A Simon & Garfunkel coverlog.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
“The Boxer” - Bob Dylan
“The Boxer” - Bob Dylan
One interpretation of the lyrics to Paul Simon’s 1969 folk ballad “The Boxer” suggests that the song is actually about Bob Dylan. Whether or not that’s true, Dylan did include this curious acoustic autoduet on his 1970 album, “Self Portrait.”
“The Sound of Silence” - Vanilla Mood
Looking for a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s most famous song, performed by an expressionless, all-girl Japanese quartet with all the panache of Abe Lincoln in the Hall of Presidents? Look no further than Vanilla Mood.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
“Mrs. Robinson” - Booker T.& the MGs
“Mrs. Robinson” - Booker T.& the MGs
In 1967, “The Graduate” helped popularize Simon & Garfunkel by bringing their music to the big screen. In 1969, Booker T. & the MGs — the group that defined the sound of Stax — recorded this groovy cover.
“America” - David Bowie
America. David Bowie. Suzuki Omnichord.
From the October 2001 Concert for America.
“Hazy Shade of Winter” - The Bangles
This version of “Hazy Shade of Winter,” recorded by The Bangles for the off-key 1987 film adaptation of “Less Than Zero,” Bret Easton Ellis’ first novel, was more popular than the Simon & Garfunkel original, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard charts. A little Robert Downey, Jr. goes a long way.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
It’s said that Paul Simon lamented the fact that Vegas-era Elvis “seemed to end everything with a karate chop and an explosion,” and Elvis’ 1970 cover of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is no exception to that principle, with a grand finale featuring a gospel choir and horn section layered atop of the King’s crooning. But Simon also said it was “just a pleasure for me that Elvis Presley recorded one of my songs before he died” - and Presley’s over-the-top take on Simon & Garfunkel’s humble hymn is certainly an enjoyable one.
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” - Elvis Presley
It’s said that Paul Simon lamented the fact that Vegas-era Elvis “seemed to end everything with a karate chop and an explosion,” and Elvis’ 1970 cover of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is no exception to that principle, with a grand finale featuring a gospel choir and horn section layered atop of the King’s crooning. But Simon also said it was “just a pleasure for me that Elvis Presley recorded one of my songs before he died” - and Presley’s over-the-top take on Simon & Garfunkel’s humble hymn is certainly an enjoyable one.
“Richard Cory” - Wings
“Richard Cory,” one of Simon & Garfunkel’s most criminally underrated songs, is a retelling of a short poem written by Gilded-Age American poet Edwin Arlington Robinson. Here’s a live cover performed by Wings (featuring that other Paul) in 1975.
