who was stepping their toes into the music business, witnessing Dylan ascend to greatness from the Greenwich Village folk scene was awe-inspiring, and naturally, Simon wanted to replicate his success.
During the 1960s, most artists were influenced by Dylan on some level, whether this happened subconsciously or in a conscious state. Due to his love of the singer-songwriter, Simon was wary of leaning too heavily into his love of Dylan, but on the odd occasion, he couldn’t stop it from creeping into his artistry.
During an interview in 2011, Simon discussed who he thought was the greatest singer-songwriter of all time and explained why he doesn’t believe he’s on the same level as Dylan. “Then, in the second tier, [John] Lennon is there, [Bob] Dylan is there, Bob Marley and Stephen Sondheim are there, and maybe I’m there too. It’s about whose songs last,” he told MOJO.
Speaking to the same publication a decade prior, Simon revealed it was “hard” for him not to become an imitation of Dylan. The ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ singer explained he was the first artist who wrote in a relatable way to him as a young adult, rather than aiming for a teenage audience. However, he did confess ‘The Sound Of Silence’ was heavily influenced by Dylan and wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for his forefather.
He explained: “I tried very hard not to be influenced by him, and that was hard. ‘The Sound Of Silence’, which I wrote when I was 21, I never would have wrote it were it not for Bob Dylan. Never, he was the first guy to come along in a serious way that wasn’t a teen language song. I saw him as a major guy whose work I didn’t want to imitate in the least.”
‘The Sound Of Silence’ eventually appeared on Simon & Garfunkel’s second studio album, released in 1966, but was initially released two years earlier and was a commercial failure. Miraculously, the song caught the attention of the masses, leading to the duo reuniting after it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and recording another album.
How did their feud start?
The week before Simon & Garfunkel were set to play their first scheduled show at Gerde’s Folk City in Greenwich Village, Dylan met Simon, and the duo famously had nothing to say to each other in an awkward and cagey encounter.
When the show came about, Dylan slunk to the end of the bar with the critic Robert Shelton; as a hush descended and their set began, Dylan started guffawing at what was supposed to be a spiritual moment. The band kept playing, cutting a vicious glance in his direction, but the laughter didn’t abate, and the whole room cringed en masse. While Shelton said the giggles were merely bad timing, he did confirm that the meeting the week before was frosty enough to open up the potential that Dylan was scoffing intentionally.
He described it as “an encounter typical of New York’s paranoia and instant rivalries”. So, when Simon later penned a song mocking the ‘original vagabond’ it confirmed their status as best of enemies.
Did they make up?
Eventually, the respect between the pair goes both ways, which would have undoubtedly blown the mind of Simon’s 21-year-old self. Dylan once told USA Today: “I consider him one of the preeminent songwriters of our time. Every song he does has got a vitality you don’t find everywhere.”
Dylan made the comment listed above in 1999, before the pair of musical greats headed out on a co-headline tour. Throughout the dates, they alternated slots and regularly shared the stage, including for a performance of ‘The Sound Of Silence’.
While they have never officially collaborated, apart from their on-stage duets, Simon later wrote the title track to his 2011 album So Beautiful Or So What with Dylan in mind. Despite initiating contact and believing he’d convinced his friend to participate in the project, ultimately, deadlines needed to be met, leading to Simon recording the track by himself.
Listen to Paul Simon and Bob Dylan’s duet of ‘The Sound Of Silence’ below.
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