Hearts and Bones

In 1957, two teenage high school friends obsessed with the music of ElvisPresley and the Everly Brothers, formed a doo-wop music duo and releasedtheir first record entitled ‘Hey, Schoolgirl’, performing under the name ofTom & Jerry. 

Who could anticipate that, within five years, these two, bright, well-educated,young Jewish boys from Queens, New York City, would go on to become themost successful folk-rock duo in music history? Simon & Garfunkel. All largelydue to a song entitled ‘The Sound of Silence’. Their spectacular career went on to produce five wonderful albums - the mostcelebrated being 1970’s Bridge Over Troubled Water - one of the best-sellingalbums of all time. But, by then, sadly, best friends had become worst enemieswho would rarely perform together again.Instead, Paul Simon, always encouraging musical exploration and embracingnew sounds, went on to become one of the world’s most loved and respectedsinger-songwriters. He has sold more than 30 million albums as a solo artist,with 1986’s brilliant Graceland alone achieving sales of 16 million copies;Simon & Garfunkel are estimated to have sold more than 100 million albumsin total.

 In this beautifully illustrated, independent publication, music writer andjournalist Pete Chrisp explores how - despite his on-off relationship with ArtGarfunkel, his often tempestuous private life and the political controversiessurrounding his African masterpiece, Graceland - Paul Simon, now aged 82,has, after all these years, maintained world recognition as one of the greatestsinger-songwriters of all time.