Singer: Paul Simon

Who needs Garfunkel? Paul Simon not only wrote most of the successful songs during his partnership with Art, but demonstrated that he was the true talent of the two by continuing a highly successful career after the duo broke up.

Simon and Garfunkel first hit the charts in 1965 with “The Sounds of Silence.” They had several more hit singles during their time together, including “Homeward Bound,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “A Hazy Shade of Winter,” and what could be the best popular song ever written, “Bridge Over Troubled Water“.

As a solo artist, Simon recorded a string of albums that were both commercial and critical successes – There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, Still Crazy After All These Years, and Graceland. He also had a plethora – yes, a plethora – of singles, including “Mother and Child Reunion” (No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100), “Kodachrome” (2), “Loves Me Like a Rock” (2), “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (1), “Slip Slidin’ Away” (5), and “Late in the Evening” (6).

Simon’s influence is great in contemporary music, and he has been lavishly awarded for his work. He’s won 12 Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Hall of Fame Award for “Bridge over Troubled Water,” he’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame  as both a solo artist and with Garfunkel, and he received the first annual Library of Congress Gershwin Award for Popular Song in 2007…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULjCSK0oOlI]