Simon & Garfunkel’s first single, recorded for a minor record label while they were still in high school, reveals the influence of rock ‘n roll and the Everly Brothers, their heroes. This disc climbed to #49 on the pop charts after its release, but subsequent efforts did not match their initial success here. They recorded under the pseudonyms Tom Graph (Garfunkel’s nickname, from the fact that he liked to chart pop singles on graph paper) and Jerry Landis (Simon’s nickname, which he would later use for several other singles in the late 1950s and early 1960s). This record, which Paul Maclauchlan estimates sold about 100,000 copies, is the easiest of the duo’s pre-Simon & Garfunkel singles to obtain--but only if you're looking for the copies on Big; the King pressings are rather difficult to locate, and I've never seen one on King that was not a promotional copy. As you can see, pressings exist with writing credits given to the duo under their real names (top) and pseudonyms (bottom).

Paul Simon recorded this early in 1958 on his own. The single failed to chart. According to at least one account, Simon said that the fact that he went and recorded this without Garfunkel angered Art, and supposedly Garfunkel never forgave Simon for this. This was the only time that I know of that Simon recorded under the pseudonym True Taylor.

Pictured here is my promotional copy of this record. Most issues of this single that I've found are fairly well-worn. It's possible that the single was somewhat popular with those who owned a copy. It would be difficult, however, to believe that it got much radio airplay since it never actually charted.

As you can tell, I've got a copy of the Hunt release of this record. Both songs are by Simon and Garfunkel. In my opinion, the B-side is a better cut.

Simon recorded this himself, under the full pseudonym of Jerry Landis, the name under which he recorded most of his pre-Simon & Garfunkel singles. This one didn't chart, either, however. If you like Simon's rock-'n-roll-inspired sound, though, it's not a bad record. The songs are both written by him.

The A-side of this single was a big hit for the group Jan & Dean at the time of its release. Bell Records specialized in putting out covers of material that had previously been hits for other groups. “Baby Talk” appeared on this 45 shortly after Simon and Garfunkel had recorded the track as Tom & Jerry for the A-side of the single Big 621. Soon after that single’s release, Big Records went bankrupt, and “Baby Talk” was leased to Bell Records.

This record includes two songs written by Art Garfunkel himself. It is worth acquiring, as there are actually two vocal tracks that have been mixed together on "Dream Alone." However, most of the re-releases of the song on recent CD compilations leave off one of these tracks, giving the somewhat humorous and misleading impression that the song only has three words. Garfunkel's first solo attempt was no more successful than Simon's, however, as this record didn't chart.

Gala was a British label that may have held the rights to publish Bell recordings in Britain. Obviously, just about the same thing happened here with Tom & Jerry's version of Baby Talk as did with the Bell release in the US. The "photos" of Simon & Garfunkel are pretty amusing, as they look absolutely nothing like Simon or Garfunkel, even for 1959.

These are original compositions by Simon.

So, Simon tried again with "Just A Boy" later the same year, this time with another B-side. Some reports say that the B-side is alternatively known as "I'd Like To Be (The Lipstick On Your Collar)." It is truly B-side material, as it sounds much like elevator music. Needless to say, Simon never recorded the song again.

Paul Simon either co-wrote the A-side to this record, or, if the name "Landis" refers to his pseudonym, may have been the sole writer. It's a pretty good effort, though Simon wasn't rewarded for it with a hit.

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Paul Simon wrote both of these songs as well, but neither one is an example of his best work from this period, so it's not surprising that this single never charted. I have seen some non-promotional copies of Can-Am records with offices in Winnipeg listed instead of New York, so it's entirely possible that this was also a Canadian issue as well as an American one. This, predictably, is a tougher single to come by.

This was Art Garfunkel's second, and last, solo recording effort before the breakup of Simon & Garfunkel. Like his first single, it also didn't chart.

This record was originally released on the Madison label (top), which went bankrupt just afterwards (in fact, this 45 was the last record ever released by Madison, period). Because of that, Madison copies of the single are rare. Amy Records, however, picked up the masters and rereleased it with considerable success: the song went to #99 on the Billboard charts, and Paul Maclauchlan says that it apparently was very popular around Baltimore and in Puerto Rico, selling upwards of 100,000 copies—which is about the same estimate as for "Hey, Schoolgirl" four years before. Today, the Amy pressings are almost as easy to find as Tom & Jerry's 1957 hit. Tico and the Triumphs were a group Simon and several of his friends formed. "Tico" was Mickey Borack, while Simon kept his stage name of Jerry Landis, and the "Triumphs" included Marty Cooper, Gail Lynn and Howie Beck. Paul Simon sings the lead vocal on both songs on this single, though that's not always the case on later releases by the group.

Paul Simon wrote both of these songs, and sings lead on both tracks. Definitely a worthwhile record to track down; both these songs are up-tempo and overall are nice ear candy. "Express Train" is additionally interesting for the lead-in train sound effects.

It's clear that Paul Simon is not singing lead on either side of this record. Paul Maclauchlan thinks that Simon may not actually have had a role in this record's release, although the label says that he wrote both songs and produced the single as Jerry Landis. It would also be strange for Simon to write songs for other artists but not perform on the recordings of them himself, particularly at this point in his career. The single never charted, but these are good enough cuts to make this a record worth finding.

In 1962 Simon & Garfunkel reunited, having both finished college, Garfunkel graduating that year from Columbia and Simon from Queens College. They recorded this record, in which they sound pretty much the same as they did five years before. My copy is a promotional release; regular copies for sale in stores on this label used a black background with a more colorful logo at the top.

The A-side of this single actually was recorded with the rest of Tico and the Triumphs; how Simon convinced them to release it under only his pseudonym remains a mystery. Barry was a Canadian label (I assume it doesn't actually exist anymore) that had agreements to distribute recordings on Amy and Madison records under their name in Canada. This was another minor success for Tico and the Triumphs, reaching #97 on the charts in the US. Lisa uses the exact same background voices and instrumental tracks as "I Don't Believe Them," the B-side to "Motorcycle" (see above). While the US release shown here is a promotional copy, I don't believe the same is true for the Canadian issue.

The last 45 released by Tico and the Triumphs (although the backing group isn't even credited), this is also the rarest. It strangely did not chart, as both sides are good, up-tempo cuts. It does not appear that Paul Simon is singing lead on either track, but you can clearly hear him in the backing vocals on "Cards Of Love." Like most of the other 45s released by Tico and the Triumphs, it was re-released a few decades later on the Jason Scott label, and these copies are easier to locate.

Tom & Jerry's last single, released on the Ember label. Neither of these songs were written by Simon, but the record was produced by Sid Prosen, one of the by-this-time former executives of Big Records, who was instrumental in getting Simon and Garfunkel a foot in the door to record their first single six years earlier. I'm not much of a fan of the A-side, which has a pretty slow tempo, but "Looking At You" is a pretty catchy tune, probably one of the better ones that Tom & Jerry recorded, particularly of the material that Simon did not write. It's actually right out of the same musical mold as "Hey, Schoolgirl" and "Dancin' Wild." This record arguably might have sold better were the two sides flipped. The promotional copy is at the top; the retail issue is at the bottom.

This is probably the first appearance of the influence of folk on Simon’s music. Paul Maclauchlan's discography reports that these tracks was recorded in the last half of 1962, though this copy says 1963. This was the only time that he ever recorded the song “Carlos Dominguez,” and both songs were written under the pseudonym Paul Kane, taken from Orson Welles' film Citizen Kane. Original copies of this single are very rare, and I've never been able to find any information about Tribute Records. More common is the reproduction (seen above) which was issued in 1977, clearly marked “Early Paul Simon,” “Recorded 1963” and “Paul Simon (pseudonym: Paul Kane).” True original copies of this single do not include this information on the record label. Instead, they will only indicate “Written and Recorded by PAUL KANE.”