Cool to have, indeed. I was looking on discogs expecting to see like really inflated prices but no...I guess it was common. Sid Prosen claimed that the single sold 250 000, which seems incredible but maybe.... One thing...was your cousin up there in Northern Flyover Zone back in the day or was he on the East Coast? Because my understanding was that "Hey Schoolgirl" hit the Top Ten in New York City and was a radio hit as far south as New Orleans but just wasn't available in other parts of the country.
Today's song is "Dancin' Wild", written by Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon. Produced by...Syd Prosen? Background: Another song whose demo they recorded the same day as "Hey Schoolgirl", thus securiing their contract with BIG Records. Like "Hey Schoolgirl", the song was re-recorded on October 29th, 1957 and released as a B-side on Hey Schoolgirl. Line Up Jerry Landis (aka Paul Simon): co-lead vocals, rhythm guitar Tommy Graph (aka Art Garfunkel): co-lead vocals, tambourine (?) with Lou Sims (aka Louis Simon): stand up bass Unknown personnel: lead guitarist, drummer "Dancin' Wild" has been released on a number of Tom & Jerry/early Simon and Garfunkel compilations over the years, dating back to the sixties. Simon & Garfunkel (1967) Early Simon & Garfunkel (1993) Two Can Dream Alone (2000) Tom & Jerry (2003) Tom & Jerry Meet Tico and the Triumphs (2012) Two Teenagers (2012) The Early Years: 1957-1962 (2013) Singles And Rarities 1958-1962 (2016) Early Recordings (2016) The Early Years (Two Young Hearts Afire with the Same Desire) 2017 In the Beginning (2021) https://i.discogs.com/NvHgeLDsunjO7...TUwMzk4/MTctMTYxOTQ1NDk4/Mi00NzYwLmpwZWc.jpeg
"Dancin' Wild" does not have the thrilling immediacy of "Hey Schoolgirl" but it's still a catchy little number that sounds somewhere between The Everly Brothers (the harmonies and the tangled, percussive guitars) and some of the more meaningless, fluffy pop offerings of Elvis Presley -- I mean like the stuff on his soundtracks, although I don't think that was a big thing yet. I bet Simon & Garfunkel are terrible dancers. But I like the song for what it is. 3.2/5
Tough to say who might be better but I’d definitely put Simon in the top tier of lyricists with Dylan & Cohen.
I've never heard most of the Tom & Jerry material - I have seen the "Simon & Garfunkel" 1967 album containing these songs at record fairs, but haven't bought it. It's obviously based on the Everly Brothers (who I've never really investigated) but there is still obviously a lot of talent there at a young age. Difficult to rate them, but I'd give "Hey Schoolgirl" 3/5 and "Dancin' Wild" 2/5 (although I like the way they pronounce the "d" in "wild"!)
Yes, I think it's interesting to examine this "apprentice" phase of Paul Simon's career -- there are quite a lot of songs (not all done with Art: in fact, most of them are not) and they are all fairly derivative of popular styles. But I guess they served to really teach him a certain basic craftsmanship that he could rely on when his songs really took flight in the mid-sixties. I think it's rare that we see these early works by an songwriter. Think of the 100 songs that Lennon/McCArtney reportedly wrote pre-fame... Paul was just luckily positioned in New York City and lucky that he had a father who was a professional musician and who understood the business..
Glad I picked up on this. Thank you @Lance LaSalle for this. Something I can definitely look forward to in this new year. I won't comment much for now, I think, but I'll have lots to say when we get to the solo albums... So many are of my all time favourite records.
As someone who became an Everly fan in the early 60s I was fascinated to come across Hey School Girl, perhaps in the 80s. I first heard Hey Doll Baby when Andy Williams released their early stuff on Barnaby records. As for Schoolgirl, I wasn't thrilled with it. Of all the great doo wop nonsense lyrics, this isn't one of them. Hey boba loo cha or whatever. My memories of S&G started from the time of Sounds of Silence, and I bought the Parsley Sage album, and it was spine tingling to me. The name Emily still turns me on. The LP was Mono of course. I wonder what that sounds like now? Just a few days ago I thought of the 7 o'clock news Silent Night song, reflecting on the past year's news.
I like “Dancin’ Wild” nearly as much as its A-side. It has a bit of a Buddy Holly sound to it, of course Buddy at this time being heavily influenced by Elvis. The pitch of their voices is closer to Buddy’s voice, but they do clearly show their influences. Even in these early days, Paul is like a chameleon. A really good chameleon. 3.9/5 She lived about a half mile away from us, here in the upper Midwest (east of the Mississippi.) There were some pretty good record stores around here then, I wouldn’t be surprised if she saw them on American Bandstand and bought the record as a special order. I’d ask, but she won’t remember. (It’s also possible I bought the record at a record show years later and I can’t remember.)
Cool info. If she did buy at a local record store(and interesting that record stores were good even back then there) then it seems that it could be found outside of the east coast if you lived in a happening enough town.
Thanks for starting the thread. What a lot to look forward to! Like others beyond Schoolgirl I've heard little T&J stuff. Got to be stingy at the outset otherwise everything will clogged at the top of the ratings. But how can you give Hey Schoolgirl less than 4/5? Dancin' Wild 2/5
Looking forward to exploring the songs he wrote for others between his 50s and 60s fame. (Just a quick comment to make sure I stay on top of what promised to be a very interesting thread. Thanks for starting it!)
My first exposure to Simon and Garfunkel songs was actually the Paul Simon Songbook. My dad had it on reel to reel when I was a pup. I loved it. Aside from a few live things over the years, and my dad mentioning Tom and Jerry, I don't really know anything about the early years. It's interesting how early, and young they got started. It's also interesting that there seems like there was a gap between the early days and the eventual emergence of Simon And Garfunkel... But I'm going to try and keep on with the thread here, because it is a great body of recorded work. Simon certainly was a great lyricist... I don't really get into the idea of best, because with so many great lyricists that I love, all injecting their personal perspectives and styles into the mix, best serves no purpose.
Hey Schoolgirl Works very well for a couple of 15 year olds in 1957. The influences are there, but they're not as vocally harmonious as Don and Phil. 3/5 Dancin' Wild This type of mid/late 50s teenybop can all sound a bit samey. It's fine, but not something to listen to again in a hurry. 2/5 I first heard these pre-S&G songs on the CD 'Two Can Dream Alone'. It's an interesting look on how they developed, but more so in how adept Paul Simon was at writing to order. A lot of these early songs on that CD would have been touted around the publishers at the Brill Buildings for their various famous artists, so Paul was writing songs that 'might suit' so-and-so. I don't think anyone famous enough took up any of these songs did they? None of the songs on 'Two Can Dream Alone' make you consider a genius in the making, nor any 'wow' moments. But they're fine for what they were. I can't consider ranking with decimals! There will however be a lot of 5/5 songs on the 'real' albums.
One thing we should consider is Live Rhymin' - maybe not as a separate album, but posting the versions of those tracks when we come to them on the main albums. I consider the live versions of "Duncan" and "American Tune" to be the definitive versions, and possibly others as well.
Yes, I'll try to do exactly that, if time permits on a given day. I'm about to get up to 14 new hours at work, so time will be short on some days, but anbody can post to anything relevant on the day to discussion.
It’s hard to rate these early singles; they bear no relation to the work we know Simon (and Artie!) for, and if they hadn’t gone on to become SIMON & GARFUNKEL, the records would be of even less interest than the curiosities that they are in light of their later fame. Hey Schoolgirl is a catchy sub-Everlies number, but as far as I remember the rest of their output was pretty bland. I went through a little phase of obsession about this stuff during the early Napster era & I even bought a CD of Simon’s publishing demos — some of these are gloriously awful, glad we’re not delving into them, they’re hackwork at best — and I’ve got a few Landis & Tico 45s. For me, Simon doesn’t really come into his own until much, much later (despite the occasional flash of brilliance in the early S&G years). Great subject for a listening thread, though, Lance, and you always run a tight ship!
I like Dancing Wild. It is what it is, but it has little touches here and there that make it interesting. Mrs Dylan, Lennon, Davies had the luxury of only releasing a self-written composition in 62 or 63. But Paul's before Wednesday Morning etc are well documented. What has he said about them?
The harmonies on "Dancin' Wild" are just less pleasing overall, and the arrangement is haltingly stiff for a dance number. Consequently just not as charming as the A-side, although the solo is nice. 2/5
I've long had rather mixed feelings about Simon as a songwriter and S&G as recording artists. Skills for sure, but it rarely speaks to me. It would be tempting to say I liked them better as Don & Phil knockoffs, but that would be an exaggeration. It would be no exaggeration to say I generally prefer the Everlys, but kind of pointless. The fact that S&G were upfront about their love for Don & Phil and did covers live is endearing to me. What if Paul had met Lou when they were kids, we could have had bright chirpy songs about drugs & kink!? Not trying to rain on your parade, put ___ in the punch bowl, etc. so I'll mostly lurk and try to save my comments for the things I do like by and about them. Did S&G ever meet the Everlys? Carry on.
