Why Name It That?: Simon & Garfunkel and Tom and Jerry

Simon and Garfunkel doesn't seem to be a name that needs any explanation. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. But they were originally known as the duo "Tom and Jerry" and that might require an origin story, especially for younger readers here.

They formed the group Tom and Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl." The two were friends throughout childhood and grew up in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, just blocks away from each other. They met in elementary school in 1953, when they both appeared in the school play Alice in Wonderland (Simon as the White Rabbit, Garfunkel as the Cheshire Cat). They were classmates at Parsons Junior High School and Forest Hills High School, and began performing together in their junior year as Tom and Jerry, with Simon as Jerry Landis (whose last name he borrowed from a girl he had been dating) and Garfunkel as Tom Graph (so called because he was fond of tracking or "graphing" hits on the pop charts. But "Tom and Jerry" was also known at the time as the name of a popular cartoon duo and animated show. Tom & Jerry is a compilation album released in 2002 that contains songs from their early career.

They began writing their own songs in 1955, and made their first professional recording, "Hey, Schoolgirl", for Big Records in 1957. It was released on 45 rpm and 78 rpm vinyl records, with the flip-side song "Dancin' Wild." The recording sold 100,000 copies and hit #49 on the Billboard Magazine charts. These early songs were heavily influenced by The Everly Brothers. They got to perform their hit on TV's American Bandstand, right after Jerry Lee Lewis performed "Great Balls of Fire".

However, they weren't as successful after that initial rush. After high school, the duo went to separate colleges - Simon at Queens College and Garfunkel at Columbia University.

Though still friends, it was mostly Simon continuing to write and perform. By 1963, they had established themselves as Simon & Garfunkel (with & in place of and) as part of the Greenwich Village folk music scene. But they didn't release music under their own names until October 1964 with the debut of their studio album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.

Three of Simon's songs - "Sparrow", "Bleecker Street", and "He Was My Brother" are typical of that period. "He Was My Brother" was later dedicated to Andrew Goodman, a friend of both Simon and Garfunkel and a classmate of Simon's at Queens College, who was one of three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi on June 21, 1964.

Those were three of the five original songs by Simon that were on their first album for Columbia Records, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M, which initially sold very poorly when it was released. It wasn't until a year later—when producer Tom Wilson overdubbed electric instruments onto the acoustic track "The Sound of Silence,"—that the duo became superstars and the first album went on to good sales.

They are well known for their close vocal harmonies and were among the most popular recording artists of the 1960s. Their biggest hits from five original albums include: "The Sound of Silence", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "I Am a Rock", "Homeward Bound", "A Hazy Shade of Winter", "Mrs. Robinson", "The Boxer", "Cecilia", and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle."

Many compilations, live albums and special editions of their music have been released since they dissolved the duo in 1970, and though they have reunited several times since then, currently they only have solo careers. They have received several Grammys and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

Paul Simon has continued to record, perform, and win Grammy Awards. His first solo release - simply called Paul Simon - was released in 1972. Some of his most popular albums are Still Crazy After All These Years, There Goes Rhymin' Simon , and Graceland.

Paul's official site is http://www.paulsimon.com