The Sound of Silence

Paul Simon wrote "The Sounds of Silence" in 1963 and released an acoustic version with Art Garfunkel on their first album in 1964. The record flopped, leading Paul and Art to break up -- Simon going to London and Garfunkel to Columbia University. Unbeknownst to them, their producer released it as a single in 1965, with overdubbed drums and electric guitars. The song reached number one on the Hot 100 and became a standard for S&G and many others, under the name "The Sound of Silence," which I guess makes more sense philosophically and religiously (as we will see after the jump).