The sounds of silence - Simon & Garfunkel

'Hello darkness my old friend' may be one of the most recognized first lines of a pop song. It was recorded by Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel in March 1964 for their debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. An overdubbed electric remix was released the following year and went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

It led the duo to quickly record their second album, which was called Sounds of Silence to profit from the song's popularity. In 1967, 'The sounds of silence' was featured under both the opening and closing credits of the film The Graduate. This Japanese single shows part of the movie poster, making it perfectly clear that this was the song from that movie. It reached number 1 in Japan.

My collection: 7" single no. 8461
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 October 2026
Tracks: 'The sounds of silence' / 'The big bright green pleasure machine' 

Late in the evening - Paul Simon

'Late in the evening' was the lead single from Paul Simon's fifth studio album One Trick Pony, released in 1980. The song was praised for Simon's lyrics, the horn interlude, and the distinctive drum part, a New York City-style Cuban Mozambique drum groove by Steve Gadd. Gadd performed the part using two pairs of drumsticks – one in each hand – in order to give the impression of two drummers playing together.  

The single reached number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In the UK singles chart it only reached number 58, but in the Dutch Top 40 it got to number 9. 

My collection: 7" single no. 8445
Found: Plato, Leiden, 27 September 2026
Tracks: 'Late in the evening' / 'One trick pony' 

You can call me Al - Paul Simon

Paul Simon's legendary album 'Graceland' was brought to prominence partly because of the first single taken from the album, 'You can call me Al'. The names in the song came from an incident at a party that Simon went to with his then-wife Peggy Harper. The host of the party mistakenly called Paul 'Al', and Peggy 'Betty', inspiring Simon to write a song.

The song was made famous by the music video, featuring Chevy Chase, who lipsynchs Paul Simon's vocal, leaving Simon to do nothing much but look bored and dragging instruments on screen. The single reached number 23 in the US, number 4 in the UK, number 2 in the Netherlands and number 1 in Australia.

My collection: 7" single no. 4215
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, November 21, 2009
Cost: 0,66 euro
Tracks: 'You can call me Al' / 'Gumboots'

Bridge over troubled water - Simon and Garfunkel

Paul Simon wrote 'Bridge over troubled water' in the summer of 1969 while Art Garfunkel was filming 'Catch-22' in Europe. When the duo got together to record what was to be their last album together, Garfunkel liked Simon's falsetto voice on the demo and suggested that Simon sing. He and producer Roy Halee also thought the song needed three verses and a 'bigger' sound towards the end. Simon agreed and penned the final verse, though he felt it was less than fully cohesive with the earlier verses.

Paul Simon then insisted that Garfunkel should sing the song. He later expressed regret that he did this, as it focused attention on Garfunkel and relegated Simon to a backing position. When the song was released as a single, it became a worldwide hit, reaching the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the UK singles chart and number 5 in the Dutch Top 40. My copy of the single was made in Australia.

My collection: 7" single no. 622
Found: Parkpop, June 1988
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'Bridge over troubled water' / 'Keep the customer satisfied'

The boy in the bubble - Paul Simon

In 1985, Paul Simon heard a recording of the Boyoyo Boys, which inspired him to make the album 'Graceland', an unusual sounding record incorporating pop, acapella, rock and African music. In fact it might be the first so-called 'World music' mainstream album. In 1986, the album was released to critical and commercial acclaim.

The most successful single from the album was 'You can call me Al', a top 10 hit in several countries. This single, 'The boy in the bubble' was lesser known. Personally I like the odd sound of this track, and the video for it was also interesting eye candy.

My collection: 7" single no. 2798
Found: December 14, 1996
Cost: 2 guilders
Tracks: 'The boy in the bubble' / 'Hearts and bones'

Allergies - Paul Simon

While I was never a big Paul Simon fan, 'Allergies' is an interesting song. The single never charted in the UK, but it did reach number 31 in the Dutch Top 40 in 1983. It was taken from Simon's album 'Hearts and bones'. The songs on this album were apparently planned to be part of a Simon & Garfunkel reunion album after their famous concert in Central Park on September 19, 1981. Simon finally recorded and released the songs solo.

My collection: 7" single no. 3395

Found: Geest, Den Haag, 2004

Cost: 1 euro

Tracks: 'Allergies' / 'Think too much'

Download: Album 'Hearts and bones', including both tracks