"I Am a Rock" | ||||
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![]() 45 RPM picture sleeve | ||||
Single by Paul Simon | ||||
from the album The Paul Simon Songbook | ||||
B-side | "Leaves That Are Green" | |||
Released | 1965 | |||
Genre | Folk rock | |||
Length | 2:42 | |||
Label | CBS | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Simon | |||
Producer(s) | Stanley West, Reginald Warburton | |||
Paul Simon singles chronology | ||||
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"I Am a Rock" is a song written by Paul Simon. It was first performed by Simon as the opening track on his album The Paul Simon Songbook which he originally recorded and released in August 1965, only in the United Kingdom. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, as the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, re-recorded it on December 14, 1965, and included as the final track on their album Sounds of Silence , which they released on January 17, 1966. It was released as a single in 1966, and subsequently included as the B-side of the 1971 A-side reissue of "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)".
Thematically, "I Am a Rock" deals with isolation and emotional detachment. The song was not included on Simon & Garfunkel's acoustic debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. , which was released on October 19, 1964. Some sources say that it was performed by Simon on January 27, 1965, on a promo show for the BBC. [1] Simon likely began writing the song before the end of January 1964, and had it completed by May 1965, when he first recorded it. It was included on his solo-acoustic The Paul Simon Songbook LP released in the UK in the summer of 1965. [2] [ better source needed ]
Until 1981, the initial recording of "I Am a Rock" on The Paul Simon Song Book remained unavailable in North America. This was partly because Simon himself was dissatisfied with the album, saying on the album's liner notes:
"This L.P. contains twelve of the songs that I have written over the past two years. There are some here that I would not write today. I don't believe in them as I once did. I have included them because they played an important role in the transition. It is discomforting, almost painful, to look back over something someone else created and realize that someone else was you. I am not ashamed of where I've been and what I've thought. It's just not me anymore. It is perfectly clear to me that the songs I write today will not be mine tomorrow. I don't regret the loss." [3]
As a result, the Song Book album was only made available in North America when it was released as part of the boxed set of albums Paul Simon: Collected Works. The album was not released on CD until March 23, 2004. [4] For this release Columbia included two bonus tracks, one of which was an alternate take of "I Am a Rock", during which one can plainly hear Simon stamping his foot for a beat.
In 1965, the solo-acoustic version "I Am a Rock" was also released as a rare A-side of a single in the UK, backed with "Leaves That are Green".
"I Am a Rock" | ||||
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![]() | ||||
Single by Simon & Garfunkel | ||||
from the album Sounds of Silence | ||||
B-side | "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" | |||
Released | May 1966 [5] | |||
Recorded | December 14, 1965 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:52 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Paul Simon | |||
Producer(s) | Bob Johnston | |||
Simon & Garfunkel singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
While Simon was in Denmark during the summer of 1965, Tom Wilson, the producer of Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., responded to requests for "The Sound of Silence" from American radio stations and dubbed an electric guitar, bass, and drums onto the original track. He then released the song as a single, whereupon it entered the United States pop charts. When Simon heard about the success of this song, he was still touring in Europe as a solo folk singer.
Simon immediately returned to the United States, and with Garfunkel in December 1965 began a series of hasty recording sessions to match the electric "mold" created by Wilson with many of the other songs that Simon had recorded on the Song Book, including "I Am a Rock," which was re-recorded during these sessions on 14 December 1965. [8] The result was the album Sounds of Silence, which the duo released the following January. "I Am a Rock" was the fifth and closing track on Side 2 of the record. Along with most of the other tracks on the album, it was produced by Bob Johnston and recorded in New York at Columbia Recording Studios using some of the same session players that had appeared on Bob Dylan's recent Highway 61 Revisited LP. [2] [ better source needed ]
The album quickly capitalized on the success of the new album's title track as a #1 single, and itself rose to #21 on the Billboard charts. The duo cashed in quickly on their new-found success. They released "I Am a Rock" as a single in the late spring of 1966, [9] and the song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, the third single (chronologically) by Simon & Garfunkel to reach the top 5 (after "The Sound of Silence" and "Homeward Bound").
This single had two incarnations. First, as a promotion, it was released on red vinyl to radio stations, with a mono mix on one side and a stereo version on the other. These copies are somewhat difficult to locate for collectors. The standard version sold in stores, however, was the black vinyl 45 rpm record with the red Columbia Records label. The B-side was a version of "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall," which was later released on Simon & Garfunkel's even-more-successful (and critically acclaimed) album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme . The single mix of the song features a more prominent lead vocal track (and different phrasing in the opening lines) by Paul Simon, and less reverb, than the more common LP version.
Billboard described the song as a "beautiful lyric ballad." [10] Cash Box described the song as a "hard-driving, pulsating ode about rather isolated young man." [11] Record World said that the duo "sing about loneliness in usual poetic terms." [12]
Credits are adapted from The Words and Music of Paul Simon. [13]
Simon & Garfunkel
Additional musicians
Chart (1966) [14] | Peak position |
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Australian Kent Music Report | 20 |
Canada RPM Top Singles [15] | 6 |
Dutch Singles Chart | 10 |
New Zealand ( Listener ) [16] | 2 |
Swedish Singles Chart | 10 |
UK Singles Chart [17] | 17 |
US Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
US Cash Box Top 100 [18] | 4 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [19] | 35 |
Chart (1966) | Rank |
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US Billboard Hot 100 [20] | 42 |
US Cash Box [21] | 40 |
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and songs including "The Sound of Silence" (1965), "Mrs. Robinson" (1968), "The Boxer" (1969) and "Bridge over Troubled Water" (1970) reached number one on singles charts worldwide.
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. is the debut studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Following their early gig as "Tom and Jerry", Columbia Records signed the two in late 1963. It was produced by Tom Wilson and engineered by Roy Halee. The cover and the label include the subtitle exciting new sounds in the folk tradition. Recorded in March 1964, the album was released on October 19.
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme is the third studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966, in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of the re-release of their debut single "The Sound of Silence", Simon & Garfunkel regrouped after a time apart while Columbia issued their second album, a rushed collection titled Sounds of Silence. For their third album, the duo spent almost three months in the studio working on instrumentation and production.
Bookends is the fourth studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel and Roy Halee, the album was released on April 3, 1968, in the United States by Columbia Records. The duo had risen to fame two years prior with the albums Sounds of Silence and Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme and the soundtrack album for the 1967 film The Graduate.
The Paul Simon Songbook is the debut solo studio album by Paul Simon. It was released in the UK in 1965. It was made available in the US as part of the LP box set Paul Simon: Collected Works (1981). The album was produced by Reginald Warburton and Stanley West as Columbia/CBS Records LP BPG 62579 in the UK; remastered CD Columbia/Legacy/SME CK 90281.
Live from New York City, 1967 is the second live album by Simon & Garfunkel, recorded at Philharmonic Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, on 22 January 1967. The album was released on the Columbia Legacy CK 61513 label on 16 July 2002.
"The Sound of Silence" is a song by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon. The duo's studio audition of the song led to a record deal with Columbia Records, and the original acoustic version was recorded in March 1964 at Columbia's 7th Avenue Recording Studios in New York City for their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., released that October to disappointing sales. An overdubbed electric remix was released the following year and went to number one on the Billboard singles chart.
"America" is a song performed by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, which they included on their fourth studio album, Bookends, in 1968. It was produced by the duo and Roy Halee. The song was later issued as the B-side of the single "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her " in 1972 to promote the release of the compilation album Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits. After peaking in the charts in July 1972, the song was switched to the A-side of the single and re-entered the charts in November 1972.
Thomas Blanchard Wilson Jr. was an American record producer best known for his work in the 1960s with Bob Dylan, the Mothers of Invention, Simon & Garfunkel, the Velvet Underground, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Eddie Harris, Nico, Eric Burdon and the Animals, the Blues Project, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, and others.
"The Boxer" is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth and final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, it was released as a standalone single on March 21, 1969, but included on the album nine months later. The song is a folk rock ballad that variously takes the form of a first-person lament as well as a third-person sketch of a boxer. The lyrics are largely autobiographical and partially inspired by the Bible and were written during a time when Simon felt he was being unfairly criticized. The song's lyrics discuss poverty and loneliness. It is particularly known for its plaintive refrain, in which they sing 'lie-la-lie', accompanied by a heavily reverbed snare drum.
"Red Rubber Ball" is a pop song written by Bruce Woodley of The Seekers and Paul Simon of Simon & Garfunkel, recorded by The Cyrkle, whose version reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and in South Africa and New Zealand. In Canada, the song reached No. 1.
"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" is a song by folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, written by Paul Simon and originally released on their 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. Cash Box called it a "sparkling, spirited lid".
"Homeward Bound" is a song by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, released as a single on January 19, 1966, by Columbia Records. It was written by Paul Simon and produced by Bob Johnston. Simon wrote the song during his time in England, possibly while waiting for a train at Widnes railway station in the northwest of England. Although Widnes railway station is most often cited as the location where it was composed, Simon said in an interview on the Norwegian-Swedish television chat show Skavlan that it was actually a railway station in Warrington where he began to compose the song.
"Mrs. Robinson" is a song by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, Bookends (1968). The writing of the song was begun before the 1967 film The Graduate, which contained only fragments of it. The full song was released as a single on April 5, 1968, by Columbia Records. Produced by Simon & Garfunkel and Roy Halee, the song was written by Paul Simon, who offered parts of it to movie director Mike Nichols alongside Art Garfunkel after Nichols rejected two other songs intended for the film. The Graduate's soundtrack album uses two short versions of "Mrs. Robinson". The song was additionally released on the Mrs. Robinson EP in 1968, which also includes three other songs from the film: "April Come She Will", "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", and "The Sound of Silence".
"Cecilia" is a song by American musical duo Simon & Garfunkel. It was released in April 1970 as the third single from the duo's fifth and final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Written by Paul Simon, the song's origins lie in a late-night party, in which the duo and friends began banging on a piano bench. They recorded the sound with a tape recorder, employing reverb and matching the rhythm created by the machine. Simon later wrote the song's guitar line and lyrics on the subject of an untrustworthy lover.
Sounds of Silence is the second studio album by the American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, "The Sound of Silence", which originally was released as "The Sounds of Silence". The song had earlier been released in an acoustic version on the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., and later on the soundtrack to the movie The Graduate. Without the knowledge of Paul Simon or Art Garfunkel, electric guitars, bass and drums were overdubbed under the direction of Columbia Records staff producer Tom Wilson on June 15, 1965. This new version was released as a single in September 1965, and opens the album.
"A Hazy Shade of Winter" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on October 22, 1966, initially as a stand-alone single, but subsequently included on the duo's album Bookends (1968). It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"My Little Town" is a 1975 song by the American duo Simon & Garfunkel. It was written by Paul Simon, who produced the track along with Art Garfunkel and Phil Ramone. The song was included on the 1975 solo releases from both Simon and Garfunkel (Breakaway). It would not appear on any of the duo's albums until the 1997 anthology box set Old Friends and the 1999 compilation album The Best of Simon and Garfunkel. It was the first single release credited to the duo since the 1972 release of "America", released in conjunction with Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits.
"For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel on their third studio album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (1966). It is sung solely by Art Garfunkel, and consists mainly of his vocals with heavy reverb and a 12-string acoustic guitar. The lyrics concern finding a lover, although Simon once characterized the subject matter as being about a "belief," rather than about a specific individual.
"Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" is a song written by American folk singer-songwriter Ed McCurdy in 1950. Due to McCurdy's connection with fellow musicians, it was common in repertoires within the folk music community. The song had its first album release when Pete Seeger recorded it as "Strangest Dream" for his 1956 album Love Songs For Friends & Foes. Seeger would later re-visit the song for his 1967 album Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and other Love Songs. The strong anti-war theme of the song led it to be recorded by multiple other artists, including The Weavers (1960), Joan Baez (1962), The Kingston Trio (1963), Simon & Garfunkel (1964), and Johnny Cash who released two versions of the song during the 2000s.
they were regular visitors to the pop charts with some of the best folk-rock of the era, including 'Homeward Bound,' 'I Am a Rock,' and 'A Hazy Shade of Winter.'